Netherlands joins Ireland, Sri Lanka in Bulawayo

THE Netherlands cricket team arrived in Bulawayo yesterday ahead of the start of the 2023 Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifiers which get underway on Sunday.

Touching down in the City of Kings and Queens at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport late in the afternoon, they joined Ireland and Sri Lanka who arrived earlier in the day as preparations for the tournament get into full swing.

The Dutch will play two warm-up matches before heading to the capital, Harare where they will be based throughout the duration of the group stages. Netherlands are in Group A but will play warm-up games against Group B teams which will be based in Bulawayo.

Their first warm-up match is set for tomorrow against Asian champions, Sri Lanka at Queens Sports Club before going on to face Ireland at the same venue on Thursday. This is their second visit to Zimbabwe having played a three-match one day series against the Chevrons in March.

The Dutch are well aware of what to expect as they have had a feel of the Zimbabwean conditions. They will however, be missing some of their seasoned players such as Colin Ackermann, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe and the fast-bowling duo of Brandon Glover and Timm van der Gugten due to their English County commitments.

In Group A, they will be joined by Nepal, the United States of America (USA), West Indies and the hosts, Zimbabwe and their group matches will be played in Harare. Ireland and Sri Lanka are in Group B alongside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Scotland and their group matches will be played in Bulawayo.

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

All points won in the group stages 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 the World Cup in India in October.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier is the culmination of four years of hard-fought competition and brings together the bottom five teams from the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League, three automatic qualifiers from the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League Two and two teams who gained entry from the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff.