2023 ODI World Cup: How West Indies could miss out on showpiece event in India

Logan van Beek in action during the Super Over, and smashed 30 runs off Jason Holder. (Photo: @ICC)

West Indies slumped to a stunning defeat to the Netherlands on June 26 in a thrilling high-scoring contest that went to a super over, at the Takashinga Cricket Club in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The Windies batted first and posted a mammoth 374/6 in their 50 overs, riding on a superb century from Nicholas Pooran (104 of 65 balls). Netherlands made almost made small work of the total after Anil Teja Nidamanuru, born in Andhra Pradesh, smashed a 76-ball 104 to tie the game and force it to a super over.

However, the star of the match was Logan van Beek, who smashed 30 runs in the Super Over off Jason Holder. The Windies could not eclipse the set target as the Netherlands ended the group stage with 6 points, just 2 behind Group A toppers Zimbabwe and 2 ahead of the Windies.

So, does this mean the West Indies are not taking the flight to India for the ODI World Cup?

Not yet, at least.

This group stage qualifier saw 10 teams split across Groups A and B fighting to finish in the top 3 to progress through to the Super Six. In Group A, Zimbabwe, the Netherlands and the West Indies qualified for the Super Sixes, in that order, while Sri Lanka, Scotland and Oman qualified for Group B.

And from the Super Six stage, only the top 2 teams will make it to India for the showpiece event.

So, why does West Indies have a disadvantage going into the Super Six?

Simple. The teams that have qualified from the group stages into the Super Six will carry forward points that they have won by beating their fellow qualifiers.

West Indies lost to both Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, who were the other 2 Group A teams to make it to the Super Six. Zimbabwe will start the Super Six with 4 points in the bag, having beaten both the Dutch and the Windies, while the Netherlands will carry forward 2 points after Monday's thrilling win against the Caribbean side.

So, what does the West Indies need to do to make it to the ODI World Cup 2023 in India?

Quite simply, the West Indies needs to have a flawless Super Six campaign by winning all three matches and hope the other results go their way.

The Windies will need both Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe to lose at least two matches, who are carrying forward 4 points into the Super Six, and hope the Netherlands loses at least one match in the Super Six.

Super Six

The Super Six sees three teams each from Groups A and B battling for the top 2 positions. The teams in the Super Six will not face fellow qualifiers from their own groups and will only face teams from the opposite group.

This means all teams in the Super Six will only play three fixtures to determine who finishes in the top 2 slots.