Eight (8) countries will begin their quest for two (2) qualification spots into the first round of 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup from 11th July 2022 at Bulawayo Athletic Club and Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. The Captains expressed confidence to the Media about sizing up their chances in the tournament, which features Men’s teams from Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, Netherlands, Jersey, Singapore and the United States.
Zimbabwe Captain Craig Ervine said “It has been many years since we’ve been involved in the World Cup, which is disappointing. There’s a lot at stake for us as a country and if we’re able to qualify again, all of a sudden the pieces of the puzzle start coming together again. It’s always very exciting to be playing at home in front of your home crowd and when you start to get results, you start to pull people together. That’s definitely something we need to find again – we want to start pulling Zimbabweans together, win some games and make it exciting for them to watch us.”
Recent results in T20Is coming into the Qualifier (in descending order): L, L, L, L, L, W, L, W, W, W
Current Team Rank: 12
Netherlands Captain Scott Edwards said “There’s a lot of hype around cricket in the Netherlands at the moment – it’s huge for Dutch cricket. It’s been a pretty busy summer – we’ve been speaking about taking a lot of confidence from playing these top nations, showing what we’ve learnt and proving that we’re a better team because of those games. The World Cup is massive for associate nations, so it’s always high on the agenda.”
Recent results in T20Is coming into the Qualifier (in descending order): L, L, L, L, D, W, W, L, W, W
Current Team Rank: 18
Uganda Captain Brian Masaba said “It’s been a while waiting for this opportunity, so everyone is pretty excited about it. We play a very exciting brand of cricket – we like to go out and have fun. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and try to represent the country with honour.
Recent results in T20Is coming into the Qualifier (in descending order): L, W, L, W, W, W, W, W, L, W
Current Team Rank: 25
Papua New Guinea Captain Assad Vala said “It was a dream come true to get to the last World Cup, but this is a different ball game. We enjoyed the experience of playing in the big stadiums and we want to go again to experience that atmosphere.
Recent results in T20Is coming into the Qualifier (in descending order): W, L, L, W, L, L, L, L, L, L
Current Team Rank: 19
United States of America Captain Monank Patel said “It’s a big thing and a vision for us to qualify for the World Cup. This is a lifetime opportunity for us to perform and make sure we qualify – we are really confident, and we will do our best in the upcoming games.”
Recent results in T20Is coming into the Qualifier (in descending order): L, W, W, W, W, W, W, W, L, W
Current Team Rank: 26
Singapore Captain Amjad Mahboob said “We have worked very hard since the last time we played in the CWC qualifiers. We know the areas we need to improve and I’m very confident we’ll be better than last time. Preparations have been excellent. We’ve played against PNG and Malaysia as well as a good team from Pakistan, who have provided a very good test. In T20, a match can change in one or two overs. As captain, I’m very satisfied with our options and we are ready for this tournament.”
Recent results in T20Is coming into the Qualifier (in descending order): L, W, L, L, W, NR, W, W, W, L
Current Team Rank: 20
Hong Kong Captain Nizakat Khan said “We have more experience now in our team compared to our last World Cup qualifiers. We are much more balanced this time, and we have a good combination of our spinners and fast bowlers. We are really looking forward to it because it’s a great opportunity and we have a great chance to qualify for the World Cup. We have a very experienced team now and we can use our experience in the games. We need to make sure we focus on our game, win the games, and try to qualify for the World Cup. We just can’t wait to go out against Uganda in the first game in Zimbabwe.”
Recent results in T20Is coming into the Qualifier (in descending order): W, L, W, W, L, L, L, L, L, L
Current Team Rank: 24
