From the Globe and Mail
It may have been over a decade since Canada was at international cricket’s top table but the men’s national cricket team moved a step closer to qualifying for the 2023 one-day international World Cup by winning the Cricket World Cup Challenge League A title with three games to spare in Malaysia last week.
Having lost its ODI status in 2019, Canada was relegated to the International Cricket Council’s lowest tier of List A competitions, but climbed out of it in remarkable fashion by winning 12 out of its past 13 games, four more than nearest rival Denmark.
Securing the title means it will now progress to the World Cup qualifier playoffs in Namibia next March, where it will be joined by CWC Challenge League B winners Jersey and the bottom four teams of the ongoing World Cricket League 2, potentially Papua New Guinea, the United States, Nepal and United Arab Emirates.
The six teams will then battle for the two spots up for grabs at the World Cup qualifier, a 10-team event to be held in Zimbabwe in June and July. Given the 10-team nature of the ODI World Cup in India next October, only two teams from the qualifier will progress to the showpiece event.
If Canada manages to reach the qualifier, it could be pitted against full members Sri Lanka, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland or South Africa in what promises to be a cut-throat qualifying event.