Netherlands and Scotland aim high in World Cup Qualifier

Feb.20 (CRICKETNMORE) - The Netherlands and Scotland will be aiming to carry their form from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and upset some apple-carts in Zimbabwe as they aim to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. The

Captain Peter Borren echoed his coach’s views and felt the practice matches would be enough to prepare them for a tough opening match against Ireland on 4 March.

“We’ve got a great group which has worked hard. There is a pretty positive vibe in the group and I see no reason why we can’t do well. We’ve practiced hard and will hit the ground running. It’s pretty obvious that the first match against Ireland is going to be massive.

“We’ve played a few warm-up games and are looking confident at the moment. Every game is crucial. You have to put in consistent performances, every team is really competitive. With only two teams qualifying, it is difficult. All the teams are under pressure.”

The Scotland team members have been tuning up likewise with left-hander George Munsey extolling the benefits of their preparatory tours.

“We have put in a lot of hard work, a tour to Dubai and obviously going to Pretoria in South Africa as a warm up. We are going to put in a lot of hard work to get us ready for the event. It will be a great feeling to get across the line and come in the top two,” said the 24-year-old.

Safyaan Sharif, who played eight matches in the 2014 qualifier and took 14 wickets with his fast bowling, is excited ahead of the Zimbabwe event in which they play Afghanistan in their tournament opener.

“First of all, it is great to be in the qualifiers and I am lucky enough to be in the squad as well. We have been doing a lot of things differently in our training sessions to prepare for the World Cup Qualifier, pushing our limits and doing things we have never done before.

“I was lucky enough to be part of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand. It was a great experience for me and for the rest of the boys. If we were to qualify for (England and Wales 2019) it would be a good achievement for Scotland and an awesome experience,” said the 26-year-old.

Squads:

THE NETHERLANDS (total ODI caps – 180): Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Ben Cooper, Scott Edwards, Vivian Kingma, Frederick Klaassen, Bas de Leede, Maxwell O'Dowd, Pieter Seelaar, Shane Snater, Ryan ten Doeschate, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren and Sikander Zulfiqar. Ryan Campbell (coach)

SCOTLAND (total ODI caps – 333): Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Ali Evans, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Tom Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal and Stuart Whittingham. Grant Bradburn (coach)

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ICC Media Release