T20 World Cup: Historic Super Eight qualification for minnows US

LAUDERHILL, Florida (CMC):

Tournament co-hosts United States made history yesterday when they became the sixth team to qualify for the Super Eight quarter-finals of the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup, after wet conditions caused by rain forced a no-result against Ireland.

The two teams were set to contest their Group A match at the Central Broward Regional Park in the American city of Lauderhill in the state of Florida, but heavy rain forced an abandonment without the toss being spun and a ball bowled.

It was the final group match for the Americans, and the result meant that the one point they secured pushed them to five and they joined India from the group in reaching the next stage of the tournament, eliminating the Irish, Canada, and Pakistan all with one match remaining.

The United States and the Indians have so far qualified for the Super Eight, which starts next Wednesday, along with Group A leaders and double crown world champions Australia, Group C leaders Afghanistan, Group D leaders South Africa, and Group C second and tournament co-hosts West Indies.

HIGH-SCORING THRILLER

The United States beat Canada in a high-scoring thriller in the tournament opener at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, then shocked Pakistan in a super over at the Nassau County Stadium in East Meadow, New York, where they were simply outclassed by India in their previous match.

“We are definitely looking forward to the challenge [of the Super Eight] for sure,” United States vice-captain Aaron Jones told reporters after play was abandoned.

“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve shown that obviously we could definitely compete and beat some of the full member nations, so definitely looking forward to playing against them for sure.”

In addition to reaching the Super Eight, an extraordinary achievement for a side ranked 18th in the world, playing in their first World Cup, and who only played their first T20 International five years ago, the Americans have also qualified for the next T20 World Cup in two years.

The next edition will also have 20 teams with 12 automatic qualifiers, including the two co-hosts India and Sri Lanka who will bow out of this year’s tournament after their final group match against The Netherlands on Sunday night at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia.

The other seven teams in the Super Eight from this year’s tournament, and the three highest-ranked teams outside of them on the T20I World rankings on June 30 this year, will also directly qualify, while the remaining eight spots will be decided through a series of regional qualifiers that started this past week in Italy.

“It’s a big thing for us to be honest,” Jones added. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve been speaking about playing in the World Cup, playing more games against the full member nations [of the ICC] and stuff like that – and here we are doing it right now.

“Obviously, qualifying for the Super Eight is really good. Not only for us right now in the moment, but I think we’ll qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup as well. So I think it’s a big thing for us.”