ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier
Administrator International Cricket Council
Format Twenty20
First tournament 2008, Ireland
Last tournament 2013, United Arab Emirates
Tournament format Round robin and Knockout
Number of teams 16
Current champion  Ireland
Most successful  Ireland [three titles (1 shared)]
Most runs Afghanistan Mohammad Shahzad (479)
Most wickets  Ireland Trent Johnston (24)
Website ICC WT20 Qualifier Official website

The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier is an international Twenty20 cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. The purpose is to qualify the top Associate Members for the ICC World Twenty20. The first ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was held in 2008 and it was in similar fashion to the ICC World Cup Qualifier. There were 6 participating teams in 2008 and the number was increased to 8 for the 2010 edition.[1] The number was increased to 16 teams for the 2012 version. Currently, the top six finishers in the qualifier move on to the ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

History

2008 Qualifiers

The first ever Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier was played as a Qualifier for 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and was played between 2 August and 5 August 2008 in Stormont, Belfast in Northern Ireland. The top three [2] played in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. The six competing teams were:

The competition was won by Ireland and the Netherlands, who shared the trophy after rain forced the final to be abandoned without a ball bowled. Both teams qualified for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 finals in England. After the withdrawal of Zimbabwe from the competition, the two finalists were joined by third-placed Scotland.

2010 Qualifiers

The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010 was played from February 9–13, 2010[3] in the United Arab Emirates. It was expanded to eight teams, as Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States entered the tournament for the first time, whereas Bermuda did not enter.

The eight competing teams were:[4]

Afghanistan defeated Ireland in the final to win the championship, and both teams progressed to play in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, the international championship of Twenty20 cricket in the West Indies.

2012 Qualifiers

The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in early 2012. It was an expanded version comprising ten qualifiers from regional Twenty20 tournaments in addition to the six ODI/Twenty20 status countries. A total of 81 countries competed for the ten spots available in the 2012 World Twenty20 Qualifier. The sixteen teams which contested the final qualifying competition were:

Ireland defeated Afghanistan in the final to win the championship, and both teams progressed to play in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.

2013 Qualifiers

The 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in November 2013. It continued to use a 16-team format, with ten qualifiers from regional Twenty20 tournaments plus the top six finishers of the previous competition. Ireland and Afghanistan (by finishing top of their groups), with Nepal and UAE (by winning first runners up knock out matches) and the Netherlands and Hong Kong (5th and 6th place) qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. The competing countries were:

The top six teams progressed to the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

Previous winners

The two associate qualifiers for the inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20 were decided in the 2007 World Cricket League Division One tournament. Kenya and Scotland qualified.

Year Host nationFinal venueWinnerResultRunner Up
2008 Northern Ireland Civil Service Cricket Club Ground, Belfast  Ireland,

 Netherlands

Match abandoned due to rain and both Ireland and Netherlands share the Trophy. -
2010 United Arab Emirates Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, Dubai  Afghanistan Afghanistan won by 8 wickets  Ireland
2012 United Arab Emirates Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, Dubai  Ireland Ireland won by 5 wickets  Afghanistan
2014 United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi  Ireland Ireland won by 68 runs  Afghanistan

Teams' performances

Legend
Team Northern Ireland
2008
United Arab Emirates
2010
United Arab Emirates
2012
United Arab Emirates
2013
Republic of Ireland
Scotland
2015
Total
 Afghanistan 1st 2nd 2nd Q 4
 Bermuda 6th 13th 14th 3
 Canada 5th 8th 6th 12th 4
 Denmark 16th 16th 2
 Hong Kong 11th 6th Q 3
 Ireland 1st 2nd 1st 1st Q 5
 Italy 10th 9th 2
 Kenya 4th 5th 9th 11th Q 5
 Namibia 3rd 10th Q 3
   Nepal 7th 3rd Q 3
 Netherlands 1st 4th 4th 5th Q 5
 Oman 15th Q 2
 Papua New Guinea 8th 8th Q 3
 Scotland 3rd 7th 5th 7th Q 5
 United Arab Emirates 3rd 4th Q 3
 Uganda 14th 13th 2
 United States 6th 12th 15th 3

See also

References

  1. http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/events_and_awards/twenty20/qualifier.php
  2. http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/media-release/2008/July/media-release20080717-39.html ICC-Cricket, retrieved 17 July 2008
  3. "Important dates for Associate cricket". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  4. "UAE to host expanded World Twenty20 Qualifiers". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved June 27, 2009.

External links