West Indies’ hopes of qualifying directly for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup are still alive after Sri Lanka’s ODI series loss against Zimbabwe.
The top eight teams on the ICC ODI rankings (cut-off date – 30 September 2017) will qualify directly for the World Cup, while teams ranked 9-12 will play in the ICC World Cup Qualifier in 2018 alongside six other teams (four from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and two from the ICC World Cricket League).
The number of teams at the World Cup has been cut down from 14 in 2015 to 10.
Sri Lanka are currently eighth with 88 points, 10 ahead of ninth-placed West Indies and both teams have ODI matches scheduled in the near future.
While Sri Lanka are set to host India, West Indies will travel to Ireland and England.
The top seven ranked sides – South Africa, Australia, India, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Bangladesh – have already qualified for the tournament as they cannot fall out of the top eight before the cut-off date.
Here are the latest ICC ODI rankings.
1. South Africa – 119
2. Australia – 117
3. India – 114
4. England – 113
5. New Zealand – 111
6. Pakistan – 95
7. Bangladesh – 94
8. Sri Lanka – 88
9. West Indies – 78
10. Afghanistan – 54
11. Zimbabwe – 52
12. Ireland – 41
