UAE to host ICC qualifiers in November

The World Twenty20 Qualifiers, from which six of the 16 teams will progress to the main tournament in Bangladesh next year, is scheduled to take place between 15 and 30 November in the UAE. Among the teams which are favourites to qualify include Ireland and Afghanistan.

The teams have been divided into two groups, with the top side from each progressing automatically to the World T20 without having to appear in the final of the qualifiers. The second placed team from group A will play the third from group B and vice-versa, the winners of which will continue on to the World T20. The losers will await the winners of similar matches between the fourth and fifth placed teams from both groups to mount a second charge at qualifying. The two winners of these matches will be the fifth and sixth Associate side to join the ten Test nations for the World T20.

"This final qualifier is the last step of a pathway that comprised 11 ICC regional tournaments during 2012 and 2013, this time we will see six teams gain the opportunity to be a part of the global tournament to be held next year." said ICC's global development manager Tim Anderson. This is the third successive time the qualifiers will be hosted in the UAE, with Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi picked to host all the matches.