ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Canada failed in its bid to advance at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier, losing by 14 runs to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
It was the third straight loss for the Canadian men, who opened the 14-county event with consecutive wins over Jersey, Nigeria and Ireland. But that was followed by losses to Hong Kong, Oman and the U.A.E.
The 3-3-0 record, combined with an inferior net run rate, dropped Canada into fifth place in Group B after round-robin play. The Canadians needed to finish in the top four.
The 14-country event, which runs through Nov. 2, offers six spots in the main T20 world Cup set for Australia in 2020.
The two group winners qualify directly. Teams finishing second and third meet in playoffs with the winners moving on. The losers from the two playoffs face the fourth-placed teams in the group with the winners also advancing.
The six qualifiers will join Australia, Pakistan, India, England, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup, which takes place next October.
Canada failed to qualify for the six previous tournaments.
Ireland (4-2-0) and Papua New Guinea (5-1-0) won their groups to book their ticket to the main tournament. It marks the first time PNG will feature in a cricket World Cup in any format.
The Netherlands, Namibia, Scotland, Oman, U.A.E. and Hong Kong will see who joins them via the playoffs
On Sunday, Canada won the toss and elected to field first.
Led by Muhammad Usman's 89 not out, the United Arab Emirates finished at 154 for five in its 20 overs.
Navneet Dhaliwal led the Canadian batsmen with 41 while Nicholas Kirton was at 37 not out when Canada's innings finished at 140 for five in its 20 overs.
Canada needed 27 from the last 10 balls to keep its playoff hopes alive but fell short.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2019.
The Canadian Press
