Squads for Canada-Netherlands WCL Fixtures announced
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has today announced the squads for the first fixtures of the seventh and final round of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Championship and the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2011-2013.
Canada will host second-placed Netherlands on 27 and 29 August in two WCL Championship ODIs at King City, Toronto. The two sides will also face off in the four-day, first-class Intercontinental Cup fixture from 22-25 Augustat the same venue.
The top two sides from the WCL Championship will qualify automatically for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, while the bottom six teams will receive a second chance to progress at next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand, when they lock horns with Hong Kong, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Uganda for the final two spots.
Ireland has already won the WCL Championship to become the first Associate or Affiliate side to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and cannot be overtaken, irrespective of the results of the seventh round matches.
In a tight battle for second position, Netherlands currently holds the spot with 15 points, leading Scotland and Afghanistan on net run rate, with the UAE one point behind in fifth position. A 2-0 victory for Netherlands will strengthen its claim for the crucial second position on the ladder.
Pepsi ICC WCL Championship squads
Canada (from) – Ashish Bagai (captain), Harvir Baidwan, Damodar Daesrath, Jeremy Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Amarbir Hansra, Kenneth Kamyuka, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Salman Nazar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Raza Rehman and Junaid Siddiqui
Netherlands (from) – Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan Van Bunge, Ben Cooper, Tim Gruijters, Timm Van Der Gugten, Ahsan Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Michael Rippon, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Michael Swart and Eric Szwarczynski
Forthcoming Pepsi ICC WCL Championship matches
Canada v Netherlands
27 Aug – 1st ODI, King City, Toronto
29 Aug – 2nd ODI, King City, Toronto
Ireland v Scotland (to be streamed live atwww.icc-cricket.com)*
6 Sep – 1st ODI, Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland
8 Sep – 2nd ODI, Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland
UAE v Namibia (to be streamed live atwww.icc-cricket.com)*
27 Sep – 1st 50-over match, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
29 Sep – 2nd 50-over match, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Afghanistan v Kenya (to be streamed live atwww.icc-cricket.com)*
2 Oct – 1st ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
4 Oct – 2nd ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
*Squads and match officials for these fixtures will be announced in due course.
Pepsi ICC WCL Championship points table (after six rounds) ****
| Teams | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Points | Net Run Rate |
| Ireland* | 12 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 | +1.011 |
| Netherlands | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | +0.345 |
| Afghanistan | 12 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | +0.323 |
| Scotland | 12 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | +0.025 |
| UAE | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | -0.112 |
| Kenya | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.029 |
| Namibia | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.849 |
| Canada | 12 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -0.678 |
* Ireland has already sealed a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, regardless of how the seventh and final round matches of the competition pans out
ICC Intercontinental Cup squads
Canada (from) – Amarbir Hansra (captain), Ashish Bagai, Harvir Baidwan, Damodar Daesrath, Jeremy Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Salman Nazar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Cecil Pervez, Raza Rehman and Junaid Siddiqui
Netherlands (from) – Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan Van Bunge, Tim Gruijters, Tom Heggelman, Vivian Kingma, Ahsan Malik, Paul Van Meekeren, Stephan Myburgh, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar, Michael Swart and Eric Szwarczynski
Forthcoming ICC Intercontinental Cup matches
22-25 Aug - Canada v Netherlands, King City, Toronto
11-14 Sep – Ireland v Scotland, Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland*
22-25 Sep – UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah*
6-9 Oct – Afghanistan v Kenya, GCA 1, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City*
*Squads and match officials for these fixtures will be announced in due course.
ICC Intercontinental Cup points table (after six rounds): ****
| Teams | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | Aban | Points | Quotient |
| Ireland | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 96 | 1.830 |
| Afghanistan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 84 | 1.168 |
| Scotland | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 66 | 1.074 |
| Namibia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 1.047 |
| Kenya | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 0.749 |
| UAE | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0.836 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 0.800 |
| Canada | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 0.741 |
* Ireland has already qualified for the final of the Intercontinental Cup, regardless of the remaining seventh round match results