T20 World Cup qualification disappointment for Omani cricket shouldn’t overshadow major strides made in recent years

It was only on Nov. 14, 2021 that Australia was crowned the winner of the delayed ICC 2020 men’s T20 World Cup in Dubai.

On Oct. 16, 2022, the first match of the men’s ICC 2022 T20 World Cup will take place in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Twelve of the 16 teams which will participate in the competition are already known. The other four will emerge via two qualifying tournaments, each comprising eight teams.

The first of these took place in Oman between Feb. 18 and 24, with the second scheduled for Zimbabwe in mid-July. This week-long format represents a change in approach by the ICC, as previous global qualifiers ran for almost three weeks in one location. The shorter format provides some cost-saving to the ICC but, most importantly, it allows part-time players to take less time off work.

In Oman, the eight teams competing for two positions were Ireland, the UAE, Bahrain, Germany, Nepal, Canada, the Philippines and Oman. The first four teams were pooled in Group A and the second four in Group B. The only full ICC Full Member which is participating, Ireland, has qualified for six of the last seven T20 world Cups. This made it a pre-tournament favorite, but performances have been inconsistent. Stiff competition was expected from the UAE, Nepal and Oman, all of whom have previous experience of playing on the global stage. Germany and the Philippines made their first ever appearances at a global qualifying tournament.

After playing against the other three teams in their respective pools, the top two teams in each pool played the runners-up in the other pool. On Feb. 21, these emerged to be Ireland v Oman, Nepal v UAE and, on Feb. 22, it was Ireland and the UAE who clinched their passages to Australia, winning by 56 and