Canada, Hong Kong, Namibia, Oman, PNG and USA will compete in the last ever ICC World Cricket League Division 2 in Namibia.

· Results will shape the revamped qualification pathway for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023

· Top four teams to attain One Day International status and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 places

· Fifth and sixth placed teams will play in ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League A or B

One Day International (ODI) status and a place in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 will be decided this month, as six teams compete in the last ever ICC World Cricket League Division 2 in Namibia between 20 and 27 April.

The road to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023

Canada, Hong Kong, Namibia, Oman, PNG and USA will battle it out for places to confirm which league they will be competing in on the road to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The top four teams will earn ODI status and will join Scotland, Nepal and United Arab Emirates in League 2 which is just two steps away from qualification to the 2023 event.

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 will see seven teams play 126 ODI matches across two years with the top three teams earning a spot directly to the Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2022.

'Being the only African country still in the running, we have a duty to represent and grow the game in our country and region' – Gerhard Erasmus

The bottom two teams from this final World Cricket League Division 2 event will feature in the Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League A and B and will join Bermuda, Denmark, Italy, Jersey, Kenya, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, Uganda and Vanuatu.

To follow the action from Namibia, there will extensive digital coverage from all 18 matches. Highlight packages will be available via the ICC’s social media channels and the ICC’s Online Media Zone, with live scoring on icc-cricket.com.

The newly appointed Namibia captain, Gerhard Erasmus looks ahead to ICC World Cricket League Division 2 said: “Being the only African country still in the running, we have a duty to represent and grow the game in our country and region. We’ve started our journey with a new Head Coach, Pierre de Bruyn as from January which has resulted in a culture change. That coupled with the return of some senior names in our squad should put us in good stead for the tournament.

“Preparation wise we have had a brilliant tour to Pretoria in which we played six limited-overs matches and got some good results and information on where we are at.”

'We were very disappointed in losing our ODI status last year in Zimbabwe so it has been our goal to get it back' – Assad Vala

PNG Captain, Assad Vala is excited to kick-start this tournament: “We were very disappointed in losing our ODI status last year in Zimbabwe so it has been our goal to get it back and get the opportunity to play more International cricket.”

“Preparation for the tournament has been good, we just hosted and won the ICC T20 World Cup EAP Final and are travelling to Pretoria, South Africa for a training camp before arriving in Namibia.”

Canada have previously played in four Cricket World Cups 1979, 2003, 2007, 2011 and their captain Davy Jacobs who represented Mumbai Indians in the IPL in 2011 brings a wealth of experience.

Canada captain, Davy Jacobs who is focused on the importance of the tournament said: “A top four finish will change everything for cricketers back home, and will have a substantial impact on cricket in the country. The expectation is real, we need this. So we will throw everything we have into that tournament in Namibia”.

Hong Kong captain, Anshuman Rath said: “It would mean quite a lot to us if we finish in the top four. We have shown the cricketing world what we are capable of and we as a team are very excited to play and showcase our skills in another ICC event. We have just had a five-day tour to Malaysia where we got three matches in against Malaysia playing XI. Just prior to Namibia we will have a 10-day long tour to South Africa.”

'We have shown the cricketing world what we are capable of and we as a team are very excited to play' – Anshuman Rath

Oman captain, Zeeshan Maqsood is looking forward to the tournament said: “It would be a dream come true and a big achievement for Oman to finish in the top four. We have had great preparation playing two matches against UAE and will have four matches ahead of the tournament in Pretoria.”

USA captain, Saurabh Netravalkar said: “Qualifying for ODI status means an entry into a completely new world of top level professional cricket. It would be a ray of hope for the aspiring youth of the country to consider cricket as a potential full time career. It gives the opportunity for us to build a solid domestic cricket structure as well as the power to try and promote the game bottom up, right from the school and university levels to the national and international levels.”

TOURNAMENT MATCHES

Saturday, 20 April - PNG v Namibia, Wanderers; Canada v Hong Kong, WAP; Oman v USA, Trustco UNITED

Sunday, 21 April – Namibia v USA, Wanderers; Canada v Oman, WAP; PNG v Hong Kong, Trustco UNITED

Tuesday, 23 April – Hong Kong v Oman, Wanderers; PNG v USA, WAP; Namibia v Canada, Trustco UNITED;

Wednesday, 24 April – PNG v Canada, Wanderers; Namibia v Oman, WAP; Hong Kong v USA, Trustco UNITED

Friday, 26 April – Canada v USA, Wanderers; Namibia v Hong Kong, WAP; PNG v Oman, Trustco UNITED

Saturday, 27 April – Final, Wanderers; 3rd v 4th Playoff, WAP; 5th v 6th Playoff, Trustco UNITED

All matches start at 09h30 local time.

Squad Lists:

Canada: David Jacobs (captain), Cecil Pervez, Dilon Heyliger, Hiral Patel, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nikhil Dutta, Nitish Kumar, Ravinderpal Singh, Rodrigo Thomas, Romesh Eranga Don, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Saad Zafar, Srimantha Wijeyeratne, Varun Sehdev.

Hong Kong: Anshuman Rath (captain), Aizaz Khan, Babar Hayat, Ehsan Khan, Tanwir Afzal, Kinchit Shah, Ahsan Abbasi, Scott KcKechnie, Ehsan Nawaz, Tanveer Ahmed, Jamie Atkinson, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Shahid Wasif.

Namibia: Merwe Gerhard Erasmus (captain), Stephen Julian Baard, James Milne Bredenkamp, Karl John Birkenstock, Jan Nicolaas Frylinck, Zane Edward Green, Zhivago Groenewald, Jean Pierre Kotzé, Tangeni Joseph Lungamene, Bernard Martinus Scholtz, Johannes Jonathan Smit, Christoffel Viljoen, Craig George Williams, Helao Nafidi ya France.

Oman: Zeeshan Maqsood (captain), Khawar Ali, Suraj Kumar, Fayyaz Butt, Kaleemullah, Khurram Khan, Bilal Khan, Sindo Michal, Muhammad Nadeem, Jay Odedra, Baadal Singh, Jatinder Singh, Aaqib Ilyas, Sandeed Goud.

PNG: Assadollah Vala (captain), Anthony Dogodo Vare, Chad Aiwati Soper, Charles Jordan Alewa Amini, Damien Apa Ravu, Eisa Eka, Hiri Hiri, Jason Kila, Joesph Dawes, John Boge Reva, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Oreta Vanua, Nosaina Pokana, Rodney Maha, Sese Bau, Simon Kwalahu Atai, Timothy Coyle, Tony Pala Ura.

USA: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Steven Taylor, Jan Nisar Khan, Roy Silva, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Aaron Jones, Hayden Walsh Jr., Elmore Hutchinson, Muhammad Ali Khan, Nosthush Kenjige, Xavier Marshall, Jessy Singh.

TOURNAMENT REFEREE: Gerhardus Pienaar

MENTOR UMPIRE: Langton Rusere

UMPIRES: Claude Thorburn, David Odhiambo, Ravi Angara, Tabarak Dar, Huub Jansen, Allan Haggo, Claire Polosak, Alex Dowdalls