The seven-team Cricket World Cup (CWC) League 2 will see each side play 36 ODIs over 9 double round-robin tri-series. It will run from July 2019 to late 2021. The teams involved are Namibia, Nepal, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, UAE and USA.
Round 5 was hosted in Nepal, where Oman went undefeated and the hosts picked up two wins, including when they bowled out USA for 35 in the last game of the series.
ICC Men’s CWC League 2 table
Standings after Round 5.
| TEAM | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oman^ | 10 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 0.177 |
| USA | 11 | 6 | 6 | 12 | -0.318 |
| Scotland | 8 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 0.139 |
| Namibia^ | 7 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 0.008 |
| UAE^ | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0.004 |
| Nepal | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.982 |
| PNG | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | -0.458 |
^Oman (2), Namibia (1) & UAE (1) matches postponed from Round 4 (ICC note)
Next Round – USA Scotland UAE – Florida 1-8 Apr:
Round 5 – Nepal – February 5 -12
All matches played at TU Ground, Kathmandu. Read Daniel Beswick’s preview here. Our round-up after four matches here.
| Wed 5 Feb | Oman 197/9 defeated Nepal 179 |
| Thu 6 Feb | Oman 214/4 (49.3) defeated USA 213 |
| Sat 8 Feb | Nepal 190 defeated USA 155 |
| Sun 9 Feb | Oman 250/2 (47.2) defeated Nepal 249/8 |
| Tues 11 Feb | Oman 276/6 defeated USA 184 |
| Wed 12 Feb | Nepal 36/2 defeated USA 35 |
Round 4 – Oman
Round preview | Match 1: Sun 5 Jan 2020 – Oman defeated UAE by 5 wickets with 12.3 overs remaining. Report (external link) | Match 2: Mon 6 Jan – UAE 222/9 defeated Namibia 214/8 by 8 runs. Report (external link) | Match 3: Wed 8 Jan – Namibia 324/7 defeated Oman 272 by 52 runs. Report (external link) | Match 4: Thur 9 Jan – UAE 85/2 defeated Namibia 94 by 8 wickets with 30.3 overs remaining. Report (external link) | Match 5: Sat 11 Jan – Oman v UAE (postponed) | Match 6: Sun 12 Jan – Oman v Namibia (postponed)
Points: UAE 4, Namibia 2, Oman 2 – 2 matches postponed.
Round 3 – UAE
Match 1: USA beat UAE by 3 wickets | Match 2: USA beat Scotland by 35 runs | Match 3: UAE v Scotland abandoned without a ball bowled | Match 4: USA beat UAE by 98 runs. Match 5: Scotland beat USA by 4 wickets with 7 balls remaining | Match 6: UAE beat Scotland by 7 wickets with 37 balls remaining.
Points: USA 6, Scotland 3, UAE 3
Round 2 – Lauderhill, USA
Preview | Match 1: USA d. PNG Report | Match 2: USA d. NAM Report | Match 3: USA d. PNG Report | Match 4: NAM d. USA Report | Match 5: NAM d. PNG & Match 6: NAM d. PNG Report | USA Report Card | Team of the tri-series.
Points: USA 6, Namibia 6, Papua New Guinea 0
Round 1 – Aberdeen, Scotland
Preview | Match 1: OMA d. SCO Report | Match 2: SCO d. PNG Report | Mach 3: SCO d. OMA Report | Match 4: SCO d. PNG Report | Match 5: OMA d. PNG | Match 6: OMA d. PNG Report.
Points: Scotland 6, Oman 6, Papua New Guinea 0
How the teams qualified
Namibia, Oman, USA and (after a miraculous set of results on the last day) PNG secured their spots in the new CWC League 2 with top-four finishes at the ICC World Cricket League Division Two.
They joined Scotland, UAE and Nepal who qualified for League 2 by virtue of their final positions in the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe during March 2018.
The top three teams will take their places in the global qualifier for the 2023 World Cup.
Outside the crucial WCL2 top 4 were Canada and Hong Kong. They slotted into CWC Challenge Leagues A and B after finishing 5th and 6th, respectively.
Each Challenge League team will play 15 List A matches over three “WCL-style” events over a similar 2019-21 period as CWC League 2.
Each winner of the two Challenge League groups will join the bottom four from the CWC League in a play-off for the final two spots in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2022.
The Netherlands will begin their campaign in the 13-team CWC Super League when it gets underway in July 2020.
