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THE Cricket World Cup League 2 will finally be decided tomorrow when Nepal host the UAE in the tournament’s final match at Kirtipur.
Nepal, who are on a fantastic run of 10 wins from their last 11 matches, are strong favourites to win the match which will see them pipping Namibia to third place on the log to book a place in the final 50-over World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in June.
Scotland on 50 points and Oman on 44 have already qualified for Zimbabwe, while Nepal on 38 are now just one point behind Namibia and will finish third if they beat the UAE.
It was so different a month ago when Namibia embarked on their Asian tour in a strong position on the log. Then, they were lying third on 37 points, with Nepal 19 points behind and hardly in the running.
Their fortunes changed though, as Namibia had a disastrous tour, winning just one out of six matches, while Nepal won 10 of their last 11 matches, and their last five matches in a row.
If Nepal beat the UAE tomorrow they will finish third on 39 points to secure the final spot for the Zimbabwe qualifier, while Namibia will drop down to fourth position.
The bottom four teams in the Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament (currently Nepal, USA, UAE and PNG), however, will get a final chance to qualify for Zimbabwe when Namibia hosts the Cricket World Cup Qualifier play-off tournament in Windhoek from 24 March to 5 April.
The bottom four teams in League 2 will be joined by the ICC Challenge League Group A and B winners, Canada and Jersey, in Windhoek, where the top two teams will progress to the final World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe.
Although Namibia’s qualification for the 50-over World Cup in India in October is now a serious doubt, they will at least retain their position in League 2, ahead of the tournament’s next three-year cycle which will start after the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India in October.
The top four teams of the CWC League 2 tournament and the top two at the Windhoek qualifier, will qualify for the next League 2 tournament, along with the bottom team of the ICC Super League, which at this stage is The Netherlands.
In any event, there will be a lot to play for when Namibia hosts the World Cup play-off tournament and their coach Pierre de Bruyn said they have just made it more difficult for themselves.
“It’s very disappointing to be in this position, because we have had our opportunities – we could have tied the match against UAE but for a dropped catch; and we were in strong positions against Scotland in Kirtipur and Nepal in Windhoek, but did not take our chances,” he said.
“Now it’s going to be even more difficult to finish in the top two to qualify for Zimbabwe. We have several injuries – Jan Frylinck is injured, Lohan Louwrens is out with a shoulder injury, Tangeni Lungameni is out with a knee injury, JJ Smit is still out with a knee injury and Divan La Cock is unavailable due to studies, so it’s going to be a major challenge to win the competition,” he added.
De Bruyn, meanwhile, was under no illusions about who will win tomorrow’s match in Kirtipur.
“I’m sure that Nepal will win the match. They are an amazing team especially with Sandeep Lamichhane in the side, he’s a great bowler. They are on a fantastic run and will be playing in front of 20 000 home fans, so I can’t see them losing,” he said.
“The UAE are in an absolute shambles, they have hardly scored more than 100 in an innings for the last 10 matches, but if they manage to pull it off, I’ll be the happiest man alive,” he added.
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