Pak vs Ned: Pakistan move up in Super League World Cup points table
After consistently playing well against the Netherlands, Pakistan overtook Afghanistan to clinch the third place in the ICC Super League of the Men's Cricket World Cup.
Pakistan, who are playing a bilateral series against the Netherlands in Rotterdam, have sealed the series 2-0 with one match remaining to be played on August 20.
After back-to-back wins, Pakistan have 110 points at a net rate of +0.221 in the latest ICC rankings after playing 17 matches in the current cycle.
The Babar Azam-led team has won 11 matches and lost six so far.
England are at the top spot with 125 points, Bangladesh are second with 120 points and India are placed seventh in the list with 89 points after losing four matches out of nine played.
Each team gets 10 points for a win, five for a draw/no result/no match and zero for a loss.
Should Pakistan clean up the Netherlands in the ongoing series, it will take their points to 120 and secure them a place in next year's event, regardless of how their remaining two series against New Zealand and Afghanistan go.
What is the ICC Men's CWC Super League?
According to the ICC, the Super League is a brand new ODI competition that runs for two years and aims to raise the stakes of the 50-over bilateral games. In its first edition, the Super League will help decide which teams will feature in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
The CWC Super League is an important tournament for teams on the road to 2023.
It all depends on where the teams finish in the Super League points table. India, who are the hosts in 2023, and the other top seven teams automatically qualify for the World Cup. The bottom five teams will play a qualifying tournament, which will also feature the best teams from the lower ranks of the competition.
If you think of it as steps, with the World Cup at the top, the Super League is the level just below that, followed by the CWC League 2 and the CWC Challenge League.
With every point counting, there will be no dead rubbers and teams will need to be at their best at all times.