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ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Bulawayo local organising committee members welcome
Ireland cricket team players at Joshua Mqabuko International Airport in Bulawayo yesterday.
(Picture by Obey Sibanda)

Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
IRELAND and Scotland national teams landed in Bulawayo at lunchtime yesterday for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier that takes place from March 4-25 in Zimbabwe.

The two teams touched down at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport from South Africa and are the only countries that flew into Bulawayo, while other participating teams arrived in Harare.

Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Nepal were the last to fly into the country in the late afternoon.

All 10 countries attended a dinner at a Harare hotel last night hosted by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Ireland and Scotland sent representatives, while the other eight sides had all team members present at the dinner.

Ireland, one of the favourites to win the Qualifier, will play warm up matches in Bulawayo, the first against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club tomorrow before taking on Scotland at the same venue on Thursday. Ireland will play all their group matches in Harare against West Indies, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and UAE.

Scotland’s group stage matches are all in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Nepal.

The top three teams from each group will proceed to the Super Sixes where the top two will proceed to the final. Whichever countries make it to the final will secure a place at the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England.

A qualifying tournament was necessitated by the ICC decision to reduce teams for next year’s World Cup from 14 to 10. Australia, South Africa, England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand and India have booked their places in next year’s World Cup via the ICC ODI rankings and two teams will join them from the Qualifier.

Meanwhile, the Chevrons will hold their first training session in Bulawayo at the Heath Streak Academy this afternoon. The players had been given time off since their arrival last week from UAE where they played a seven-game limited overs series against Afghanistan.

@Mdawini_29