2019 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier

2019 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier
Dates18 October – 2 November 2019[1]
Administrator(s)International Cricket Council
Cricket formatTwenty20 International
Tournament format(s)Round-robin,
Playoffs
Host(s)United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
Champions Netherlands (3rd title)
Runners-up Papua New Guinea
Participants14
Matches51
Player of the seriesNamibia Gerhard Erasmus
Most runsIreland Paul Stirling (291)
Most wicketsOman Bilal Khan (18)
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The 2019 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament held during October and November 2019 in the United Arab Emirates to determine the teams that would qualify for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.[2][3] The six teams finishing highest in the qualifier tournament joined Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the first group stage of the 2020 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[4] The tournament formed part of the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier series, with the Netherlands winning the final.[5]

In April 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) granted full international status to Twenty20 men's matches played between member sides from 1 January 2019 onwards. Therefore, all the matches in the Regional Finals and the Qualifier itself, were played as full Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).[6] In July 2019, the ICC suspended Zimbabwe Cricket, with the team barred from taking part in ICC events, which put their participation in the tournament in doubt.[7][8] The following month, with Zimbabwe banned from taking part in international cricket tournaments, the ICC named Nigeria as their replacement in the tournament.[9]

Papua New Guinea were the first team to qualify for the 2020 ICC Men's T20 World Cup from the tournament, after they won Group A, finishing above the Netherlands on net run rate.[10] It was the first time that Papua New Guinea had qualified for a World Cup in any format.[11] Ireland became the second team to qualify when they won Group B, also on net run rate.[12] Both teams also advanced to the playoff section of the qualifier.[13] They were joined by the Netherlands, Namibia and Scotland from Group A, and Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong from Group B.[14]

In the first qualifier match in the playoffs, the Netherlands qualified for the T20 World Cup when they beat the United Arab Emirates by eight wickets, after the UAE only scored 80 runs in their innings.[15] The second qualifier match saw Namibia advance to their first T20 World Cup after beating Oman by 54 runs.[16] Scotland beat tournament hosts the United Arab Emirates in the third qualifier by 90 runs to secure their place in the Men's T20 World Cup.[17] The final qualifier match saw Oman become the last team to qualify for the Men's T20 World Cup, after they narrowly beat Hong Kong by 12 runs.[18]

Scotland beat Oman by five wickets to win the fifth-place playoff match.[19] In the first semi-final, the Netherlands beat Ireland by 21 runs to advance to the final.[20] They were joined in the final with Papua New Guinea, after they beat Namibia by 18 runs in the second semi-final.[21] Ireland beat Namibia by 27 runs to win the third-place playoff.[22] The final saw the Netherlands beat Papua New Guinea by seven wickets to win the tournament.[23] Namibia's captain, Gerhard Erasmus, was named the player of the tournament.[24]

  1. ^ "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 schedule announced". International Cricket Council. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. ^ "50 games in 19 days! T20 World Cup regional qualifying to hit full swing in May". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  3. ^ "The journey to the men's ICC World T20 Australia 2020 set to begin in Argentina". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Direct qualifiers for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 confirmed". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Netherlands beat PNG in final". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  6. ^ "All T20I matches to get international status". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  7. ^ "ICC board and full council concludes in London". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Zimbabwe suspended by ICC over 'government interference'". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Nigeria awarded men's T20 World Cup Qualifiers entry". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Vanua, Bau dig PNG out of 19 for 6 hole to seal T20 World Cup qualification". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  11. ^ "PNG make history, secure qualification for T20 World Cup 2020". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Ireland qualify for T20 World Cup after Jersey shock Oman". RTE. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Papua New Guinea and Ireland book tickets to Australia". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  14. ^ "PNG and Ireland qualify". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  15. ^ "UAE beaten by Netherlands as T20 World Cup hopes hang in the balance". The National. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  16. ^ "Smit, spinners carry Namibia to historic first T20 World Cup". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  17. ^ "T20 World Cup Qualifier: Scotland beat UAE to qualify for finals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  18. ^ "Oman come from behind against Hong Kong to claim T20 World Cup spot". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  19. ^ "T20 World Cup Qualifier: Scotland defeat Oman by five runs to secure fifth place". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  20. ^ "T20 World Cup Qualifier: Netherlands defeat Ireland by 21 runs in Dubai". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  21. ^ "Netherlands and PNG in final". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  22. ^ "Ireland's spinners help seal third place in low-scoring game". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Roelof van der Merwe and Brandon Glover help Netherlands defend title". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  24. ^ "T20 World Cup Qualifier Team of the Tournament announced". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 4 November 2019.