With still one day to go in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off, the USA have assured their chance to continue to compete for their first World Championship in cricket!
The USA found themselves in a precarious position after their second match where they lost to their North American rivals, the Canadians, by quite embarrassing circumstances for where the USA thought they were: 172 (47.3 overs) to 198 (49.4 overs)! The USA were trying to comeback batting second, but somehow 198 proved to be too many.
The USA followed this result up though, with a historic victory over the UAE where the UAE scored 279 runs from 9 outs and 50 overs, leaving the USA to think their chances at India 2023 were over! But, thanks to 18 year old Saiteja Mukkamalla and some other notable performances, the USA were able to complete their largest chase in limited overs cricket history and scored 281 runs from 5 outs and 49 overs!
Since the USA won their first match of the Qualifier Play-off 231/9 (50 overs) to 151 (41.4 overs), the USA were now 2-1 and possibly in the drivers seat to qualify if they could win their next two matches!
However, their next match was against Papua New Guinea (PNG), a nation that was very equal if not better than the USA in cricket.
Yet, so were the UAE and Namibia!
And, similar to the USA’s wins over the UAE and Namibia, the USA defeated PNG 235/7 to 118 (34.5 overs).
The USA had one last nation to conquer, with the USA sitting at a very healthy 3-1.
That nation was Jersey!
The USA came into this match as the favorites, but this was also the case with the USA-Canada match.
The USA batted first amassing 231 runs from 50 overs. The USA now needed to defend, and the USA found their elite level of play in bowler Ali Khan who was able to get a record 7 dismissals in 9.4 overs bowled with only 32 runs against!
He was in magnificent form and was able to hold the Jersey surge at only 206 runs in 47.4 overs. Ali Khan became the record holder in the number of wickets taken for any Team USA member in senior level play for cricket, while he also became the second-best wicket taker in a single-match for an associate member of the ICC in the ODI format after Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, although Afghanistan is now a full-member.
With the USA victory, the USA secured their advancement to the 2023 ICC Cricket World Qualifier which will pit 10 nations against each other for the final two spots at the October-November 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India later this year. The USA has gotten this far many times, but has not made it this far since 2005!
The USA had suffered a period of three suspensions due to federation issues, and thus were relegated to the lower divisions of the sport that required the USA to compete in many level of qualifiers, and to become more exceptional at Twenty20 cricket as well.
The USA only became an associate member once again in 2019, and only secured ODI status later in 2019 in Namibia, where this 2023 Qualifier Play-off also has taken place.
The USA finished 4-1 and have won the round-robin group due to their head to head record with the UAE, who is guaranteed to finish second in the group due to their head to head records with Canada and Namibia, after Namibia defeated Canada today. The UAE is currently 3-1.
The Canadians close out their Qualifier Play-off with PNG, while the UAE will play Jersey before the Canada-PNG match to close out their Qualifier Play-off too.
The USA and the UAE will thus both move on to bowl off against 2019-2023 World Cup League Two ODI foes, Scotland, Oman, and Nepal who all finished ahead of them to qualify for the Qualifier without needing the extra Qualifier Play-off, as well as the the bottom five nations from the 2023 World Cup Super League ODI which we know will include the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies, with either South Africa or Ireland potentially joining these nations to make up the final tenth team.
The event will take place in Zimbabwe from 18 June to 9 July later this year. The USA has yet to qualify for the Cricket World Cup in ODI form, but lately, news has been good coming from USA Cricket suggesting the (US) Americans can ride this momentum following their automatic qualification as co-hosts for the 2024 Twenty20 Cricket World Cup which was the USA’s first ever senior level qualification for any version of the ICC Cricket world championship events.
KTH 