Harare [Zimbabwe], June 29 : With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifiers moving into the Super Six stage on Thursday, all eyes are on a Sri Lankan bowling all-rounder, a West Indies white-ball star, and an all-rounder dominating on home soil as they strive to help their respective teams seal berths in the showpiece event, which is set to be hosted in India later this year.
The Super Six stage of the tournament got underway on Thursday with a clash between Zimbabwe and Oman.
Other than these two teams, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Netherlands, and the West Indies have qualified for the Super Six stage.
The stakes are high at this stage of the tournament, with the onus on some superstars to help their teams clinch World Cup berths.
Sri Lanka and host Zimbabwe both start the next phase with four points and have numerous standouts leading their teams to the showpiece tournament in India later this year.
The Netherlands and the West Indies were the other teams to advance from Group A, and both have a number of in-form hitters, giving them a definite edge going into the Super Six fixtures.
Scotland and Oman can rely on more balanced lineups that got them out of Group B.
With only two spaces up for grabs for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, these are the players poised to light up each squad in the CWC23 Qualifier's Super Six stage:
-Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)
The leg-spinner began the Cricket World Cup Qualifier with three five-wicket hauls, matching Pakistan great Waqar Younis' record for the most consecutive five-wicket hauls in ODIs.
With 18 scalps, Hasaranga was the highest wicket-taker in the group stage, outfoxing batsmen with his wrong'uns. However, the Scottish and Irish batters picked him off with relative ease, taking 7 or more runs per over off him.
Most runs: Dimuth Karunaratne - 223
Most wickets: Wanindu Hasaranga - 18
-Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)
Though this star all-rounder is not his side's leading wicket-taker or run-scorer in this tournament, he still has match-winning performances in this tournament, giving the hosts hope of qualifying for the main event.
At 12, he smashed the second-most sixes in the Group Stage and also scored the fastest ODI century for Zimbabwe followed by another half-century. He is the sixth-highest scorer in the event despite batting only at No. 3.
The all-rounder is also among the top six wicket-takers in the tournament with eight scalps and is still a brilliant fielder at the age of 37.
Most runs: Sean Williams - 390
Most wickets: Richard Ngarava - 10
-Richie Berrington (Scotland)
The Scotland skipper looked out of sorts with the willow coming into the tournament but rediscovered his touch with a century against UAE in a winning cause.
He followed it up with a half-century against Oman.
He has been a mainstay in the Scottish line-up for more than a decade and his experience is likely to come in handy as he leads his side in crucial Super-Six clashes against hosts Zimbabwe, Netherlands, and the West Indies.
Suffice to say that Scottish skipper will do everything in his power to add another World Cup appearance after his team's 2015 campaign to his cricketing resume.
Most runs: Richie Berrington - 207
Most wickets: Chris Greaves - 10
-Logan van Beek (Netherlands)
The Netherlands all-rounder delivered a performance of a lifetime in his team's pulsating Suprer-Over win over their more fancied opponents two-time World champions West Indies in the Group Stage. He smashed a record-breaking 30 runs in the super over, a boundary off every ball. He then followed his batting heroics with a strong performance with the ball to defend these runs. His all-round brilliance earned the Netherlands two crucial points, taking them past the Group Stage into the Super Six.
van Beek made 48 runs in three innings during the Group Stage and took six wickets as well.
The Netherlands can also expect more batting fireworks from Scott Edwards but van Beek has now emerged as their go-to option in crunch situations.
Most runs: Scott Edwards - 217
Most wickets: Bas de Leede - 7
-Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)
The attacking left-hander had an ODI batting average of around 40 from 54 matches before this tournament but only had one century in the format.
Pooran smashed two explosive centuries in the Group Stage and had good starts in other matches of the tournament. He is the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament and holds the key to the two-time champions if they are to progress further in the tournament.
Captain Shai Hope also impressed with a century and fifty in the tournament but has been more controlled in his aggression than Pooran, who smashed 15 sixes in the competition, the highest in the tournament.
Most runs: Nicholas Pooran - 296
Most wickets: Alzarri Joseph - 8
-Bilal Khan (Oman)
The seasoned pacer guided Oman through their CWC League 2 campaign, featuring in every match, and did so again at the Cricket World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe.
A new-ball bowler, Bilal is a handy option when it comes to stifling the flow of runs early in an innings. However, a brilliant outing against Scotland showed that he could have a much bigger influence on a game.
The 35-year-old got a wicket in the opening over of that encounter and finished with 5/55, but if Oman has to stage more upsets in the Super Six, Bilal has to lead the way.
Most runs: Aqib Ilyas - 142
Most wickets: Bilal Khan - 9.
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