Slowly but inexorably, the schedule of the Women's World Cup qualifier is leading the Orange Lionesses towards a winner-takes-all showdown with Ireland next Thursday, with the prize continued ODI status for a further four years.

That climax is not yet certain, however, for the Dutch still have a chance of qualifying for the World Cup itself, having made virtually certain of third place in their group with convincing victories over Zimbabwe and the United States.

So their next match will be an ‘Elimination Semi-final' against whoever finishes second in Group B, with the winner claiming a place in the World Cup.

Who the opposition will be remains uncertain, since the top three places in Group B will not be settled until Sunday's final round of group matches has been played.

West Indies, the current leaders with three wins out of three, will face hosts Bangladesh, while Pakistan have a much easier match against bottom-placed Japan. The Pakistanis must be favoured to finish second, since their net run rate seems certain to improve dramatically as a result of the Japan game, and they will in any case be ahead of Bangladesh on points should the West Indies gain their expected victory.

Should the hosts pull off a surprise win, however, and Pakistan beat Japan, all three sides would be level on points, and the rankings would come down to net run rate. In principle, the Dutch could find themselves facing any one of the three, but the most likely outcome is a match against Pakistan.

The results so far have served to confirm the gap which clearly exists between the established Full member sides - South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, with Bangladesh coming up rapidly on the outside - and the leading Associates, with a significant further gap to the USA, Zimbabwe and Japan.

The Orange Lionesses could manage only 61 against Sri Lanka and were blown away by South Africa's new-ball pair on Friday, reaching only 36, while Ireland were dismissed for 63 by the West Indies before managing a slightly more respectable 140 against Pakistan and then collapsing from 68 for one to 114 all out against Bangladesh.

Containing the top sides has been as much an issue as making runs against them, but the Dutch spinners have so far done extremely well. Esther de Lange and Esther Lanser have not only taken eight wickets apiece, but neither has conceded as many as three runs per over overall, while Helmien Rambaldo and Leonie Bennett, used more sparingly, have lent valuable support.

The seamers have been less effective, conceding an average of 5.92 per over against Sri Lanka and South Africa as against the spinners' 4.42 and claiming just two wickets between them in those two matches, and Rambaldo will need them to be at their best on Tuesday whoever the opposition turns out to be.

As for the batting, Miranda Veringmeier, Kerryanne Tomlinson, Rambaldo and Lanser have all done well against the lesser sides, but only Tomlinson and Lanser have so far managed innings of any substance against the stronger ones.

Tuesday's match will offer the top order a further chance to prove that they can indeed be competitive at this level, and they will go into the most crucial week of the past four years for Dutch women's cricket knowing that if they can raise their game several notches the rewards will be enormous.