South Africa’s road to the 2023 Cricket World Cup is bumpy
If South Africa misses out on automatic qualification, then it is not the end of their road to the showpiece event.
South Africa enjoyed a superb 2-1 ODI series win over England recently that has been able to whet the appetite for the World Cup this year. But how do the Proteas secure their spot?
The showpiece event, which is being held in India, has seen seven teams already automatically qualify, with Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan and New Zealand joining the hosts.
With only one spot left up for grabs, heavyweights including the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland are left to battle with South Africa for a spot in the competition.
How can South Africa automatically qualify?
With 19 games on the board, South Africa have proved to be their own worst enemies after being docked a point for their slow over rate in the third ODI against England. The Proteas find themselves in ninth in the table with 78 points, 10 points below the West Indies in eighth.
Having cancelled a three-match series with Australia, South Africa only has two matches against the Netherlands to come. Two victories over the bottom-ranked side in the table would see the Proteas move onto 98 points unless they are docked any further points.
Sri Lanka can pip them to eighth if they win all three of their remaining ODIs, although they must beat New Zealand, who have only lost five of their 21 ODIs in this cycle. Ireland can also give South Africa a headache if they can beat Bangladesh 3-0, although this seems unlikely.
If South Africa draws the series 1-1, they will finish level on points with the Windies, with Sri Lanka and Ireland able to jump above them.
How can South Africa qualify?
If South Africa misses out on automatic qualification, then it is not the end of their road to the showpiece event. The top eight teams all gain an automatic place at the World Cup, with the bottom five then having to battle each-other.
The bottom five teams in the Super League go into the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier with five other Associate teams. The top two teams from the qualifiers will then move into the World Cup, with this making up the 10 sides at the tournament.
Not beating the Netherlands in their ODI series would be a major shock for South Africa, while it would be disappointing to win this series but fail to qualify due to the exploits of others. Despite this, South Africa knows they have the qualifiers to fall back on. Expect the Proteas to be playing their part in the tournament and to be value outsiders with betting sites.
However, a word of warning on that. The Associate teams go into those games with nothing to lose and everything to gain. For nations such as South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka, a World Cup spot is something they should be securing, so the pressure will be on.
Ultimately, South Africa have two separate ways to get to the World Cup, but they will be desperate to ensure they are not watching the qualifiers on TV, rather than being one of the sides on the pitch in those matches.
