2024 Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off

2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off

Dates	22 February – 3 March 2024
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	List A
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin
Host(s)	Malaysia
Champions	Kuwait (1st title)
Runners-up	Italy
Participants	8
Matches	21
Player of the series	Haider Butt
Most runs	Haider Butt (340)
Most wickets	Rizwan Butt (15)
2031 →

The 2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off was a cricket tournament that took place in Malaysia from February to March 2024, to decide the final four places in the next CWC Challenge League for the next World Cup cycle.

Kuwait and Tanzania were the first teams to secure a place in the Challenge League. ^[1] Bahrain also claimed a place, ^[2] followed by Italy. ^[3] Kuwait emerged as winners at the end of the tournament. ^[4]

Format

The eight qualified teams were placed into two groups of four, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the Super Six stage. ^{[5] [6]} The best four sides emerging from the Challenge League Play-off competition qualified for the twelve-team World Cup Challenge League field for the next cycle. ^{[7] [8]}

Qualification

In the Challenge League Play-off, the bottom two teams from each of the two groups in the 2019–2022 Challenge League joined four others from outside the 32-team qualification process. These were the four nations with the highest Twenty20 International ranking meeting the following entry requirements: ^[9]

1. They must've had a minimum of eight domestic teams playing regular cricket, including at least five 40+-over matches in each of the two previous years;
2. They had to be in the top 40 of the ICC T20I Rankings as of 30 September 2023.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Tanzania qualified for the tournament after meeting the requirements. ^[10]

Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Venues	Number of teams	Teams
2019–2022 Challenge League (Bottom 4)	16 September 2019 – 13 December 2022	Various	4	Bermuda
				Italy
				Malaysia
				Vanuatu
ICC T20I Rankings (Top 4 meeting requirements)	30 September 2023	—	4	Bahrain
				Kuwait
				Saudi Arabia
				Tanzania
Total			8

Squads

Bahrain [11]	Bermuda [12]	Italy [13]	Kuwait [14]
Sohail Ahmed (c) Haider Butt Imran Anwar Junaid Aziz Shahbaz Badar (wk) Ahmer Bin Nisar (wk) Rizwan Butt Ali Dawood Sachin Kumar Prashant Kurup Abdul Majid Abbasi Abid Ullah Shah Sathaiya Veerapathiran Mohsin Zaki	Delray Rawlins (c) Derrick Brangman Zeko Burgess Allan Douglas Chris Douglas Terryn Fray Kamau Leverock Tre Manders Cejay Outerbridge Jermal Proctor Jarryd Richardson (wk) Dominic Sabir Marcus Scotland Chare Smith Sinclair Smith (wk)	Gareth Berg (c) Marcus Campopiano Stefano di Bartolomeo Rakibul Hasan Fida Hussain Damith Kosala Wayne Madsen Nicholas Maiolo Gian-Piero Meade (wk) Anthony Mosca Nimna Pauththuwadura Jaspreet Singh Nikolai Smith Grant Stewart	Mohammed Aslam (c) Usman Patel (vc, wk) Ilyas Ahmed Mohammad Amin Clinto Anto Meet Bhavsar (wk) Adnan Idrees Shiraz Khan Sayed Monib Yasin Patel Shahrukh Quddus Ravija Sandaruwan Mohamed Shafeeq Bilal Tahir
Malaysia [15]	Saudi Arabia [16]	Tanzania [17]	Vanuatu [18]
Virandeep Singh (c) Muhammad Amir Aqeel Wahid Syed Aziz Khizar Hayat Ahmad Faiz Ainool Hafizs Rizwan Haider Sharvin Muniandy Pavandeep Singh Muhamad Syahadat Vijay Unni Muhammad Wafiq Zubaidi Zulkifle	Hisham Sheikh (c) Ishtiaq Ahmad Manan Ali (wk) Atif-Ur-Rehman Haseeb Ghafoor (wk) Usman Khalid Faisal Khan Usman Najeeb Shahzaib Kashif Siddique Zain Ul Abidin Waji Ul Hassan Waqar Ul Hassan Abdul Waheed Imran Yousaf	Abhik Patwa (c) Ramesh Alluri Akhil Anil Laksh Bakrania Mohamed Issa Zamoyoni Jabeneke Salum Jumbe Ally Kimote Omary Kitunda (wk) Kassim Nassoro Yalinde Nkanya Johnson Nyambo Ivan Selemani SanjayKumar Thakor	Joshua Rasu (c) Ronald Tari (vc) Jarryd Allan (wk) Tim Cutler Junior Kaltapau Andrew Mansale Patrick Matautaava Williamsing Nalisa Nalin Nipiko Simpson Obed Apolinaire Stephen Clement Tommy (wk) Jamal Vira (wk) Darren Wotu

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Kuwait	3	2	1	0	4	0.292	Advanced to the Super 6
2	Italy	3	2	1	0	4	0.574
3	Bermuda	3	1	2	0	2	−1.108
4	Saudi Arabia	3	1	2	0	2	0.298	Eliminated

Source: ESPNcricinfo ^[19]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate ^[20]

---

22 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Italy   305/8 (50 overs)	v	Bermuda 148 (36.2 overs)
Marcus Campopiano 101 (117) Kamau Leverock 5/58 (10 overs)		Terryn Fray 73 (99) Rakibul Hasan 3/35 (9 overs)

Italy won by 157 runs Selangor Turf Club, Seri Kembangan Umpires: Viswanadan Kalidas (Mas) and Sarika Prasad (Sin) Player of the match: Marcus Campopiano (Ita)

• Bermuda won the toss and elected to field.
• Allan Douglas, Chare Smith, Marcus Scotland (Ber), Fida Hussain and Stefano di Bartolomeo (Ita) all made their List A debuts.
• Marcus Campopiano (Ita) scored his first century in List A cricket. ^[21]

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22 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Saudi Arabia   231 (49.1 overs)	v	Kuwait 134 (35 overs)
Kashif Siddique 71 (94) Mohamed Shafeeq 3/37 (6 overs)		Mohammed Aslam 57* (84) Usman Najeeb 3/23 (7 overs)

Saudi Arabia won by 97 runs Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran Umpires: Prageeth Rambukwella (SL) and Ramasamy Venkatesh (HK) Player of the match: Kashif Siddique (Sau)

• Kuwait won the toss and elected to field.
• Ilyas Ahmed, Clinto Anto, Meet Bhavsar, Adnan Idrees, Shiraz Khan, Usman Patel, Yasin Patel, Mohamed Shafeeq, Bilal Tahir (Kuw), Ishtiaq Ahmad, Manan Ali, Atif-Ur-Rehman, Faisal Khan, Usman Najeeb, Hisham Sheikh, Kashif Siddique, Zain Ul Abidin, Waji Ul Hassan, Waqar Ul Hassan and Abdul Waheed (Sau) all made their List A debuts.

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23 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Italy   284/7 (50 overs)	v	Saudi Arabia 163/6 (37.4 overs)
Wayne Madsen 103 (92) Usman Najeeb 2/40 (7 overs)		Hisham Sheikh 59* (101) Stefano di Bartolomeo 3/30 (7 overs)

Italy won by 52 runs (DLS method) UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi Umpires: Akbar Ali (UAE) and Sanjay Gurung (Nep) Player of the match: Wayne Madsen (Ita)

• Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to field.
• No further play was possible due to rain.
• Shahzaib (Sau) made his List A debut.

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25 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Bermuda   227 (44.3 overs)	v	Saudi Arabia 223 (49.4 overs)
Delray Rawlins 75 (95) Zain Ul Abidin 3/27 (5.3 overs)		Hisham Sheikh 45 (78) Dominic Sabir 3/33 (10 overs)

Bermuda won by 4 runs Selangor Turf Club, Seri Kembangan Umpires: Tabarak Dar (HK) and Dedunu Silva (SL) Player of the match: Dominic Sabir (Ber)

• Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat.
• Usman Khalid and Imran Yousaf (Sau) both made their List A debuts.

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25 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Kuwait   216 (49.4 overs)	v	Italy 86 (25 overs)
Mohammad Amin 61 (84) Gareth Berg 3/36 (10 overs)		Grant Stewart 21 (11) Yasin Patel 3/11 (7 overs)

Kuwait won by 130 runs Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran Umpires: Sanjay Gurung (Nep) and Viswanadan Kalidas (Mas) Player of the match: Mohammad Amin (Kuw)

• Kuwait won the toss and elected to bat.
• Mohammad Amin and Shahrukh Quddus (Kuw) both made their List A debuts.

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26 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Bermuda   226/9 (50 overs)	v	Kuwait 229/5 (48 overs)
Terryn Fray 50 (86) Sayed Monib 5/40 (10 overs)		Meet Bhavsar 101 (131) Zeko Burgess 1/25 (6 overs)

Kuwait won by 5 wickets UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi Umpires: Viswanadan Kalidas (Mas) and Prageeth Rambukwella (SL) Player of the match: Meet Bhavsar (Kuw)

• Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat.
• Jarryd Richardson (Ber) and Ilyas Ahmed (Kuw) both made their List A debuts.
• Sayed Monib (Kuw) took his first five-wicket haul in List A cricket.
• Meet Bhavsar (Kuw) scored his first century in List A cricket.

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Tanzania	3	2	1	0	4	0.633	Advanced to the Super 6
2	Bahrain	3	2	1	0	4	0.713
3	Vanuatu	3	1	2	0	2	−0.791
4	Malaysia	3	1	2	0	2	−0.742	Eliminated

Source: ESPNcricinfo ^[19]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate ^[20]

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22 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Bahrain   266/7 (50 overs)	v	Vanuatu 157 (48.1 overs)
Haider Butt 98 (105) Nalin Nipiko 5/43 (9 overs)		Andrew Mansale 32 (30) Ali Dawood 2/13 (8 overs)

Bahrain won by 109 runs UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi Umpires: Akbar Ali (UAE) and Tabarak Dar (HK) Player of the match: Haider Butt (Bhr)

• Vanuatu won the toss and elected to field.
• Imran Anwar, Junaid Aziz, Shabaz Badar, Haider Butt, Rizwan Butt, Sachin Kumar, Prashant Kurup (Bhr) and Tim Cutler (Van) all made their List A debuts.

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23 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Tanzania   203 (48.2 overs)	v	Vanuatu 126 (40.5 overs)
Akhil Anil 47 (61) Patrick Matautaava 3/23 (8.2 overs)		Jarryd Allan 31 (30) Kassim Nassoro 4/28 (8.5 overs)

Tanzania won by 77 runs Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran Umpires: Harikrishna Pillai (Oma) and Sarika Prasad (Sin) Player of the match: Omary Kitunda (Tan)

• Tanzania won the toss and elected to bat.
• Akhil Anil, Laksh Bakrania, Mohamed Issa, Zamoyoni Jabeneke, Salum Jumbe, Ally Kimote, Omary Kitunda, Kassim Nassoro, Abhik Patwa, Ivan Selemani, SanjayKumar Thakor (Tan) all made their List A debuts.

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23 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Bahrain   207/9 (50 overs)	v	Malaysia 189 (49.1 overs)
Ahmer Bin Nisar 87* (85) Khizar Hayat 3/20 (10 overs)		Sharvin Muniandy 46 (86) Rizwan Butt 4/37 (9.1 overs)

Bahrain won by 18 runs Selangor Turf Club, Seri Kembangan Umpires: Prageeth Rambukwella (SL) and Dedunu Silva (SL) Player of the match: Ahmer Bin Nisar (Bhr)

• Bahrain won the toss and elected to bat.

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25 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Tanzania   247/9 (50 overs)	v	Malaysia 249/9 (50 overs)
Mohamed Issa 43 (43) Pavandeep Singh 3/32 (8 overs)		Ahmad Faiz 53 (74) Salum Jumbe 3/66 (10 overs)

Malaysia won by 1 wicket UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi Umpires: Harikrishna Pillai (Oma) and Ramasamy Venkatesh (HK) Player of the match: Ahmad Faiz (Mas)

• Tanzania won the toss and elected to bat.

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26 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Tanzania   173 (38.3 overs)	v	Bahrain 153 (48.2 overs)
Ivan Selemani 82 (70) Ali Dawood 3/12 (5.3 overs)		Haider Butt 51 (92) Ally Kimote 4/36 (10 overs)

Tanzania won by 20 runs Selangor Turf Club, Seri Kembangan Umpires: Akbar Ali (UAE) and Ramasamy Venkatesh (HK) Player of the match: Ally Kimote (Tan)

• Tanzania won the toss and elected to bat.

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26 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Malaysia   124 (38 overs)	v	Vanuatu 125/7 (29 overs)
Aqeel Wahid 44 (79) Joshua Rasu 4/31 (10 overs)		Andrew Mansale 29 (32) Khizar Hayat 5/26 (9 overs)

Vanuatu won by 3 wickets Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran Umpires: Tabarak Dar (HK) and Sarika Prasad (Sin) Player of the match: Joshua Rasu (Van)

• Vanuatu won the toss and elected to field.
• Aqeel Wahid (Mas) made his List A debut.
• Khizar Hayat (Mas) took his first five-wicket haul in List A cricket.

Super 6

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Kuwait	5	5	0	0	10	2.215	Qualified for the 2024–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
2	Italy	5	3	2	0	6	1.163
3	Bahrain	5	3	2	0	6	0.565
4	Tanzania	5	3	2	0	6	−0.356
5	Vanuatu	5	1	4	0	2	−1.999	Eliminated
6	Bermuda	5	0	5	0	0	−1.590

Source: ESPNcricinfo ^[19]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate ^[20]

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28 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Kuwait   360/4 (50 overs)	v	Vanuatu 132 (39.1 overs)
Meet Bhavsar 132 (139) Williamsing Nalisa 2/45 (10 overs)		Ronald Tari 48 (71) Sayed Monib 3/12 (4.1 overs)

Kuwait won by 228 runs Selangor Turf Club, Seri Kembangan Umpires: Sanjay Gurung (Nep) and Prageeth Rambukwella (SL) Player of the match: Meet Bhavsar (Kuw)

• Kuwait won the toss and elected to bat.

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28 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Italy   218 (47.1 overs)	v	Bahrain 222/5 (47.2 overs)
Gareth Berg 47 (39) Rizwan Butt 4/20 (9 overs)		Haider Butt 99 (120) Fida Hussain 2/27 (6 overs)

Bahrain won by 5 wickets UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi Umpires: Sarika Prasad (Sin) and Dedunu Silva (SL) Player of the match: Haider Butt (Bhr)

• Italy won the toss and elected to bat.

---

28 February 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Tanzania   239 (46.3 overs)	v	Bermuda 112 (34.3 overs)
Akhil Anil 68 (87) Cejay Outerbridge 4/46 (9 overs)		Terryn Fray 67 (84) Kassim Nassoro 4/7 (7.3 overs)

Tanzania won by 127 runs Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran Umpires: Akbar Ali (UAE) and Harikrishna Pillai (Oma) Player of the match: Kassim Nassoro (Tan)

• Tanzania won the toss and elected to bat.
• Cejay Outerbridge and Jermal Proctor (Ber) both made their List A debuts.

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1 March 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Vanuatu   153 (47 overs)	v	Bermuda 122 (24.5 overs)
Joshua Rasu 53 (95) Derrick Brangman 2/21 (10 overs)		Delray Rawlins 31 (32) Tim Cutler 4/35 (7.5 overs)

Vanuatu won by 31 runs Selangor Turf Club, Seri Kembangan Umpires: Tabarak Dar (HK) and Ramasamy Venkatesh (HK) Player of the match: Joshua Rasu (Van)

• Bermuda won the toss and elected to field.

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1 March 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Bahrain   202 (49.4 overs)	v	Kuwait 186/5 (40.3 overs)
Junaid Aziz 62 (128) Shahrukh Quddus 4/30 (9 overs)		Meet Bhavsar 71 (92) Rizwan Butt 2/44 (9 overs)

Kuwait won by 5 wickets (DLS method) UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi Umpires: Viswanadan Kalidas (Mas) and Harikrishna Pillai (Oma) Player of the match: Mohammad Amin (Kuw)

• Kuwait won the toss and elected to field.
• Kuwait were set a revised target of 185 runs from 43 overs due to rain.

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1 March 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Italy   325/8 (50 overs)	v	Tanzania 163 (32.5 overs)
Wayne Madsen 110 (71) Johnson Nyambo 3/50 (7 overs)		Kassim Nassoro 50 (61) Nicholas Maiolo 3/26 (10 overs)

Italy won by 162 runs Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran Umpires: Sanjay Gurung (Nep) and Dedunu Silva (SL) Player of the match: Wayne Madsen (Ita)

• Italy won the toss and elected to bat.
• Johnson Nyambo and Yalinde Nkanya (Tan) both made their List A debuts.

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3 March 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Kuwait   296/9 (50 overs)	v	Tanzania 145 (33.4 overs)
Mohammad Amin 73 (75) Ally Kimote 3/70 (9 overs)		Salum Jumbe 51 (44) Yasin Patel 4/51 (8.4 overs)

Kuwait won by 151 runs Selangor Turf Club, Seri Kembangan Umpires: Viswanadan Kalidas (Mas) and Sarika Prasad (Sin) Player of the match: Mohammad Amin (Kuw)

• Kuwait won the toss and elected to bat.

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3 March 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Vanuatu   102 (41.2 overs)	v	Italy 105/8 (25.4 overs)
Patrick Matautaava 22 (43) Nicholas Maiolo 2/16 (8 overs)		Nicholas Maiolo 23 (33) Joshua Rasu 5/32 (10 overs)

Italy won by 2 wickets UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi Umpires: Akbar Ali (UAE) and Ramasamy Venkatesh (HK) Player of the match: Joshua Rasu (Van)

• Vanuatu won the toss and elected to bat.
• Joshua Rasu (Van) took his first five-wicket haul in List A cricket.

---

3 March 2024 09:30 Scorecard

Bahrain   238 (49.2 overs)	v	Bermuda 131/8 (25 overs)
Prashant Kurup 79 (103) Derrick Brangman 4/48 (9 overs)		Derrick Brangman 40* (42) Abdul Majid 3/13 (5 overs)

Bahrain won by 30 runs (DLS method) Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran Umpires: Tabarak Dar (HK) and Prageeth Rambukwella (SL)

• Bahrain won the toss and elected to bat.
• Bermuda were set a revised target of 162 runs from 25 overs due to rain.
• Sathaiya Veerapathiran and Mohsin Zaki (Bhr) both made their List A debuts.

Final standings

Pos.	Teams	Qualification
1	Kuwait	Qualified for the 2024–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
2	Italy
3	Bahrain
4	Tanzania
5	Vanuatu	Eliminated from the 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification
6	Bermuda
7	Saudi Arabia
8	Malaysia

References

1. Beswick, Daniel (29 February 2024). "Tanzania and Kuwait promoted to Challenge League spots after opening Super Six victories". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
2. "The high-stakes Battle of Bangi ahead of Italy and Vanuatu as three others claim Challenge League tickets". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
3. Beswick, Daniel (3 March 2024). "Italy prevail in heart-stopping Battle of Bangi to re-claim Challenge League spot". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
4. "Kuwait crowned champions of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Playoff". The Times. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
5. "Challenge League Play-off Long Read: Eight-team tournament to decide Challenge League line-up for next Cricket World Cup cycle". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
6. "Bermuda cricket team back in training ahead of Malaysia competition". The Royal Gazette. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
7. "Four Challenge League spots to be claimed via Malaysia Play-off on road to 2027". International Cricket Council. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
8. de Jong, Bertus (16 August 2019). "Explainer: With 2023 Cricket World Cup qualifying process underway, here's a breakdown of ICC's new-look league structure". Firstpost. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
9. "ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualification Pathway Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). International Cricket Council. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
10. "ICC announce CWC Challenge League play-off tournament in 2023". Czarsportz. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
11. "Team Bahrain is READY to rock the ICC CWC Challenger League playoffs in Malaysia!". Cricket Bahrain. Retrieved 10 February 2024– via Instagram.
12. "Kamau Leverock included in national squad after surprise U-turn". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
13. "La Nazionale Italiana in Malesia per I Playoff della Cricket World Cup Challenge League" [The Italian national team in Malaysia for the Cricket World Cup Challenge League Playoffs]. Italian Cricket Federation (in Italian). Retrieved 29 January 2024.
14. "Kuwait National Men's team powered by Al Muzaini Exchange; led by Captain Mohammed Aslam set to depart for Malaysia to participate in the 2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off 50 Overs Tournament". Kuwait Cricket. Retrieved 14 February 2024– via Instagram.
15. "Meet Team Malaysia". Malaysian Cricket Association. Retrieved 21 February 2024– via Facebook.
16. "The list of the Saudi national team participating in the Challenge League in the Qualifiers of the World Cup 2027, held in Malaysia!". Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation. Retrieved 22 February 2024– via Facebook.
17. "Men National Team — The national team squad is all set to depart for Kenya tonight with a 10-day tour where they will play the Kenya XI side for five one-day games in Nairobi". Tanzania Cricket Association. Retrieved 4 February 2024– via Instagram.
18. "Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu Men's Team Ready for ICC CWC Challenge League 2024 Playoff in Malaysia". Vanuatu Cricket. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
19. "CWC Play-off Points Table | CWC Play-off Standings | CWC Play-off Ranking". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
20. "Controversy and confusion at Challenge Play-off: Malaysia crash out despite dubious tactic". Cricbuzz. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
21. "Bermuda feel heat of Italian job". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

External links

• Series home at ESPNcricinfo