Explained: Two-time champions West Indies on verge of elimination from ICC World Cup 2023

Why you're reading this: The Netherlands on Monday defeated the mighty West Indies in their final group stage match of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023. The match ended in a draw after both teams scored 374 runs in their respective innings. In order to decide a winner, a super over was played. The Netherlands smashed a whopping 30 runs off six balls in the super over and then restricted West Indies to 8 runs to win the crucial game.  

3 things you need to know

• The 2023 Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in India later this year
• The top eight teams have already qualified for the competition
• Former champions West Indies and Sri Lanka are fighting for a spot in the main event

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How West Indies may fail to qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2023?

The ten participating teams are vying for two spots in the main tournament, and the initial World Cup Qualifier stage has divided them into two groups. Within each group, every team faced off against the others once, earning two points for each victory. At the conclusion of this stage, the top three teams from each group will progress to the Super Six.

In Group A, Zimbabwe, West Indies, and the Netherlands have already secured their places in the Super Six. Unfortunately, Nepal and the USA have been unable to accumulate enough points to continue in the competition. Despite their losses to Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, the West Indies will advance to the Super Six. Sri Lanka, Scotland, and Oman have qualified from the other group. 

However, the West Indies' defeat holds significance in the Super Six format. Each team will play three matches in this stage, facing the three qualifiers from the opposing group. Therefore, the West Indies will compete against Sri Lanka, Oman, and Scotland. Importantly, the points from results of matches played against teams from their own group in the first stage of the qualifier will carry forward into the Super Six points table.

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Consequently, the West Indies will not carry any points from their loss to Zimbabwe, and they will also retain zero points and suffer negative Net Run Rate (NRR) implications from their match against the Netherlands.

Note, the West Indies had also failed to qualify for the main event of the recently-concluded T20 World Cup. They couldn't go past the qualifier stage of the competition, faling to play the main event espite being a two-time champion. 

Image: AP