ICC cancels Women’s World Cup qualifiers due to new strain of COVID-19 emerging in Africa
The ICC on Saturday 27 November canceled the ongoing qualifiers for next year’s Women’s ODI World Cup in Harare following the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant in the African region, paving the way for Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh to make room. Done. Travel restrictions have been imposed from several African countries after the new version was detected in South Africa, creating fear around the world. The decision was taken during the preliminary league phase of the nine-team tournament which was to decide the final three qualifiers for the 2022 Women’s Championship World Cup to be played in New Zealand, as well as two additional teams for the next ICC cycle. ( ICC cancels Women’s Cup )
JUST IN | We regret to announce the @ICC has called off the @ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2021 in Harare due to the imposition of travel restrictions on southern African countries, including , following the breakout of a new COVID-19 variant in southern Africa pic.twitter.com/AZJGYQ2eAq
— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) November 27, 2021
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Team support staff infected with COVID-19
The ICC said in a statement that the qualifiers will now be decided on the basis of team rankings as per tournament playing conditions. So Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies will now go ahead with the tournament in New Zealand. Playing in two of the three matches, Zimbabwe v Pakistan and USA v Thailand, began as scheduled on Saturday 27 November. But the third match of the day, between West Indies and Sri Lanka, could not be played as a member of the Sri Lanka team’s support staff tested positive for COVID-19. ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said: “We are incredibly disappointed to see the remainder of the event being cancelled, but with travel bans from many African countries being imposed in such a short period of time there was a serious risk that teams would be unable to return home. Will be
Mega-event in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3 (ICC cancels Women’s Cup)
We have explored several options to allow the event to be completed but this is not possible and we will move the teams out of Zimbabwe as soon as possible. The teams that qualify 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 round 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 added. ( ICC cancels Women’s Cup )
