T20 World Cup: Qualifier A To Start With Oman vs Nepal Clash In Muscat

Hosts Oman will take on Nepal in the opening game of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier A, which will get underway here on February 18. The tournament is one of two global qualifiers that together form the final stages of the qualification process for the Men's T20 World Cup 2022 to be held in Australia.

A total of 20 matches will be played in the tournament that comprises eight teams -- Oman, Bahrain, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Nepal, Philippines, and UAE. Ireland and Oman had qualified for this tournament after being eliminated in the first round of the T20 World Cup 2021 held in UAE, while Nepal and the UAE booked their slots via their rankings in the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings. The other participating teams qualified through regional qualifying tournaments held through the course of last year.

The teams in Qualifier A are divided into two groups of four. Each team will play all the other teams once in its group, followed by position classification matches. The two teams that reach the final will advance to the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

Group A of the qualifier features Canada Nepal, Oman, and the Philippines, while Group B features Bahrain, Germany, Ireland, and UAE.

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier B will be held from July 11-17 in Harare and will feature Hong Kong, Jersey, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Uganda, USA, along with hosts Zimbabwe.

"70 teams started the qualification process for this event, and we've now reached the final stages with four spots at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 set to be decided in two global qualifiers starting with this one in Oman," said ICC head of events, Chris Tetley.

"With such a prize at stake, we're anticipating top quality and competitive cricket as teams battle to secure their place in the final and onto the plane to Australia later this year."

Schedule of initial matches:

• Feb 18: Oman v Nepal; Canada v Philippines; Ireland v UAE; Germany v Bahrain.
• Feb 19: Oman v Canada; Nepal v Philippines; UAE v Germany; Ireland v Bahrain.
• Feb 21: Ireland v Germany; UAE v Bahrain; Nepal v Canada; Oman v Philippines.