By Bob Fromer
Frid
ay July 14 – Heavy rain and high winds that started at 9.30 am and lasted most of the day washed out all but one game on the schedule at the WBSC Women’s World Cup Group A tournament in Ireland on Friday, and the WBSC has made a decision to move straight to the playoff round on Saturday.
The four games scheduled on Friday would have wrapped up the round-robin phase of the tournament, but only one of the games was able to be played. Australia took the field against Chinese Taipei at 10.00 am, but the teams only managed an inning before the rain intensified. Australia held a 2-0 lead after that first inning and when the teams finally resumed play around 6.30 pm, they turned that into a 5-0 win.
The round-robin games that were cancelled on Friday were Botswana v Great Britain, Great Britain v USA, and Ireland v USA.
As a result, the final round-robin standings are:
Great Britain (3-0)
United States (3-0)
Australia (3-2)
Chinese Taipei (2-3)
Ireland (1-3)
Botswana (0-4)
WBSC decisions
Because the three cancelled games, whatever their result, would not have changed the placings with regard to games to be played in the Page Playoff round on Saturday, the WBSC has decided, with one day left for play and more rain possible, to ignore the un-played round-robin games and move straight to the playoffs.
And, with an eye on the weather forecast for Saturday, the decision has been made to change the order and the timing of playoff games. The schedule for Saturday is now:
8.00 am – Game 18: Great Britain v United States (Page Playoff 1 v 2 Game)
10.30 am – Game 17: Chinese Taipei v Australia (Page Playoff 3 v 4 Game)
1.00 pm – Game 19: Game 17 Winner v Game 18 Loser
3.30 pm – Game 15: Botswana v Ireland (Fifth Place Game)
Because Great Britain and the USA finished with identical records and did not play each other, there was a coin flip to determine the home team for Game 18, and GB will be the away team.
What it all means
The winner of Game 18 between GB and the USA will qualify for the 2024 WBSC Women’s World Cup Finals in Italy and will not have to play again.
The loser of Game 17 between Chinese Taipei and Australia will finish in fourth place, with no chance of qualifying for the World Cup finals.
The winner of Game 19, between the loser of Game 18 and the winner of Game 17, will qualify for the World Cup Finals. The loser of Game 19 will finish third in this tournament and may be able to qualify for the World Cup Finals by way of a wild card.
Game 15, if it’s able to be played, will decide fifth and sixth place in the tournament.
The WBSC has yet to say how it will determine final placings and qualification if the Page Playoff round cannot be completed on Saturday.