Muscat: Oman will lock horns with UAE in their opening game of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier to be held in the UAE from October 18-November 2. Oman, who made their maiden World T20 debut in the 2016 edition, will be hoping to qualify for the main tournament after their exploits three years back. Scotland and the Netherlands, joint winners of the previous qualifying event in 2015, will feature on the opening day as well. Scotland, who are the top-ranked side in the 14-team tournament, will take on Singapore in the opener at the ICC Academy 1 ground in Dubai while the Netherlands will take on Kenya later in the day at the same venue.
In another match on the first day, Test nation Ireland will take on Hong Kong at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Bermuda, Canada, Jersey, Namibia, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea are the other teams in the tournament who will be vying for the six available places at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia from 18 October to 15 November. The teams are placed in two groups, with Scotland, the Netherlands, PNG, Namibia, Singapore, Kenya and Bermuda forming group A and the UAE, Ireland, Oman, Hong Kong, Canada, Jersey and Nigeria in group B.
The top team from each group will advance to the semifinal of the tournament whilst securing direct qualification to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020, with three more teams from each group featuring in qualification play-offs to determine the other four qualifiers.
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