Plenty at stake for Associates in ODI Rankings table
Associate cricket will shift its focus to ODI action this week after the conclusion of ICC Intercontinental Cup matches between Scotland-Afghanistan and Ireland-Netherlands.
Ireland and the Netherlands will both hope to climb up the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Rankings table with wins in the two-ODI series beginning this Monday. After securing a comfortable victory by an innings and 84 runs in the I Cup game against the Dutch, Ireland will look forward to a 2-0 or 1-0 series victory, which will place it in 10th place in the table, rising above Full Member Zimbabwe. A series loss will drop it a spot below to 12th place.
The Netherlands, recent entrants into the ODI rankings table, will aim for a 10th spot finish with a series victory by any result, which will lift it over Ireland and Zimbabwe. A one-all drawn series will see both the sides retain their pre-series positions.
The Dutch squad will welcome the addition of Bas Zuiderent, Tom Cooper, Mudassar Bukhari and Brad Kruger. Coach Peter Drinnen Drinnen said on Cricket Europe: ?Our squad will offer skipper Peter Borren plenty of options with the ball, and our bowling has been improving steadily over recent games. We'll be looking for a complete performance, in batting, bowling and fielding - that's what we've struggled to put together consistently this season. We have the players to win, and in the end it will come down to approach and attitude. Finally, it's a matter of belief.?
After beating Scotland by 229 runs in the four-day game at Ayr, Afghanistan will be hoping to continue its success in the one-day version as well when it meets the hosts for two ODIs which begins on Monday. The side led by Nowroz Mangal, also includes medium pacer Hamid Hasan, who was instrumental in his team's victory on Saturday, picking up 11 wickets in the game.
On the other hand, the Scotland squad, led by Gordon Drummond, will aim to make the most of its opportunity on home ground after a disappointing loss in the I Cup game, relinquishing its top spot to Afghanistan in the ICC Intercontinental Cup table.
Fixtures:
Mon Aug 16
Ireland v Netherlands at Dublin, 1st ODI
Scotland v Afghanistan at Ayr, 1st ODI
Tue Aug 17
Scotland v Afghanistan at Ayr, 2nd ODI
Wed Aug 18
Ireland v Netherlands at Dublin, 2nd ODI
Squads:
Afghanistan: Nawroz Mangal (captian), Karim Sadeq, Mohammad Nabi Eisakhel, Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Asghar Salamkhail, Mohammad Shazad Mohammadi, Noor Ali Zadran, Shahpoor Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Khaliq dad Noori, Jawed Ahmadi, Abdullah Mazari, Noorulhaq Malakzai
Ireland: Trent Johnston, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Andrew Poynter, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.
Netherlands: Peter Borren (captain), Eric Szwarczynski, Tom Heggelman, Tom Cooper, Bas Zuiderent, Wesley Barresi (wk), Bradley Kruger, Mudassar Bukhari, Pieter Seelaar, Adeel Raja, Mark Jonkman, Maurits Jonkman, Bernard Loots
Scotland: Gordon Drummond (captain); Richie Berrington, Ewan Chalmers, Ryan Flannigan, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Ross Lyons, Dewald Nel, Matthew Parker, Qasim Sheikh, Simon Smith and Fraser Watts.