Ten teams, including two-time champion West Indies, will take part in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018, which will be held in Zimbabwe between March 4 and 25. Two spots for next year's 10-team showpiece event are up for grabs in the upcoming tournament.
Hosts England along with seven other top-ranked ODI teams earned a direct qualification for World Cup 2019.
On the other hand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland, who are ranked between eight and 12 made it to the qualifying event on the basis of their positions on the ICC ODI rankings.
Netherlands, Scotland, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea (teams who finished on top four spots at ICC World Cricket League Champions 2015/17) along with the United Arab Emirates and Nepal (finalists of World Cricket League Division 2) will be featuring in the 10-team qualifying event.
Tournament format
The eight teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each -- A and B.
| Group A | Group B |
| Ireland | Afghanistan |
| Netherlands | Hong Kong |
| Papua New Guinea (PNG) | Nepal |
| United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Zimbabwe |
| West Indies | Scotland |
Top three teams from each group at the end of single-legged round robin group-stage will qualify for Super Six round, from which the top two teams will qualify for the final that will be held at the Harare Sports Club on March 25.
Each team will get two points for a win, one for a draw or No Result. If teams are tied on points at the end of group stages, Net Run Rate will come in to play to determine the placings.
Venues
- Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
- Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
- Harare Sports Club, Harare
- Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
- Kwekwe Sports Club, Kwekwe
Full schedule of ICC World Cup Qualifier
| Match | Date | Time | Venue |
| PNG vs UAE | Sunday, March 4 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Ireland vs Netherlands | Sunday, March 4 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare |
| Zimbabwe vs Nepal | Sunday, March 4 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Afghanistan vs Scotland | Sunday, March 4' | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo |
| PNG vs Ireland | Tuesday, March 6 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| West Indies vs UAE | Tuesday, March 6 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare |
| Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan | Tuesday, March 6 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Scotland vs Hong Kong | Tuesday, March 6 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo |
| Netherlands vs UAE | Thursday, March 8 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| West Indies vs PNG | Thursday, March 8 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare |
| Scotland vs Nepal | Thursday, March 8 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Afghanistan vs Hong Kong | Thursday, March 8 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo |
| West Indies vs Ireland | Saturday, March 10 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| PNG vs Netherlands | Saturday, March 10 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare |
| ZImbabwe vs Hong Kong | Saturday, March 10 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Afghanistan vs Nepal | Saturday, March 10 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo |
| West Indies vs Netherlands | Monday, March 12 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Ireland vs UAE | Monday, March 12 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare |
| Hong Kong vs Nepal | Monday, March 12 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Zimbabwe vs Scotland | Monday, March 12 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo |
| Super Six Match 1 | Thursday, March 5 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Super Six Match 1 | Thursday, March 15 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Play-off | Thursday, March 15 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare |
| Play-off | Thursday, March 15 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Kwekwe Sports Club, Kweke |
| Super Six Match 3 | Friday, March 16 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| 7th place play-off | Saturday, March 17 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Kwekwe Sports Club, Kweke |
| 9th place play-off | Saturday, March 17 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare |
| Super Six Match 4 | Sunday, March 18 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Super Six Match 5 | Monday, March 19 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Super Six Match 6 | Tuesday, March 20 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Super Six Match 7 | Thursday, March 22 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Super Six Match 8 | Thursday, March 22 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Super Six Match 9 | Friday, March 23 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare |
| Final | Sunday, March 25 | 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
Complete squads - World Cup Qualifier 2018
AFGHANISTAN: Asghar Stanikzai (captain), Dawlat Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Ihsanullah Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Nasir Jamal, Javed Ahmadi, Mujeeb Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shinwari, Shahpoor Zadran and Sharafuddin Ashraf. Phil Simmons (coach)
HONG KONG: Babar Hayat (captain), Ahsan Abbasi, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Barkat, Chris Carter, Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Nizakat Khan, Scott McKechnie, Anshuman Rath, Simandeep Singh and Shahid Wasif. Simon Cook (coach)
IRELAND: William Porterfield (captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling and Gary Wilson
NETHERLANDS: Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Ben Cooper, Scott Edwards, Vivian Kingma, Frederick Klaassen, Bas de Leede, Maxwell O'Dowd, Pieter Seelaar, Shane Snater, Ryan ten Doeschate, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren and Sikander Zulfiqar. Ryan Campbell (coach)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Assadollah Vala (captain), Charles Amini, Sese Bau, Mahuru Dai, Kiplin Doriga, Jason Kila, Vani Morea, Alei Nao, Damien Ravu, John Reva, Lega Siaka, Chad Soper, Tony Ura, Norman Vanua and Jack Vare. Joe Dawes (coach)
SCOTLAND: Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Ali Evans, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Tom Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal and Stuart Whittingham. Grant Bradburn (coach)
WEST INDIES: Jason Holder (captain), Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Nikita Miller, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels and Kesrick Williams. Stuart Law (coach)
ZIMBABWE: Graeme Cremer (captain), Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Tendai Chisoro, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Tarisai Musakanda, Blessing Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller. Heath Streak (coach)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Qadeer Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammad Boota, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Adnan Mufti, Mohammad Naveed, Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Chirag Suri, Muhammad Usman
NEPAL: Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Shakti Gauchan, Basant Regmi, Sharad Vesawkar, Sompal Kami, KC Karan, Aarif Sheikh, Sandeep Lamichhane, Dipendra Singh Airee, Dilip Nath, Lalit Bhandari, Anil Sah, Rohit Kumar, Lalit Rajbanshi
