PNG were to take on defending champions the West Indies on the opening day of the tournament, which runs from 21 November to 5 December across four venues in Harare.

There will be no replacement for PNG in Group A, which includes Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and the West Indies.

The five-team Group B comprises Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe and the United States.

ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said: “Obviously we’re incredibly disappointed not to be able to welcome PNG to the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier, but they have been unable to field a team because a number of the squad have contracted COVID-19.

“The safety of the players and everyone involved in our events is paramount and we will go ahead with the tournament maintaining our bio-security standards.

“I really feel for the PNG players, who have been preparing extensively for this event and for whom it would have been a wonderful experience playing against several top sides in Harare, with the opportunity to qualify for the Women’s World Cup and the next round of the ICC Women’s Championship.

“We hope that they are back playing international cricket soon and continue to develop as a team.”

The Zimbabwe event is an important one on the calendar as it decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from 4 March to 3 April, joining five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship – Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand.

The three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams.

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The ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 is to be played across four venues in Harare, Zimbabwe from November 21 to December 5.

The tournament gets off with a set of warm-up matches on November 19 before the preliminary league takes place.

The 10 competing teams will be split into two groups of five for the preliminary league, with Ed Joyce’s girls in green placed in Group A alongside the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and the West Indies.

There is no knockout stage in the competition, with the preliminary league, consisting of five teams each in two groups, followed by a Super Six stage to decide the final positions at the end of 29 matches.

Ireland’s match against the Netherlands will take place on the opening day of the qualifiers at Takashinga Cricket Club alongside three other matches.

Pakistan and Bangladesh feature in a highly anticipated match at the Old Hararians Club while Thailand and Zimbabwe face-off at Harare Sports Club and a second Group A clash of the day is played between West Indies and Papua New Guinea at Sunrise Cricket Club.

The Zimbabwe tournament is an important one on the calendar as it decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from 4 March to 3 April.

The three qualifiers will join five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship – Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand.

These three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams.

All fixtures are day matches starting at 9:30 am local time, or 11:30 am GMT.

Groupings

Ireland ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 fixtures

Warm-up match

Friday, November 19 – Pakistan v Ireland

Qualifiers

Sunday, November 21 – Ireland v Netherlands – 11:30 am

Tuesday, November 23 – West Indies v Ireland – 11:30 am

Thursday, November 25 – Ireland v Sri Lanka – 11:30 am

Saturday, November 27 – Ireland v Papua New Guinea – 11:30 am

The post ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 schedule announced appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.