Nepal and Uganda progress to the World Cup Qualifier

Nepal and Uganda have qualified for the final stage of the qualification process for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. They have both secured their spots in the World Cup Qualifier to be played in New Zealand early next year, on the back of their 1st and 2nd finishing in the WCL Division 3 tournament that finished yesterday.

Nepal won the final by beating Uganda by five wickets. Nepal's path just to get to the final was immense, as they lost their first two matches of the tournament to their final opponents and the USA. This left them with a near impossible task, which also opened up a tantalizing day of the final preliminary matches.

Uganda had already secured their spot in the final, however USA, Bermuda and Nepal were still in the race. Nepal needed to smash Italy in order to gain two points and also boost their net run rate. As well as this, they needed Bermuda to spring an upset on the USA and beat them by enough so that USA's NRR fell behind Nepal's, but by not too much, as otherwise Bermuda would progress. Amazingly, all the luck fell in Nepal's favour as they destroyed Italy by eight wickets, after chasing down a target of 128 in less than 15 overs. Even then, the Nepal team had to wait and endure some nervous moments before Bermuda prevailed in an upset over their region rivals by five wickets.

Nepal were in most people's eyes the pre-tournament favourites (including mine), so it was a big surprise that they nearly failed to make the final. The strength showed by Nepal to fight back was pleasing and will hold them in good stead for the crucial Qualifier in New Zealand.

The World Cup Qualifier will feature 10 teams including the bottom six of the WCL Championship, Division 2 teams Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea, as well as the newly promoted Nepal and Uganda. In a round-robin format, with some improved teams playing, it should be a ripping tournament.

I have updated the current one-day rankings to reflect this tournament with Nepal being the big mover (4 places), while USA venture closer to the top 20. Bermuda have fallen but still remain in Division 3, whereas Oman and Italy have all fallen by two places but have also been relegated to Division 4. Finalists Uganda have dropped slightly however have the chance for a big rankings jump in the World Cup Qualifier early next year. Take a look at the rankings now to see where 43 nations are ranked in one-day cricket.
  
Final Standings from WCL Division 3:
Champions: Nepal
Runners-Up: Uganda
3rd: United States of America (USA)
4th: Bermuda
5th: Oman
6th: Italy