The first One Day International (ODI) match between Ireland and Bangladesh in Chelmsford was abandoned on Tuesday evening due to persistent rain, leading South Africa to clinch the last automatic qualification ticket for the 2023 Men's ODI World Cup to be held in India in October-November.
The abandonment of the match means that even if Ireland wins the ODI series against Bangladesh, they cannot surpass South Africa's eighth place standing in the ODI Super League points table. As a result, Ireland will now participate in the ten-team ODI World Cup qualifying tournament, scheduled to run from June 18 to July 9 in Zimbabwe, with former winners West Indies and Sri Lanka also playing in the competition.
South Africa had given themselves every chance of qualifying automatically for this year's ODI World Cup by winning the series against the Netherlands, moving past the West Indies and into the eighth and final spot on the Super League standings.
However, their chances for automatic qualification still depended on Ireland's ODIs against Bangladesh. A 3-0 series victory for Ireland would have brought them level on points with South Africa, assuming they incurred no penalty points.
The net run rate would still have come into play to decide the final spot, but with Ireland's first ODI against Bangladesh abandoned, this is no longer a concern for the Proteas, who have now secured their spot in the ODI World Cup.
Additionally, Zimbabwe and Netherlands, who finished at the bottom of the Super League table, will join Ireland in the qualifying tournament. Scotland, Oman, and Nepal finished in the top three of League 2 and have booked their place in the World Cup Qualifier.
Nepal finished in the top three in dramatic fashion, winning 11 of their last 12 matches, overtaking Namibia to finish third in an incredible comeback story. After disappointing League 2 campaigns, USA and UAE bounced back in the Qualifier Play-off in April, securing their top-two finishes on the penultimate day of the competition.