Dec.4 (CRICKETNMORE) - Afghanistan and Ireland will have one eye on the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 when they go head to head in a three-match ODI series starting in Sharjah on Tuesday, 5 December.
Tenth-ranked Afghanistan and 12th-ranked Ireland will both feature in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018, a 10-team event from which two teams will join Australia, Bangladesh, hosts England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to be staged in the United Kingdom.
The ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 will be played in Zimbabwe from 2 to 25 March, and apart from these two sides and hosts Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Windies have already secured positions. Hong Kong, Scotland and Kenya are battling out for the two remaining places from the ICC World Cricket League Championship, which will be confirmed by 8 December.
The 10-team line-up for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 will be completed in Namibia in February 2018 when the finalists of the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 will take a step forward in cherishing their dreams of playing in the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over competitions.
For Afghanistan and Ireland, the three-match ODI series will serve as an opportunity to prepare and try various playing combinations before the Zimbabwe challenge. For Ireland, this series will be far more important as according to the existing Future Tours Programme, this is its only ODI series before the qualifiers.
In contrast, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe will give a final touch-up to their preparations when they will take on each other in a five-ODI series from 9-19 February in Sharjah.
ICC Media Release