Scotland set for tri-series against Ireland and UAE ahead of World Cup qualifiers

Scotland will warm up for the World Cup qualifiers with a trip to Dubai to face Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. The Scots will face both teams twice in ODIs in a three-nation tournament next month ahead of the World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in March.

Scotland kick off their series against Ireland on January 16 and bring it to a close against the UAE on January 23. Scotland will be in contention for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers with the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong along with West Indies, Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe, according to the rankings before the deadline of September 30, 2017.

Coach Grant Bradburn’s squad sealed their place in the World Cup qualifiers by finishing second in the ICC World Cricket League earlier in December. Kyle Coetzer will be leading the side after a record-breaking year with the bat while Durham Academy player Michael Jones and Northamptonshire’s Tom Sole have been handed first call-ups. Seamer Scott Cameron has also been called up after featuring for Scotland against the MCC in the summer, as reported by The Courier.

On the choice of players during selection, Bradburn said: “Michael Jones, Tom Sole and Scott Cameron will add freshness and youth to the squad. It is excellent to be including new young players who all have outstanding skills to offer and have earned their opportunities through consistent performances in 2017.

“During this coming series, we will be developing our ability to win, with a variety of line-ups, where we will challenge some players to take on subtly different roles.

“In associate cricket we get very few opportunities to provide players game time in a variety of positions – simply because every series has so much on it and we get precious little match time leading in. This Dubai series is no different in terms of importance, but we have full confidence in our players to take on different roles,” he stated.

Scotland squad: Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richie Berrington, Scott Cameron, Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Tom Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Stuart Whittingham.

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