USA the first team to arrive for Qualifiers as countdown begins

THE United States of America (USA) is set to be the first foreign team to arrive in Zimbabwe for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers which are set to start in just under two weeks.

The Americans are expected to jet into Bulawayo today as the World Cup Qualifier fever grips Zimbabwe with only 12 days remaining until the commencement of the flagship 10-team event.

The tournament will be used to determine the two teams that will book their places at the World Cup later this year.

The competition gets underway on June 18, ending on July 9 with the two opening matches taking place at Harare Sports Club and Takashinga Cricket Club.

Prior to getting on with official ICC business, USA will play two preparatory 50-over matches against Tuskers at Old Mutual Academy, former Heath Streak Academy on Thursday and Saturday.

Tuskers General Manager, Nicholas Singo confirmed the arrangement, stating that having the Americans play against the Bulawayo based franchise side will be a good opportunity for the local players.

“It is an opportunity for some of the emerging players to make a point. If they play well, say score a century in both matches, who knows where they may end up playing, so it’s a good opportunity for the boys,” said Singo.

After the two matches against Tuskers, USA will go on to play their first official warm up match against Ireland at Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC) on Tuesday, June 13, before going on to face Sri Lanka two days later at the same venue.

After the warm-up encounters, they will then move to Harare where they will be based throughout the duration of their group matches.

USA is in Group A, alongside West Indies, Nepal, Netherlands and the hosts, Zimbabwe and their group matches will be played in Harare. Group B, which consists of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sri Lanka, Ireland, Oman and Scotland will play their group games in Bulawayo.

All the other teams are expected to arrive on 11 June.
The upcoming tournament promises to keep the cricket craze alive among all cricket enthusiasts from across the world. In all the four stadiums, Harare Sports Club, Takashinga Cricket Club, Queens Sports Club and BAC, preparations have gained traction, with all stadiums expected to be completed by the end of the week.

In Bulawayo, ground curators have been putting in final touches to the two venues, working on centre and net wickets, spectator areas and constructions taking place.

All matches will also be televised, an opportunity for all fans all across the world to get a feel of the tournament.
Zimbabwe are no strangers to hosting such an event, having hosted the previous qualifiers for the 2019 England World Cup and also last year, hosted the T20 World Cup Qualifiers. Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) promised yet another memorable three weeks of entertaining tournament.

As the build-up continues to intensify, Sri Lanka and the UAE are the only remaining two teams who are yet to announce their final squads. The Lankan squad is likely to be announced after the completion of their ongoing three-match series against Afghanistan.

The top three from each group will progress to the Super Six stage where each team will play three matches against the sides they did not meet in the group stage.

All points won in the groups will be carried over to the Super Six stage, apart from those gained against the bottom two from each group. The finalists will both book their ticket to India in October.

The qualifiers are a culmination of four years of hard-fought competition and brings together the bottom five teams from World Cup Super League, three automatic qualifiers from the World Cup League Two and two teams who gained entry from the World Cup Qualifier Playoff.

All group matches will be free of charge with payment starting during the Super Six stage. The general entry ticket will be pegged at US$2 while the grandstands will be going for US$5.
— @brandon_malvin