Sri Lanka qualify for the 2019 World Cup at last
Following West Indies loss to England in 1st ODI, Sri Lanka have secured their automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. Of these two teams vying for the eighth and final direct spot, Sri Lanka came on top. Windies loss meant that they can't amass more than Sri Lanka's 86 points in the ODI rankings by 30th September, the cut-off date for direct qualification.
20 teams have played the World Cup till now
Since 1975 to the last World Cup in 2015, a total of 20 nations have played the ICC World Cup at least once. Five of them won the titles- Australia five times, both West Indies and India have won twice, Pakistan and Sri Lanka once each, in the eleven editions of tournament. Interestingly, England, where cricket was born, have never won the World Cup.
West Indies outcome against England the deciding factor
Going into ODI series against England, West Indies needed to win by either 4-0/5-0 to take over Sri Lanka. With a 7-wicket loss in 1st ODI, they now have 78 points. The Caribbean side has played in all the previous World Cups till now.
All is not lost for West Indies
Having failed to qualify directly, West Indies now have to take a long route by playing the 2018 World Cup Qualifier. In all, 10 teams compete in the Qualifier for two World Cup spots. Other teams include, bottom 3 from ODI rankings- Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and Ireland; top 4 from ICC World Cricket League Championship and top two from ICC World Cricket League Division 2.
Other teams who already secured a direct qualification
Apart from the host nation England, six teams which had already qualified automatically include- South Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
