WC qualifier plays huge role for small teams: Mir
Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir feels that the upcoming ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier in Pakistan will benefit teams like Bangladesh, Ireland and West Indies and welcomed the approach taken by the ICC to grow the game.
The qualifier tournament set to take place in Pakistan from April 9, featuring six teams, will finalise the remaining teams for the eight-team tournament later this year in India.
Hosts Pakistan will be joined by ICC Full Members Bangladesh, Ireland and West Indies along with Associate Members Thailand and Scotland, for the Qualifier.
'One of the great things about the ICC Women's Championship, which I benefited from hugely in my career, is that it has been expanded to 10 teams. I feel that plays a huge role, especially for countries like Bangladesh and Ireland now that they have been part of that,' ICC quoted Sana as saying in a release.
'It is a very exciting time in women's cricket and if we keep doing things right, there will be more than four or five teams who people want to see playing against each other.
'In the last World Cup, a lot of matches went down to the last couple of overs and that's what you want to see as an audience. Women's cricket is providing that,' she added.
That jeopardy is on the up at all levels, and the hope now is that fans will see plenty of it in Pakistan over the next few weeks.
Bismah Maroof, who succeeded Sana as Pakistan captain, added, 'Women's cricket has improved massively in the past few years and it's going from strength to strength. The associate countries are playing really well, Scotland and Thailand have come a long way and as a full member country, Ireland have grown a lot.'
ICC Manager - Women's Cricket and former India international cricketer, Snehal Pradhan, is looking forward to the event in Pakistan where six teams will compete for two spots at the Women's Cricket World Cup in India later this year.
Pradhan believes that with the standard rising across the board, predicting who will come through qualifying is almost impossible.
'It's very high stakes cricket in terms of what is up for grabs. The last Cricket World Cup in New Zealand was an extremely successful event. We saw just how high-profile that event is and that is the opportunity that two of the six teams are going to be fighting it out for,' she said.
'Cricket with context, huge outcomes on the line, great opportunities so it's a brilliant tournament, everyone is excited about it. We've got four full members, two associate members, so this is an extremely competitive pack of six teams.
'It really is hard to pick the two teams who are going to get through. We saw Thailand make it to the T20 World Cup in 2020, so they have shown that they are able to get to the world stage, Scotland got to the T20 World Cup in 2024 so they can do it as well. No team will be taken lightly.'
Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
Pep dreams of WC glory, rules out plans to leave City anytime soon
Pep Guardiola has no plans to leave Manchester City anytime soon but the Spaniard has often thought about what it would be like to guide an international team and says he would love to take on the challenge of a World Cup or Euros campaign. 'I would love to be in a World Cup, in a Euro, a Copa America,' Guardiola said. 'I have always thought about it. But it depends on many, many things. If it happens, it's fine. If it doesn't happen, it's more than fine as well.' After winning 12 domestic top-flight titles across Spain, Germany and England, Guardiola endured a trophyless campaign with City last season, a shock to the system after so much success. While he came in for some stinging criticism over his elite squad's failure on all fronts, Guardiola said he was not interested in 'proving the haters wrong' when City start afresh next season. 'It's to prove myself that I can do it, I don't want to have those feeling that last season left' he added. 'Because when we win, the wine tastes better afterwards, you sleep better. I don't know a manager who loses games and sleeps like a baby. It doesn't happen. You've got to worry. That's part of our life.' Top of Guardiola's 'to-do list' is to win another Champions League with City and should they cross paths once more with Real Madrid, his nemesis Carlo Ancelotti will not be in the opposing dugout after the Italian took charge of Brazil. Mere mention of Ancelotti's departure was enough to put a smile on Guardiola's lips. The pair faced each other five times in the knockout rounds of the Champions League, with the Italian coming out on top in all but one. 'I'm so happy for him,' Guardiola said. 'But I'm so happy that he's not in Madrid anymore because all the time he beats me. That I don't have to handle it anymore.' The Spaniard added that it was unrealistic to expect him to win everything every year, and said that even the most successful athletes lose more than they win. 'I won 12 domestic leagues in 16 years. It's not bad, I would say. But you cannot win all the time. I cannot win the Champions League all the time,' he added. 'Michael Jordan, the best athlete I've ever seen in my life won six NBA Championships in 15 years. Tiger Woods, one incredible golf player, Jack Nicklaus, I don't know how many he has. But they lost more Grand Slams than they won. It happens.' Agencies
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
King Abdullah II leads tributes as Jordan celebrate historic World Cup qualification
Ali Olwan nets hat-trick in 3-0 win over Oman to seal place at 2026 tournament in US, Canada and Mexico Jordan's King Abdullah II led the tributes as his nation celebrated reaching the Fifa World Cup for the first time in their history. Ali Olwan was the hero for the Jordanians as he netted a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Oman in Muscat on Thursday night. The jubilant away supporters were joined by Crown Prince Hussein, who was seen celebrating in the stands. The win put the 2023 Asian Cup runners-up into a commanding position to secure a top-two finish in AFC qualifying Group B behind leaders South Korea, and their progress was confirmed a few hours later when the Koreans beat Iraq 2-0 in Basra. Jordan's King Abdullah II congratulated the team on social media. 'This historic qualification is well-deserved by our team, which includes stars and cadres of whom we are proud,' he wrote on X. 'Special thanks go to our loyal fans who have been our support and encouragement.' Jordan's qualification for the expanded 48-team tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico extends a rewarding period for the national team after their run to the Asian Cup final in 2023. In that competition they eliminated South Korea in the last four before eventually losing to hosts Qatar in the final. The South Koreans cemented top spot in AFC Group B and consigned Iraq to another round of qualifying with a routine victory at the Basra International Stadium. The Iraqi cause was not helped by a first-half red card for Ipswich striker Ali Al Hamadi and goals after the break from Kim Jin-gyu and Oh Hyeon-gyu confirmed their defeat. The Iraqis will drop into the fourth round of qualifying where they will be joined by either Palestine or Oman who meet next week in a winner-takes-all clash. Palestine kept their hopes alive with a 2-0 win over Kuwait on Thursday thanks to goals from Tamer Seyam and Wessam Abou Ali. The six teams who finish third and fourth across the three AFC groups will enter a fresh phase of qualifying featuring two groups of three with the winners of each section sealing a place at the finals. Four of the six teams – UAE, Qatar, Indonesia and Iraq – are already known, with most likely Saudi Arabia and one of Palestine and Oman to complete the line up. Saudi Arabia alive but face steep task Saudi Arabia and Australia will go head-to-head next Tuesday for the second automatic spot in Group C. Australia remain in pole position following their last-gasp win against group leaders Japan in Perth. Defender Aziz Behich was the home hero in front of more than 57,000 fans, rifling into the corner in the 90th minute to give Tony Popovic's side a crucial 1-0 victory. 'We know there's room to grow and room to improve, but we've done something special tonight,' said Popovic, who saw his team outplayed for long periods by an experimental Japan side. Saudi Arabia ensured the race for second place will go down to the wire courtesy of a 2-0 win against Bahrain in Riffa. Goals in either half from Musab Al Juwayr and Abdulrahman Al Obud saw Herve Renard's men stay three points behind second-placed Australia. However, the Saudis will have to win in Jeddah by five goals to leapfrog the Socceroos. Popovic, who replaced Graham Arnold in the dugout in September, added: 'We've all played a part in getting us to this point. We want to go to Saudi Arabia and really finish the job off.' Also in Group C, Patrick Kluivert's Indonesia kept alive their hopes of reaching a first World Cup since the country's independence in 1945 with a 1-0 win over China. That leaves Indonesia fourth in the group, one point behind Saudi. Ole Romeny scored the only goal, his controversial penalty just before half time following a VAR check leaving China rooted to the bottom of the group and thus ending their hopes of making a second World Cup. In Group A, Iran and Uzbekistan confirmed qualification while the UAE and Qatar will move into the next round of qualifying.
Al Etihad
3 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Uzbekistan and Jordan qualify for World Cup for the first time
6 June 2025 01:45 FRANKFURT (dpa)Uzbekistan and Jordan have qualified for the football World Cup for the first time, and South Korea have also booked their place.A 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Thursday was enough for the central Asian nation to be assured of a top-two finish in their qualifying group and entry to next year's finals in the United States, Canada and won 3-0 at Oman but it took South Korea's 2-0 in Iraq to seethem through to the June 11-July 19, 2026, finals. South Korea alsoqualified with their now have eight direct slots for the World Cup due to itsexpansion from 32 to 48 teams. So far qualified apart from Thursday's trio, and the directly entered three co-hosts, are title holders Argentina, New Zealand, Iran and are also all but through after a 1-0 win over Japan. Theyare second in their group, three points and eight goals ahead of Saudi Arabia with one game left.
