ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier 2017: A guide to the format, tournament groups and points table

The 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier is an international women's cricket tournament that is currently being held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 7 to 21 February 2017. It is the final stage of the qualification process for the 2017 World Cup in England to be held in June-July, 2017. The tournament is the fourth edition of the World Cup Qualifiers, and the first to be held in Sri Lanka.[caption id="attachment_3272426" align="alignleft" width="380"]

The captains of the ten teams competing in the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier 2017. Image courtesy: ICC website[/caption]Ten teams are participating in this tournament, and while one team will lift the trophy at the end, four other sides will clinch the coveted berths for the eight-team ICC Women’s World Cup. The four teams that eventually qualify will also feature in the ICC Women’s Championship, while two more teams will join them in the Super Six stage and will be assured of at least ODI status for the next cycle.Four teams — Australia, England, New Zealand, and West Indies — have earned automatic qualification for the eight-team event after finishing in the top four of the ICC Women's Championship in October last year. The bottom four (India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) are now competing with Bangladesh, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and Scotland in the final stage of qualifying.Also read: When and where to watch, live coverage and online streaming, of the ICC Women's World Cup qualifiersTournament formatThe ten teams are divided into two groups of five each. Each team will play four matches in the group stage and the top three teams from the respective groups will qualify for the Super Six stage. The teams will carry forward their points into Super Six, and each side will play against the teams from the opposite group in this stage of the tournament. The top-four sides at the end of the Super Six round will qualify for the mega event later this year. The top-two teams will face off in the final of the Qualifiers on 21 February.GroupsGroup A: India, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and ThailandGroup B: South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New GuineaStandingsHere's a look at the rankings of both groups in the first round of the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier 2017 (as of 7 February)Group A

Teams	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Points	NRR
India	3	3	0	0	0	6	2.875
Sri Lanka	2	1	1	0	0	2	0.320
Zimbabwe	2	1	1	0	0	2	-0.830
Ireland	3	1	2	0	0	2	-1.013
Thailand	2	0	2	0	0	0	-1.889

Group B

Teams	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Points	NRR
Pakistan	3	2	1	0	0	4	1.600
South Africa	2	2	0	0	0	4	1.452
Bangladesh	3	2	1	0	0	4	0.674
Scotland	2	0	2	0	0	0	-1.227
PNG	2	0	2	0	0	0	-3.540