For one game today, Netherlands had more support than they have perhaps ever had in their history before.
Pakistan, having stumbled through the early stages of their T20 World Cup campaign, were in need of a favour. Victory in their final Super 12s game against Bangladesh wouldn’t be enough. They needed either Netherlands to beat South Africa, or Zimbabwe to beat India. It was Netherlands who did the job, securing a famous upset over the Proteas, and Pakistan beat the Tigers to confirm their place in the knockouts.
However, it wasn’t just Pakistan fans who switched allegiances for one game only. The Dutch were clear about the implications of the game on their hopes of qualification. “Make sure you win, so we finish fourth” was the message from Tom Cooper to Babar Azam after the win, with the Netherlands hoping for a good deed in return from Pakistan.
From 2024 onwards, the T20 World Cup will change significantly, expanding from a 16-team event to a 20-team event, with the divisive first round set to be scrapped. However, the increase in the number teams doesn’t mean it will be easier for everyone to qualify, and it looked for a time as if the European teams, in particular, would face a tough battle to qualify for the next global short-form event.
The ICC has taken the decision to change the qualification pathway from a global to a regional structure. Whereas before teams would qualify through their regions for a global event, the T20 World Cup qualifier, now a set number of teams from each region can qualify automatically. Perhaps most significantly, only two teams from the European pathway will be able to secure a place at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
It looked likely that Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland would have to fight out for two places between them. The three countries have provided some of the T20 World Cup’s most memorable moments in the last two events, with Scotland beating Bangladesh to qualify for the Super 12s in 2021 and Ireland beating past champions West Indies and England in 2022.
But Netherlands finishing fourth in their group has helped out all three teams. Under the ICC’s structure, the top four teams in each group qualify automatically for the next T20 World Cup, meaning Netherlands have booked their place at 2024, and Scotland and Ireland won’t have to compete with the Dutch for two spots between three.
Bet365 will be Live Streaming all of the T20 World Cup matches direct to your iPhone, iPad or Android device, as well as desktop. This means that every T20 World Cup fixture will be available to bet365 customers wherever they are in the world.
