Afghanistan hope for rain-free day to get preparations underway

Overview

Scotland v Afghanistan
2nd ODI
The Grange, Edinburgh
Friday, 10 May; 11:00am local, 10:00am GMT

Afghanistan would have liked all the practice they could have had in lead up to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 – only their second appearance at the mega event. However, the wash out in the first ODI means they now have just three full ODIs before the tournament begins.

The forecast for Friday doesn't look too promising, though, and the best they can hope for is that the rain stays away long enough for a shortened match.

Weather aside, the contest itself promises a lot. Scotland may not have played an ODI since June last year, but in that game, they defeated the top-ranked England on this very ground. The Scots don't have too impressive a head-to-head against Afghanistan – four wins to their seven – but this is a chance to bridge that gap as well.

It is in Afghanistan's best interest that Scotland produce their A-game too. The World Cup is going to throw up challenging opponents one after another, and they will want a bit of a workout. Gulbadin Naib, the new captain, who replaced Asghar Afghan only months before the World Cup, will want to put his leadership to the test too.

Key players

**Safyaan Sharif (Scotland):**Given the conditions, it is safe to assume that the ball is going to seam around a touch, and when that happens, Sharif can be lethal. In the last two years, he has comfortably been Scotland's most prolific quick with 28 wickets against his name at 21.96. He will look to add to that dominance.

**Hamid Hassan (Afghanistan):**Sporting a head-band and face-paint, Hassan was one of Afghanistan's most conspicuous players in the 2015 World Cup. But his appeal wasn't just cosmetic – he was his team's second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. He also played a key role with ball and bat to secure his team their maiden World Cup win ... against Scotland. Returning to the national team after nearly three years, Hassan will want to make an impact against the Scots once more. His style of bowling should benefit from overcast conditions.

Conditions

Typically Scottish – cloudy and cold with a fairly high chance of rain. The pitch at The Grange tends to be weather dependent, and with generous cloud cover set to be the theme, expect the seamers to be in play.

Squads

Scotland: Kyle Coetzer (c), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross (wk), Alasdair Evans, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Tom Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal

Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman