Zimbabwe has lost it qualification spot for the 2020 T20 world cup both in male and female due to administrative issues. The women spot was lost to Namibia while theale was lost Nigeria.
Nigeria, who came third at the T20 Africa Cup held in Uganda will now take the 14th and final spot, in place of Zimbabwe, for the Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier to be played in the UAE in October.
The Men’s Qualifier will feature Nigeria, UAE, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jersey, Kenya, Namibia, Netherlands, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Singapore and two teams from the Americas Final due to be held later this month. The top six sides will advance to the 2020 Men’s T20 World Cup to be held in October-November next year in Australia.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Zimbabwe’s removal from the qualifying process for the Men’s T20 World Cup means that at least one Associate nation is guaranteed to reach the 12-team main draw of the tournament. The top eight sides on the ICC T20I rankings table at the end of 2018 including host Australia qualified for the Super 12s automatically.
The six teams that advance from the Qualifiers to be held in October in the UAE will join Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the opening round, to be divided into two groups of four. The top two teams in each group of the opening round will then join the main draw. It means at least one Associate is guaranteed five matches against Full Members in the T20 World Cup – either Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the opening round plus at least four Full Members in the Super 12s.
In March, Nigeria scripted history by entering their first-ever global event – the 2020 Under-19 World Cup – when they beat Sierra Leone in a tense final. The men’s team had gone through a revamp following a poor finish at 2016 World Cricket League Division Five in Jersey, when a last place result saw them relegated out of the 50-over Associate competition.
By Uche Dozie
Twitter: @uchedozie3
