Chelmsford, May 10: South Africa automatically qualified for ODI World Cup 2023 after the first ODI between Ireland and Bangladesh in Chelmsford was abandoned due to constant rain on Tuesday.
Ireland would not be able to qualify automatically for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. Eight teams have made their entry to the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, with South Africa edging Ireland for the final spot after the latter’s Super League clash against Bangladesh in Chelmsford as per ICC.
The most recent changes in the race for automatic spots had come after Sri Lanka’s unsuccessful series against New Zealand, and South Africa’s two recent wins over the Netherlands in a home series.
South Africa had given themselves every chance of qualifying automatically for this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in their final series against Netherlands at home. The series victory moved the Proteas past the West Indies and into the eighth and final spot on the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League standings.
But their chances for automatic qualification still hinged on Ireland’s ODIs against Bangladesh. A 3-0 series victory for Ireland would have brought them level on points with South Africa, assuming they incurred no penalty points.
The net run rate would still have come into play to decide the final spot, but with Ireland’s first ODI against Bangladesh abandoned, this is no longer a worry for the Proteas, who have now booked their spot in the World Cup.