The 2023 ODI Cricket World Cup, set to start on October 5 in India, is the highest-profile event of the calendar year and the preparations are already on for many teams.
The schedule has been announced and the venues have been decided. Eight top-ranked teams have already qualified for the World Cup and are set to be joined by two qualifiers.
However, there could be a huge surprise this time around in the World Cup qualifiers that is currently underway in Zimbabwe.
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Two-time world champions West Indies, along with Sri Lanka, have been forced to go through the qualifiers in order to join the final 10 in India.
But there is a chance that the West Indies will miss out on the World Cup for the first time ever.
How have West Indies performed in the 2023 World Cup qualifiers?
West Indies were grouped in a very easy group in the qualifiers along with Zimbabwe, Netherlands, USA and Nepal.
And what should have been a straightforward group became the stuff of nightmares for the Windies. The team, led by Shai Hope, had star players like Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers, Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder.
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But they lost out to an inspired Zimbabwe and then were beaten in a super over by the Netherlands. West Indies just about qualified for the Super Six stage, finishing third on the group.
Can West Indies qualify for the 2023 World Cup?
The six teams who've reached the Super Six stage of the qualifiers are Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Scotland, Oman and West Indies.
Windies have already played Zimbabwe and Netherlands in the group stage and will now have to take on Sri Lanka, Scotland and Oman.
However, they start the Super Six stage with zero points as they lost against both Netherlands and Sri Lanka in the group stage. The maximum points they can get is six now.
However, Zimbabwe already have six points with two games still left to play. Sri Lanka already have four points and they have three games left, including two against relatively weaker sides.
This makes the equation very tough for West Indies as only two teams can make it through the Super Six stage.
West Indies have to win all their games and hope Sri Lanka do not get more than 6 points while ensuring they have a better net run rate.
2023 World Cup qualifiers: Super Six Points Table
| Position | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.752 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2.698 |
| 3 | Scotland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −0.060 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −0.739 |
| 5 | West Indies | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | −0.350 |
| 6 | Oman | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | −2.139 |
