Squads announced for third round of Pepsi ICC WCL Championship and ICC Intercontinental Cup
Afghanistan, Canada, Namibia and Netherlands turn their attention to ICC CWC 2015 qualification and four-day competition
Four of the 16 teams that recently competed in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 will now turn their attention in the coming weeks from the shortest version to the longer formats of the game with the upcoming third round fixtures of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship (WCL) and the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
Afghanistan is hosting the Netherlands at Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates for its ODIs on Thursday, 29 March and Saturday, 31 March, as part of the WCL Championship. The two sides then lock horns in their Intercontinental Cup fixture from Monday 2 April.
Meanwhile, Windhoek will play host to the Namibia-Canada match in the ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture from 5 to 8 April, while the Pepsi ICC WCL Championship matches are scheduled for 10 and 12 April, respectively.
The current Pepsi ICC WCL Championship table is topped by ICC WT20Q UAE 2012 champions Ireland, who despite being on equal points with the UAE, has managed to edge into the top spot currently due a superior net run-rate in the competition.
Afghanistan will be hoping to improve on its current ranking of sixth in the table, and a couple of wins against Netherlands (currently fourth) could do the side no harm. However, should Peter Borren's side win both its fixtures against Afghanistan, then the men in orange could potentially usurp third-placed Scotland.
Meanwhile, the clash between Namibia and Canada is a bottom of the table fight, with Namibia in seventh and Canada in eighth positions. Neither side has a victory in the competition to date but next month's fixture provides one or even both a chance to get some points on the board, depending on how the series pans out.
The Pepsi ICC WCL Championship, together with the ongoing global divisions of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL), is an extremely important event on the calendar of ICC Development Programme as it provides a dual pathway for all Associate and Affiliate Members to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to be staged in Australia and New Zealand.
The top two teams from the WCL Championship will automatically join ICC's 10 Full Members in the ICC CWC 2015, while the bottom six teams in the WCL Championship will receive a second qualifying opportunity when they will lock horns for the remaining two places in the ICC CWC 2015 by competing in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (CWCQ) in early 2014.
Pepsi ICC WCL Championship squads
Afghanistan (from) - Nowroz Mangal (captain), Mohammed Nabi, Asghar Stanikzai, Shehzad Mohammedi, Javid Ahmadi, Samiullah Shinwari, Karim Sadiq, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Dollat Zadran, Izzatullah Dawlatzai, Shabir Noori, Zakiullah Zaki, Aftab Alam
The Netherlands(from) - Peter Borren (captain), Mudassar Bukhari, Tom Cooper, Tom de Grooth, Tim Gruijters, Timm van der Gugten, Tom Heggelman, Alexei Kervezee, Ahsan Jamil Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Swarczynski, Michael Swart
Namibia (from) - Sarel Burger (captain), Ewald Steenkamp, Craig Williams, Gerrie Snyman, Raymond van Schoor, Merwe Erasmus, Nicolaas Scholtz, Christi Viljoen, Bernard Scholtz, Louis Klazinga, Ian Opperman, Helao Ya France, Wian van Vuuren, Johannes Smit
Canada (from) - Rizwan Cheema (captain), Jimmy Hansra, Rustam Bhatti, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Hiral Patel, Nitish Kumar, Harvir Baidwan, Manninder Aulakh, Henry Osinde, Raza Rehman, Usman Limbada, Junaid Siddiqui, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Durand Sorraine
ICC Intercontinental Cup squads
Afghanistan (from) - Nowroz Mangal (captain), Mohammed Nabi, Asghar Stanikzai, Shehzad Mohammedi, Javid Ahmadi, Samiullah Shinwari, Mirwais Ashraf, Dollat Zadran, Izzatullah Dawlatzai, Shabir Noori, Zakiullah Zaki, Aftab Alam, Afsar Zazai, Hashmatullah Shahidi
The Netherlands (from) - Peter Borren (captain), Mudassar Bukhari, Tom Cooper, Tom de Grooth, Tim Gruijters, Timm van der Gugten, Tom Heggelman, Alexei Kervezee, Ahsan Jamil Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Swarczynski, Michael Swart
Namibia (from) - Sarel Burger (captain), Ewald Steenkamp, Craig Williams, Gerrie Snyman, Raymond van Schoor, Merwe Erasmus, Nicolaas Scholtz, Christi Viljoen, Bernard Scholtz, Louis Klazinga, Ian Opperman, Helao Ya France, Wian van Vuuren, Johannes Smit
Canada(from) - Rizwan Cheema (captain), Jimmy Hansra, Rustam Bhatti, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Hiral Patel, Nitish Kumar, Harvir Baidwan, Manninder Aulakh, Henry Osinde, Raza Rehman, Usman Limbada, Zahid Hussain, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Durand Sorraine
Upcoming fixtures and match official appointments
Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship
29 Mar - first ODI, Afghanistan v Netherlands, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah (umpires: Chris Gaffaney and Buddhi Pradhan, match referee: David Jukes)
31 Mar - second ODI, Afghanistan v Netherlands, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah (umpires: Chris Gaffaney and Buddhi Pradhan, match referee: David Jukes)
10 Apr - first one-day match, Namibia v Canada, Wanderers, Windhoek (umpires: Owen Chirombe and Jeff Luck, match referee: Dev Govindjee)
12 Apr - second one-day match, Namibia v Canada, Wanderers, Windhoek (umpires: Owen Chirombe and Jeff Luck, match referee: Dev Govindjee)
ICC Intercontinental Cup
2-5 Apr - Afghanistan v Netherlands, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah (match officials: Chris Gaffaney and Buddhi Pradhan, match referee: Graeme La Brooy)
5-8 Apr - Namibia v Canada, Wanderers, Windhoek (umpires: Owen Chirombe and Jeff Luck, match referee: Dev Govindjee)
The points table of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship can be found by clicking here.
An up-to-date points table plus all the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2011-2013 results in the competition will be available here.