Sri Lanka fail to qualify directly to ICC Cricket World Cup

Sri Lanka has failed to directly qualify for the ICC ODI World Cup following another defeat at Hamilton in New Zealand on Friday. Batting first, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 157 runs with Matt Henry, Henry Shipley and Darryl Mitchell getting 3 scalps each. The hosts faltered early in the chase before Will Young steadied the ship to seal the series 2-0. New Zealand had won the first match at Auckland while the second game at Christchurch was a washout. With the series defeat, Sri Lanka has been eliminated from finishing in the top eight of the ICC Super League in which the top eight teams have direct qualification for the world cup.

The race for the final direct qualification spot at the ICC Men’s @CricketWorldCup 2023 is going down to the wire #CWCSL pic.twitter.com/9cKouIMj9v

— ICC (@ICC) April 1, 2023

Sri Lanka will now be required to play in the ICC World Cup qualifiers which will be held in Zimbabwe in June - July in which the top two teams will qualify for the ICC ODI World Cup. The ICC World Cup hosted by India will commence on the 5th of October this year. The teams that have qualified for the tournament are New Zealand, England, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, Afghanistan and West Indies.