The road to the 2023 World Cup starts next month, as the global qualification phase begins at the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 in South Africa with eight teams representing five regions. Cayman Islands, Germany, Ghana, Guernsey, Jersey, Italy, Qatar and Vanuatu will all take part in the six day competition in Benoni, South Africa.

27 Associate Members battled it out in the 2017 regional qualifiers with one team from each region qualifying to Division 5. Two teams from the tournament will qualify for Division 4 to be played in mid-2018 and five teams will be relegated to the regional divisions.

Group A comprises of Italy, Guernsey, Cayman Islands and Qatar, while Jersey, Vanuatu, Ghana and Germany will be fighting to secure the top two spots of group B. The top two from each group will play in the semi-finals, and the bottom two will compete for the minorplacings.

Jersey captain Charles Perchard: “We are delighted to be playing at World Cricket League Division 5, to be on a pathway to India 2023 is really fantastic. We have participated at a Global World T20 Qualifier, if we continue to do well through the divisions in the 50 over format the opportunities available to us are very exciting, with competitive cricket a big positive.”

Guernsey captain James Nussbaumer: “The aim is to win the tournament and get promoted, like any team taking part in the competition. We have solid experience at World Cricket League events and will look to use that as an extra edge. Playing for your country is always special, but the fact this event launches the global pathway to the Cricket World Cup 2023, makes it even more so.”

Italy captain Gayashan Munasinghe Ranga De Silva: “We have the experience and skill to do well in this tournament. With some new talent in the team and key players such as Peter Petricola returning.”

Germany captain Rishi Radhakrishnan Pillai: “This tournament provides us with a real opportunity to continue our great run. Winning both Division 2 to Division 1 over the past two years at regional level, and now into World Cricket League Division 5, the team is confident we can do well and continue to move up.”

Cayman Islands captain Ramon Sealy: “This is a great opportunity to take part in the tournament, we have worked very hard in preparation and we are excited to test our abilities on the global stage. We were delighted to have qualified from the Americas regional qualifier and we look forward to doing ourselves and our country proud in South Africa.”

Qatar captain Inam Ul Haq Haq: “For us the past few months have been great, we were very happy to qualify from the Asia regional event and will look to take that form into this tournament. The team management are very happy with the recent performances and confident going into the competition.”

Vanuatu captain Andrew Mansale: “This is a great event to be a part of and we have all the islands of Vanuatu behind us, cheering us on and wanting us to do well. We have been preparing hard for South Africa and are confident of what will be hard-fought cricket against some talented teams.”