West Indies and Netherlands to face off on an action-packed matchday: 2023 CWC Qualifier Day 9 Preview and Prediction
The endgame of the 2023 ICC World Cup Qualifiers has begun as we are now heading towards the second-last matchday of the group stages. Zimbabwean capital city Harare will be hosting this forthcoming double-header clash on Monday where we will witness the Group A participants battling out for a few more crucial points up for grabs.
Irrespective of the results of Day 9, it is now official that West Indies, Zimbabwe and Netherlands are the three qualified teams for the Super Six stages from Group A. United States and Nepal’s contention for the qualification ticket has already ended as both of the associate nations are incapable of breaking the bottom-two deadlock.
The action-packed saga of Day 9 will be commencing with a high-profile clash between the hosts Zimbabwe summoned by the ambitious United States side. The second clash of the day will also be taking place simultaneously at Takashinga Sports Club where the heavyweights West Indies will be locking horns with Scott Edwards’ Dutch Army.
Match 17: Zimbabwe vs United States
It is the battle between the table-toppers and the bottom-placed side as both of them are having completely different journeys in the ICC CWC Qualifiers. Zimbabwe are aiming to barge into the Super Six with an unbeaten run while the American Eagles will be stepping out to play for their pride one last time in this competition.
Zimbabwe continued their Invincible run on the home turf and completed a hat-trick of wins after their recent emphatic victory over the Caribbeans. A collective effort from the bowling unit saw the Red Chevrons successfully defending the first-inning total of 268 as the bowling unit was able to fetch wickets at regular intervals. The Zimbabwean gaffer Dave Houghton is expected to push the likes of Innocent Kaia and Luke Jongwe into the playing eleven as per the rotation policy in the roster.
The veteran Guyana-born batter stormed the Windies’ bowling unit
Meanwhile, the American Eagles are yet to taste victory at the World Cup Qualifier stage including the two warm-up games with Ireland and Sri Lanka. The only memorable output for the United States came against the American rivals Windies who may have lost by the margin of 39 runs although their diligent efforts received widespread praise from the global cricket fraternity.
The 35-year-old Gajanand Singh arrived at the crease when the USA was down to 55 for four in the 14th over and went on to steal the show with his unbeaten 101-run knock. Monank Patel has reportedly recovered from his illness and is set to make a return and take over the captaincy responsibilities from Aaron Jones.
These two combatants shared the battlefield of international cricket only once in July 2022 in the ICC T20 World Cup qualifier at Bulawayo where the Africans comfortably emerged victorious by 46 runs. However, they have never faced each other in the 50-over format hence this is going to be their one-day international clash.
Zimbabwe Predicted XI: Innocent Kaia, Craig Ervine ©, Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Clive Mandade (wk), Wellington Masakadza, Luke Jongwe, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani
United States Predicted XI: Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Monank Patel ©, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Aaron Jones, Gajanand Singh, Shayan Jahangir (wk), Nosthush Kenjige, Jasdeep Singh, Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar
There is no doubt that the Red Chevrons are the ultimate favorites to win this contest and advance to the next stage with an invincible record. Zimbabwe’s on-paper strength and current form is something that cannot be matched by the American Eagles but their determination can surely drive them towards their goal of upsetting the heavyweights.
Match 18: West Indies vs Netherlands
Netherlands became the third and final team from Group A to claim the qualification ticket after their emphatic victory over Nepal. They are now preparing for the toughest group fixture against the mighty Caribbeans where plying their best trade on the field will be the only option for the Dutchmen to carry forward a positive momentum into the Super Six.
The two-time World Cup winners are likely to rest a few of their key players in order to protect them from injury threats ahead of further challenges.
The Orangers suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the hosts Zimbabwe in their opening fixture of the campaign where the Red Chevrons chased down the massive total of 316 inside 41 overs.
However, the European bannermen bounced back from the heartbreak rapidly and went on to register two consecutive victories over the United States and Nepal. The most recent clash with the Asian opposition was a do-or-die encounter for the Dutches where Max ODowd’s artistic 90-run stand starred in the seven-wicket triumph over the Everesters.
Windies’ triumphant run stumbled upon the Zimbabwean rock
On the other hand, the two-time world champions Windies kick-started their qualification hunt on a thumping note with two back-to-back wins. However, the Men in Maroon dropped their weapons during the clash with the ultimate rivals Zimbabwe in the most recent fixture. Despite being the favorites to win the combat, the star-studded Caribbean batting unit failed to stand upfront the wrath of the Zimbabwean attack and got bundled out on 233 while chasing the target of 269.
The Dutch Lions have clashed with the two-time fifty-over world champions on five occasions in international cricket though yet to open their win account.
The most recent chapter of this rivalry occurred in June 2022 when the Windies toured the Netherlands for a three-match bilateral saga and returned to the Caribbean Islands with a clean sweep triumph. The Orangers put up a strong fightback in home conditions and also came very close to winning the third fixture but eventually fell short of 20 runs while chasing the humongous target of 309.
West Indies Predicted XI: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Shamrah Brooks, Shai Hope © (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein
Netherlands Predicted XI: Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Wesley Barresi, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards © (wk), Logan van Beek, Clayton Floyd, Shariz Ahmad, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein
The Netherlands has won both of their previous fixtures but we have already seen them struggling against a quality opposition like Zimbabwe. There are high possibilities that we will get to see a high-scoring encounter as the batting firepower is the strength of both combatants. However, the Dutch Lions still stand on minimal chances as the Men in Maroon have also showcased terrific bowling performances.