The 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two was an international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

tournament that took place in April 2019 in Namibia. It was contested between six teams;

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and tournament hosts

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. It formed part of the 2017–19 cycle of the

World Cricket League The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of ...

(WCL) which determined the qualification for the

2023 Cricket World Cup The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It is s ...

. The final and third-place playoff match were granted

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(ODI) status by the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...

. Namibia won the tournament, after they beat Oman by 145 runs in the final. It was Namibia's first win in an ODI match, and it was the first ever ODI match played by Oman.

Summary

Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea finished in the bottom two places in the

2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier The 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that took place during March 2018 in Zimbabwe. It formed the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The top two t ...

, therefore relegating them to the Division Two tournament and losing their ODI status in the process. They were joined by Canada and Namibia, who finished third and fourth respectively in the

2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two was a cricket tournament that took place in February 2018 in Namibia. The United Arab Emirates won the tournament, after beating Nepal by 7 runs in the final. Canada and Namibia finished third and fourt ...

tournament, and Oman and the United States, who won promotion from the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament. Ahead of the tournament in October 2018, it was announced that, following the conclusion of the tournament, the World Cricket League would be replaced by the

ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 is an international cricket competition contested in the One Day International format and the second level of the three-league Cricket World Cup qualification system which was introduced in 2019. Seven t ...

and the

ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League is a cricket competition contested in the List A format, and the bottom level of the three-league Cricket World Cup qualification system, which was introduced in 2019. Twelve teams participate in t ...

. The top four teams would join

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Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

in League 2 and gain ODI status. The bottom two teams would be assigned to the Challenge League along with other teams from the World Cricket League. The United States were the first team to qualify for League 2, after they beat Hong Kong by 84 runs in the fourth round of matches. Oman also qualified in the same round of fixtures, after they beat tournament hosts Namibia by four wickets. In the final round of matches, Namibia and Papua New Guinea secured League 2 qualification with big wins. Canada won their final match, against the United States, but finished narrowly behind Papua New Guinea on

net run rate Net run rate (NRR) is a statistical method used in analysing teamwork and/or performance in cricket. It is the most commonly used method of ranking teams with equal points in limited overs league competitions, similar to goal difference in foo ...

and qualified for the Challenge League, along with Hong Kong. Following the round-robin matches, Canada played Hong Kong in the fifth-place playoff, the United States played Papua New Guinea in the third-place playoff, and hosts Namibia faced Oman in the tournament's final. Claire Polosak was appointed as one of the on-field umpires for the final, becoming the first woman to stand in a men's ODI match.

Teams

Six teams qualified for the tournament: * (9th in the

) * (10th in the

) * (3rd in

) * (4th in

) * (1st in 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Three) * (2nd in 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Three)

Preparation

The

took part in a one-week tour to

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, playing five matches, starting on 10 February 2019. USA Cricket also looked at arranging warm-up fixtures against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, followed by two

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are th ...

(T20I) matches against the

, and some 50 over matches in the UAE during March 2019.

hosted a

(T20I) quadrangular series followed by three

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

games against

in February 2019, before taking part in an eight-team T20 tournament in Kenya during March 2019.

played practice matches in Sri Lanka and South Africa before naming their final squad. Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong were both aiming to regain ODI status after losing it at the conclusion of the

. Canada were attempting to regain ODI status that they had lost in 2014, and had recruited the experienced Monty Desai to help guide them back to the top tier of Associate cricket. Hosts Namibia had been regulars in the top divisions of the World Cricket League, but their only previous ODIs were back in 2003, and they had faced a lack of international cricket in the months prior to the tournament in relation to their opponents. The United States were competing in Division Two for the first time, and were a team on the rise following a change in administration. Oman's form had fluctuated since qualifying for the 2016 World T20, the low point coming when they were bowled out for just 24 runs in a List A game against

in February 2019.

Squads

Points table

Fixtures

The following fixtures were confirmed in January 2019.

Round-robin

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Playoffs

The final and third-place playoff matches were given ODI status by the ICC, with the fifth-place playoff being a List A match. Oman played in their first ever ODI match. The United States played their first ODI match in fifteen years, after playing two matches in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy in September 2004.

Fifth-place playoff

Third-place playoff

Final

Final standings

References

External links

Series home at ESPN Cricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two 2017–19 ICC World Cricket League International cricket competitions in 2018–19 2019 in Namibian sport International cricket competitions in Namibia World Cricket League Division Two