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<strong>Papua New Guinea (PNG) have withdrawn from the ICC Women&rsquo;s World Cup Qualifier 2021 in Zimbabwe as they are unable to send a team due to several members of the squad testing positive for Covid-19.</strong></p>
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PNG were to take on defending champions the West Indies on the opening day of the tournament, which runs from November 21 to December 5 across four venues in Harare.</p>
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According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), there will be no replacement for PNG in Group A, which will now consist of four teams – Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and the West Indies. The five-team Group B comprises Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe and the United States.</p>
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&quot;I really feel for the PNG players, who have been preparing extensively for this event and for whom it would have been a wonderful experience playing against several top sides in Harare, with the opportunity to qualify for the Women&rsquo;s World Cup and the next round of the ICC Women&rsquo;s Championship,&quot; said ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley.</p>
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KPHL PNG Lewas and support staff have arrived at the Hilton Hotel for their quarantine.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/backthelewas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#backthelewas</a> <a href="https://t.co/43lpRUOwjD">pic.twitter.com/43lpRUOwjD</a></p>
&mdash; Cricket PNG (@Cricket_PNG) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cricket_PNG/status/1454298098352594948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The Zimbabwe event is an important one on the calendar as it decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3, joining five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women&rsquo;s Championship &ndash; Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand.</p>
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The three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women&rsquo;s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams.</p>
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<strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/indo-pacific-partnerships-get-stronger-pacific-islands-get-support-from-japan-and-adb-99504.html">Indo-Pacific partnerships get stronger; Pacific islands get support from Japan and ADB</a></strong></p>
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