While hosts Zimbabwe and past champions Sri Lanka are in a strong position to capture the remaining two qualifying slots for this year’s Cricket World Cup, two-time champions and potential absentees the West Indies have a chance of being left out of the event for the first time in their history.
Both Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka enter the final Super Six stage of the qualifications with four points to their names. This allows them to carry over the benefits received for defeating the teams who also progressed from the first round. Zimbabwe won all four of their group matches. Sri Lanka won all four of their group matches.
As a result of excellent batting performances, one of which included setting a new national record of 408-6 against the United States, Zimbabwe will be sure that the runs will continue to flow as the stakes increase beginning on Thursday.
“We have found our momentum and we are looking forward to carrying it,” said Sean Williams, who scored 174 in Monday’s defeat of the USA by 304 runs. “We are looking forward to carrying it,” he said.
After scoring an undefeated century against Nepal and then scoring 91 runs against the Netherlands, Williams has easily amassed the most runs of any player in the tournament with 390.
Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza have both scored hundreds, while Raza’s off-spin bowling has helped improve an attack that is led by left-arm quick Richard Ngarava. Ervine and Raza both took eight wickets with their off-spin bowling.
Zimbabwe’s games against Oman, Sri Lanka, and Scotland will be played in Bulawayo rather than Harare, although they will still have the advantage of strong support from their local fans.
“It’s a different venue, and everything about it is different, but still having that crowd behind us is always like having a 12th man,” said Williams. “Everything about it is different.”
Sri Lanka, who won the world championship in 1996, breezed through the group stage with little to no difficulty. However, they will meet a Dutch team on Friday that is confident after their incredible triumph against the West Indies in a super over.
Wanindu Hasaranga, a leg-spinner for Sri Lanka, has taken 18 wickets, becoming the first bowler in ODI history to achieve three consecutive five-wicket hauls. Waqar Younis was a legendary bowler for Pakistan.
“He’s the best there is. When asked about Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka, the player remarked, “Whenever I throw him the ball, he delivers for me.”
The West Indies are very close to “rock bottom.”
After suffering consecutive losses to the home team and the Netherlands, the West Indies are in a precarious position while Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka seem to have a bright future ahead of them.
The fallen giants, who won the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979, have a genuine chance of qualifying for the tournament only if they are able to win their matches against Scotland, Oman, and Sri Lanka.
“I understand the journey I have to take with this team,” said coach Daren Sammy, who previously led the West Indies to two victories in the Twenty20 World Cup.
“There are times when you have to hit rock bottom in order to get back up. I am aware of the difficulties that lie ahead, as well as the fact that the current state of affairs will not improve overnight.
“It is an accurate representation of the state of our cricket at the present time. There is a great deal of work ahead of us.
Both the Netherlands and Scotland will begin play with two points in their respective tally. The Dutch have not participated in the finals since 2011, while the Scots were eliminated in the semi-finals in 2014 due to a contentious ruling on a lbw call.
The West Indies were taken aback by Logan van Beek’s heroics in Monday’s super over, which startled the West Indies. “We’re good enough to compete against the best teams in the world; we’re just getting better,” said van Beek.
“The more often we compete against the top teams, the better we will become. We deserve to be on that level because the more enjoyable the game is, the more people will want to play it.
Oman, considered to be one of the tournament’s dark horses, will round up the Super Six lineup for the event, which will culminate with the final on July 9.