Thailand have been heartbreakingly robbed of a maiden appearance at an ODI World Cup, and of future opportunities in the format, after the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe was called off overnight due to the new COVID-19 variant.
Australia’s final three opponents in the marquee event to be held in New Zealand in March-April have been confirmed with Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh filling the final three spots at the eight-team event.
That’s despite Thailand’s stunning run through the group stage of the aborted qualifier in which they beat Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the USA and sat atop of the standings of Group B.
The qualifying event was due to run for another week but ended abruptly after new travel restrictions were imposed on southern Africa following the emergence of the Omicron variant.
With the Super Sixes stage of the tournament unable to be played (or…
