Johannesburg: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday confirmed the cancellation of the remainder of the women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe following the growing fears about the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 discovered in South Africa this week.
Play in two of the three matches scheduled for Saturday Zimbabwe v Pakistan and USA v Thailand started as scheduled but the third fixture of the day got cancelled, between the West Indies and Sri Lanka, after a member of the Sri Lankan support staff tested positive for COVID-19.
“We are incredibly disappointed to have to cancel the remainder of this event. But with travel restrictions from a number of African countries being imposed at such short notice, there was a serious risk that teams would be unable to return home,” Chris Tetley, the ICC Head of Events, said in a statement.
The qualifiers will now be decided according to the team rankings as detailed in the tournament playing conditions. Bangladesh, Pakistan and the West Indies will progress to the marquee event in New Zealand by virtue of their rankings, the ICC said.
“We have explored a number of options to allow us to complete the event but it isn’t feasible and we will fly the teams out of Zimbabwe as soon as possible.”
The teams who have qualified for the World Cup are Australia, England, India, South Africa, New Zealand (hosts), Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh. The mega-event will be held in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3.
“The number of teams in the third cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship (from 2022-2025) has been increased from eight to ten, and these teams will be Australia, England, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ireland,” the statement further read.
Meanwhile, South Africa and the Netherlands have also decided to postpone the final two ODIs of their 3-match series in Centurion after concerns emerged over the emergence of a new COVID variant in the country.
