ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Canada dropped down the standings at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier after losing Friday for the second day in row.
Canada, beaten by Hong Kong by 32 runs Thursday, lost to Oman by eight wickets Friday. The Canadian men slipped to fourth in the seven-team Group B.
The Canadian men (3-2-0) had previously beaten Jersey, Nigeria and Ireland.
Canada won the toss and elected to bat, finishing at 144 for nine in its 20 overs at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. Opener Srimantha Wijeyeratnem, in his T20 debut, led the way with 56 off 26 balls with nine fours. Nitish Kumar, who has three half-centuries at the tournament, added 22.
In reply, Oman (4-1-0) reached its target in 14.5 overs at 145 for two. Opener Jatinder Singh was 68 not out while Aqib Ilya added 60.
The 14-country event, which runs through Nov. 2, offers six spots in the main tournament set for Australia in 2020.
The teams are divided into two groups of seven with Canada leading Group B, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jersey, Nigeria and Oman.
Canada plays the United Arab Emirates (3-2-0) on Sunday to wrap up group play.
The two group winners qualify directly for the T20 World Cup. 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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2019.
The Canadian Press
