The qualifier tournament for this year's Women's Cricket World Cup gets underway in Lahore tomorrow (April 9). Here's a run-down of how the tournament works, and what's needed for qualification to the main tournament.
Six teams have already qualified for the World Cup, which will take place in India later this year. However, there are two spots still up for grabs which will be determined by the qualifier tournament, which will take place across 10 days in Pakistan.
Who are the teams competing for qualification?
Four of the six teams competing in the qualifier secured their places through the ICC Women's Championship. The top six teams at the end of that tournament qualified directly for the main tournament, while places 7-10 go into the qualifier. Those teams are Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan and West Indies.
The fifth and sixth places in the tournament are determined by position in the ICC Women's ODI rankings. Scotland and Thailand were the two highest ranked teams in the table who were not in the Women's Championship, and they make up the final two teams in the tournament.
What is the format for the qualifier?
Each team will play each other once in a round-robin format, with two points awarded for each win. There will be no knockout stage or final, so the two teams who finish at the top of the group table will qualify directly for the main tournament in India.
Pakistan will play the first match of the tournament against Ireland, with matches split between the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and the Lahore City Cricket Associate Ground.
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Who are the favourites to reach the main tournament?
On paper, West Indies should be the favourites to finish top of the group. They were the seventh side in the Women's Championship, and recently beat Bangladesh 2-1 in an ODI series. They also boast the likes of Hayley Matthews, Shemaine Campbelle, Chinelle Henry and Afy Fletcher in their squad. They will, however, be without Deandra Dottin, who picked up an injury in the WPL.
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While West Indies should qualify, the tournament is likely to be a tight affair, with sides mostly evenly matches and slow conditions in Lahore likely to level the playing field even further. The last World Cup qualifier in 2021 saw Thailand beat Bangladesh and win the most points in their group before the tournament was called off after a Covid-19 outbreak – controversially Thailand did not qualify for the tournament after the qualifier was called off.
Scotland will be looking for their first ever qualification for a main tournament, having played in the T20 World Cup last year. They were beaten by Bangladesh in the warm-ups for the tournament, while Ireland survived a collapse to beat Thailand.
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