South Africa, one of the leading teams in the world of cricket, has a new problem with their direct qualification for the ICC 50-over World Cup cricket series to be held in India later this year. The headache started for South Africa when they canceled the ODI series against Australia for the sake of South Africa’s cash shower league, for the benefit of the Indian businessmen who invested in it and for the benefit of the South African Cricket Board.
In this case, they won the 3-match ODI series against England by 2-1 but suffered a defeat in the last match which caused another setback for the World Cup qualification. As if this was not enough, he lost a point in the World Cup Super League points as he did not bowl the overs on time. They bowled one over short of the required overs to be bowled on time. Subsequently, South Africa, which was at the 9th position with 79 points, has lost one point and is now with 78 points. One might ask what the point is, but that’s the point.
The top 8 teams will automatically qualify based on Super League points as per the new World Cup qualification rules. The remaining 2 spots are up for grabs between the 5 teams in the ICC Super League and the 5 associate teams in the qualifiers. As of now, 7 teams namely India, New Zealand, England, Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have already qualified. West Indies are at the 8th position. It has 88 points, South Africa 78 points, Sri Lanka 77 points, Ireland 68 points.
If South Africa wins 2 matches against Netherlands, their points will go up to 98. If Sri Lanka wins all 3 matches in the ODI series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, they will move past South Africa. But the chances of that are less. Because going to New Zealand and playing Sri Lanka, New Zealand’s win rate there is 17-4 due to home advantage in the last 4 years.
If Ireland win all 3 ODIs against Bangladesh, they will overtake South Africa’s 98 points. Then net run rate will be considered. Conversely, a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands would see South Africa join the West Indies on 88 points. Now Sri Lanka will get one win and not able to play 2 matches as no-result but Sri Lanka will come in. As of now, the West Indies team has finished playing in all the series, so it seems that the team should play again in the qualifying round and qualify. But South Africa also remains weak. Losing this one point at a slow over rate is definitely a setback for the team.
