The Proteas’ loss against England in the third one-day international of their Cricket World Cup Super League series has prevented them from cracking the top eight of the standings.
However, the postponed finish of the series against the Netherlands could provide the Proteas with another opportunity to escape qualifying for the tournament.
What must occur for South Africa to qualify for the World Cup?
With only five matches remaining, the current cycle of the 2023 Cricket World Cup Super League is nearing its conclusion.
Two of these are matches between South Africa and the Netherlands on March 31 and April 2.
Cricket African nation of South Africa Proteas Netherlands players celebrate the dismissal of South Africa’s Temba Bavuma during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match between South Africa and the Netherlands on November 6, 2022 at Adelaide Oval in
Before facing the orange-clad opponents that eliminated them from the T20 World Cup last year, the Proteas will eagerly await the outcome of New Zealand’s match.
Three matches between New Zealand and Sri Lanka will play a role in determining who qualifies for the Cricket World Cup.
These contests take place in Auckland on March 25, in Christchurch on March 28, and in Hamilton on March 31.
A series whitewash by New Zealand would leave the Proteas having to win only one of their two matches against the Netherlands to leapfrog the West Indies and claim the final automatic qualifying slot. Sri Lanka will still be behind the West Indies if they win one match, therefore the scenario remains unchanged.
If Sri Lanka wins all three matches, South Africa will not be able to qualify for the tournament through the Super League and will be relegated to a qualifying tournament where ten teams would compete for two berths at the championship.
If Sri Lanka were to win two of their three matches, the Proreas would have to defeat the Netherlands twice in order to finish ninth.
For the West Indies to maintain their position, New Zealand must win at least two of their three matches against Sri Lanka, and South Africa must lose to the Netherlands twice.
CRICKET WORLD CUP SUPER LEAGUE STANDINGS
| Rank | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No result | Points | NRR | Penalty Overs |
| 1 | New Zealand (Q) | 21 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 150 | +0.697 | |
| 2 | India (hosts) (Q) | 21 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 139 | +0.782 | 1 |
| 3 | England (Q) | 21 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 135 | +1.057 | |
| 4 | Pakistan (Q) | 21 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 130 | +0.108 | |
| 5 | Australia (Q) | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 120 | +0.785 | |
| 6 | Bangladesh (Q) | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 120 | +0.384 | |
| 7 | Afghanistan (Q) | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 115 | +0.573 | |
| 8 | West Indies | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 88 | -0.738 | 2 |
| 9 | South Africa | 19 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 79 | -0.410 | |
| 10 | Sri Lanka | 21 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 77 | -0.094 | 3 |
| 11 | Ireland | 21 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 68 | -0.382 | 2 |
| 12 | Zimbabwe | 21 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 45 | -1.141 | |
| 13 | Netherlands | 19 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 25 | -1.163 |
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