South Africa Secured Direct World Cup Qualification
Ireland must compete in the World Cup qualifying tournament to limit, whereas South Africa’s lucky break make them ranked No. 8 in the Super League rankings.
With no games scheduled till August 30, South Africa last played ODI cricket against the Netherlands on April 2.
The men’s ODI World Cup in India will have South Africa directly qualified later this year, which is why the squad and its supporters are in jubilation. Due to the weather in Chelmsford, the club was able to secure a straight spot after spending the majority of the World Cup Super League outside of the top eight. Due to the weather cancelling the last ODI match between South Africa and Ireland, both teams received 10 points each, helping South Africa edge out the host nation England to advance directly. This lucky break will be considered a significant boost for South Africa’s World Cup prospects and a chance to establish their value in a virtual international arena.
Even if Ireland wins the series, South Africa will remain in ninth place on the Super League points system due to the non-result of the opening ODI between Ireland and Bangladesh on Tuesday. However, Ireland will participate in the ten-team qualifying competition in Zimbabwe from June 18 to July 9 with past world champions West Indies and Sri Lanka. They are assured of finishing ninth.
The ODI Woes: How South Africa Overcame Losses and Forfeits to Qualify for the World Cup
South Africa’s white-ball coach, Rob Walter, told ESPNcricinfo that the team was “obviously chuffed to qualify directly” because skipping the qualification round makes life much easier. However, considering our exceptionally peaceful winter, there might have been a benefit to participating in the qualifying.
After a successful summer that included victories over England, the West Indies, and the Netherlands following humiliating trips to Australia for the T20 World Cup and a Test series, the men’s team will be idle for nearly five months beginning on April 2 and not having any games scheduled until August 30.
Neither format mattered as much as ODIs; South Africa returned empty-handed from both. After losing the series to Pakistan (2021 at home), Sri Lanka (2021 away), and Bangladesh (2022 at home), they began the year in 11th place on the Super League standings, far outside the automatic qualification zone. They also forfeited a series in Australia (scheduled for January 2023), so their best cricketers could play in the inaugural SA20 league.
With a series of victories against England and the Netherlands, which moved them up to No. 8, South Africa gave themselves the best opportunity of making it to the World Cup. However, the outcome was beyond their control as they awaited the conclusion of the Ireland vs. Bangladesh matches.
Rob Walter reveals that World Cup planning has already begun.
Walter affirmed that Cricket South Africa had prepared “two plans based on either eventuality” to carry out, one if a trip to Zimbabwe was required and the other if South Africa managed to maintain its eighth-place position. The first of those would have required Walter to leave his New Zealand residence sooner than anticipated and would have seen the return to action of star players soon after the conclusion of the IPL on May 28. They will no longer be used until later in the winter. The second strategy has already started, with a camp starting on Tuesday at the high-performance facility in Pretoria.
Walter remarked, “We have the opportunity to spend some quality time outside of competition getting ourselves ready for a marquee event.” “We have a lot of camps scheduled during the winter leading up to the Australia series, which constitutes our last World Cup training. From a competitive standpoint, we have attempted to ensure extensive possibilities for talent development and time in the middle because there is also the “A” side visit to Sri Lanka.
Next month, South Africa A will play Sri Lanka A in three one-day games and two four-day matches under the leadership of Tony de Zorzi, who has eight Test caps. On Sri Lanka’s request, the white-ball matches were scheduled so that they could get ready for the qualifying competition in June. Gerald Coetzee and Tristan Stubbs are among the travelling party and could put themselves up for the World Cup roster after earning ODI caps this year.
Most players who will participate in the ODI programme are already active in the IPL. Aside from Lungi Ngidi, who is competing but has yet to play, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Heinrich Klaasen, Wayne Parnell, and Sisanda Magala have all participated. Over the winter, South Africa will also have players in the Hundred and CPL, and the CSA will monitor their performance.
According to Walter, every athlete has a personal analysis that identifies their strengths and specific areas that need attention this time. All this is scheduled with our players’ participation in the various winter leagues. Read more cricket updates here at Rajabets.
