Two major, but not in any way unachievable
steps are all that now remain for the
Canadian Men’s National cricket team
in its quest to qualify as one of the ten
participating teams at this year’s 2023 ICC One Day
International World Cup. The 2023 edition of the
quadrennial 50 overs World Cup will be played in
India this coming October. Canada’s last ODI World
Cup appearance was as far back as 2011.
Having emerged as the ICC’s Challenge League A
champions, Canada’s next step in the 2023 World
Cup qualification process will as be one of the six
participating teams in the Qualifier Play-off which
has been scheduled to be played in Namibia this
coming March – April 2023. All of the Qualifier Playoff
’s scheduled matches will be accorded One Day
International (ODI) status. Regardless of whether a
team had ODI status prior to the start of the event.
Canada will be one of the six participating teams at
the Namibia hosted Qualifier Play-off. The remaining
four participating countries will be comprised of
the bottom four teams from the 2019–2023 ICC
Cricket World Cup League 2 along with the top
teams in Groups A and B of the 2019–2022 ICC
Cricket World Cup Challenge League.
Namibia, Nepal, Oman, Papua New Guinea,
Scotland, United Arab Emirates, and the United
States were the six competing League 2 teams, from
which the top four would progress to Namibia. Papua and New Guinea have
already successfully claimed their berths so it will be left to the other five
to duke it out for the remaining two spots. As previously indicated Canada
qualified as the League A winner, while Jersey emerged as League B champions.
Only the top two teams from the Namibia Playoff will progress to the final
qualification stage which will be the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
Scheduled for Zimbabwe this coming July-August, the ten-team Qualifier will
determine the final two teams that will be travelling to India to vie for World
Cup 2023 championship title honours.
For Canada the next two phases of the World Cup qualification process
will indeed be challenging, but not in any way, insurmountably so. As was
demonstrated by their most recent performances in Malaysia, the squad that
recently appointed National Head Coach Pubudu Dassanayake has pulled
together has the necessary talent to compete favourably against any of the
opponents they are likely to come up against in either Namibia or even
Zimbabwe.
Even more important and essential than individual talent would be the squad’s
collective and cohesive belief in their ability to overcome any presented
challenges. As long as they keep believing in themselves and playing for each
other they should do very well.
What will also be important is for the team, when it eventually heads off to
Namibia to be doing so in the knowledge that the entire Canadian cricket
community will be wishing them the very best of success. It’s time, therefore,
for everyone to put aside their differences, criticisms and controversies
in deference to just giving our lads every available ounce of our collective
support.
Go Canada Go. Make us all so much prouder of you than we already are!