Afghanistan | Afghanistan have been one of the leading Associate nations for quite some time, and will enter this tournament with high hopes of progressing to the World Twenty20 almost unchallenged. They possess batting and bowling firepower that is completely unmatched at this level, most notably in their bowling attack, which at its best consists of Hamid Hassan, Dawlat and Shapoor Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari. Given that they can accommodate such bowlers and still bat all the way down to number eight, it seems unlikely that they will do anything other than top Group B. Squad: Asghar Stanikzai (c), Javed Ahmadi, Aftab Alam, Mirwais Ashraf, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Hamid Hassan, Nawroz Mangal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbodin Naib, Mohammad Shahzad, Samiullah Shenwari, Shafiqullah Shenwari, Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Shapoor Zadran |
Canada | If Canadian cricket were a business, it would probably be going through a "periodic downsizing", but it is not. It was a serious sporting organisation, is a veteran of four World Cups, and is teetering on the edge of terminal decline. Despite good reports regarding participation at the grass-roots level, strong results from their national team have not followed. Since their admirable display in the 2011 World Cup, they have lost ODI status, dropped out of the WCL Championship, and been relegated out of the top twenty teams in the world. They need to put in a strong performance in Group B in order to arrest the downward spiral in which they risk being trapped. This is not a Canadian squad which is short on talent, but it has been some time since they have done justice to it. Squad: Rizwan Cheema (c), Saad Bin Zafar, Khurram Chohan, Navneet Dhaliwal, Satsimranjit Dhindsa, Nikhil Dutta, Jeremy Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Jimmy Hansra, Shaheed Keshvani, Nitish Kumar, Cecil Pervez, Junaid Siddiqui, Hamza Tariq, Srimantha Wijeratne |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong cricket has undergone something of a transformation in recent years, gaining ODI and T20 International status, and defeating a Full Member nation in their first global tournament. For the first time, Hong Kong cricket is beyond the novelty of the Sixes tournament. In the likes of Jamie Atkinson and Irfan Ahmed, Nizakat Khan and Tanwir Afzal, Haseeb Amjad and Nadeem Ahmed, Hong Kong has a core of players which could be competitive against the best, although most of the players around them remain rather young and unproven. This is a team which has yet to reach its peak, but which is achieving impressive results in which young prospects are able to share. Even if they do not reprise their starring role in this tournament, the future is bright. Squad: Tanwir Afzal (c), Irfan Ahmed, Nadeem Ahmed, Haseeb Amjad, Jamie Atkinson, Waqas Barkat, Mark Chapman, Babar Hayat, Aizaz Khan, Anas Khan, Nizakat Khan, Waqas Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Anshuman Rath, Kinchit Shah |
Ireland | In the lead-up to this tournament, it is likely that much will be made of Ireland's recent 2-0 series loss to Scotland in Bready. While it is true that Ireland are not invincible, to focus too much on that result would be to ignore the absence of the vast majority of Ireland's key players. With the return of their county players, Ireland are once again the favourites for this tournament, but the retirements of Ed Joyce and Tim Murtagh from this format will be keenly felt. It will fall to in-form younger players such as Andy Balbirnie and Tyrone Kane to fill the void they have left. On home soil, they should be looking to bank the automatic qualifiers' spot at the top of Group A, but it will not be presented to them on a silver platter. Squad: William Porterfield (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Tyrone Kane, Andy McBrine, Graeme McCarter, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Stuart Poynter, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson, Craig Young |
Jersey | The real unknown in this tournament is Jersey. They have deposed Denmark and Italy, the latter of which has performed consistently well in Twenty20 cricket, to take the sole place at this tournament which was offered to aspiring European nations. To progress this far with such a small population, and to do so in spite of the ICC's reduction of opportunities, is admirable, but Jersey will not want to simply make up the numbers. In CJ Bodenstein, Ben Stevens and Nat Watkins, this Jersey team has a core of strong all-round talent that has the ability to spring a surprise on some of the more established cricketing nations. Squad: Peter Gough (c), Corey Bisson, Dominic Blampied, CJ Bodenstein, Paul Connolly, Edward Farley, Anthony Hawkins-Kay, Jonty Jenner, Ben Kynman, Tom Minty, Charles Perchard, Rhys Palmer, Callum Rabet, Ben Stevens, Nat Watkins |
Kenya | Much like Jimmy Kamande in the picture to the left, Kenya's cricket team has spent much of its recent past falling short of finishing lines, playing to a disappointing standard and generally making a nuisance of itself. Despite mediocre performances in both tournaments, they ensured the demise of Netherlands and Canada in the World Cup Qualifier and WCL Division Two respectively with shock victories. However, the fact that these were victories were so surprising is a sad indictment of the standard of cricket being played in a country that was once touted for Test status. They will not progress. Squad: Rakep Patel (c), Emmanuel Bundi, Irfan Karim, Karan Kaul, James Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Collins Obuya, Eugene Ochieng, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Nelson Odhiambo, Eijah Otieno, Lucas Oluoch, Morris Ouma, Narendra Patel, Gurdeep Singh |
Namibia | Consistently unfancied, constantly challenging but rarely quite good enough, Namibia's youthful squad has a lot of talent and potential but little pedigree. Much will fall on the shoulders of Gerrie Snyman, Craig Williams and Ray van Schoor if the African side is to make it out of the tricky Group A, while the likes of JP Kotze, JJ Smit and Tiaan Snyman will all be looking to make names for themselves. On paper, this is not a strong Namibian team, but stranger things have happened than a strong Namibian challenge. This tournament is wide open for sides like this to make a mark. Squad: Nicolaas Scholtz (c), Stephan Baard, Sarel Burger, Stoffel Coombe, Jason Davidson, Gerhard Erasmus, Zhivago Groenewald, Louis Klazinga, JP Kotze, Bernard Scholtz, JJ Smit, Gerrie Snyman, Tiaan Snyman, Ray van Schoor, Craig Williams |
Nepal | With a team that manages to be youthful, settled and exuberant, Nepal has developed a cult following both within and outside their borders. Their efforts to qualify for the World Twenty20 will carry all the more significance in the aftermath of the earthquake that so devastated the country. With bowling stocks that include Sompal Kami, Jitendra Mukhiya, Basanta Regmi and Shakti Gauchan, they should be able to blow away many of the teams they face, but many of their batsmen have never been properly tested on green wickets. They should have the firepower to progress through Group A, but the playoffs may be touch-and-go. Squad: Paras Khadka, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Shakti Gauchan, Sompal Kami, Subash Khakurel, Karan Khatri Chhetri, Siddhant Lohani, Gyanendra Malla, Anil Mandal, Jitendra Mukhiya, Rajesh Pulami, Sagar Pun, Basanta Regmi, Sharad Vesawkar |
Netherlands | After their highly impressive performance in Bangladesh in the World Twenty20, all eyes will be on the Dutch to see how well they can perform. With a largely familiar squad, sans some of the more exotic imports who played in that World Twenty20 tournament, and extensive experience of Scottish conditions through the North Sea Pro Series, they must be amongst the favourites for Group B. All the same, the batting looks a little bit suspect, especially if any of Barresi, Borren or Myburgh fails to deliver. Squad: Peter Borren (c), Rahil Ahmed, Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Ben Cooper, Ahsan Malik Jamil, Vivian Kingma, Stephan Myburgh, Max O'Dowd, Michael Rippon, Peter Seelaar, Michael Swart, Timm van der Gugten, Paul van Meekeren, Thijs van Schelven |
Oman | While opportunities in Africa, Europe and The Americas are being pared back, Oman has benefited from being the fifth Asian Associate to qualify for the tournament. Having only been granted Associate membership in 2014, they are something of an unknown quantity, although it seems likely that much will depend upon the talented and often helmet-shunning Jatinder Singh who hit a brace of impressive fifties the last time Oman played this level of cricket; runs may also come from Zeeshan Maqsood, who was once run out for 199 on his international debut. Wickets may be harder to come by, as the bowling attack has a reputation for being staid and medium-paced. Squad: Sultan Ahmed (c), Aamer Ali, Khawar Ali, Munis Ansari, Aamir Kaleem, Mehran Khan, Rajeshkumar Ranpura, Ajay Lalcheta, Yousuf Mahmood, Zeeshan Maqsood, Sufyan Mehmood, Mohammad Nadeem, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Jatinder Singh, Vaibhav Wategaonkar |
Papua New Guinea | An exciting and talented side, this will be Papua New Guinea's first World Qualifier without the experienced Geraint Jones in their midst. As the focus moves inexorably towards young players developed at home and refined in Australian grade cricket, the PNG squad is flooded with players who have graduated from the youth system. Of course, the most exciting of them has to be Lega Siaka. In his eleven List A matches, he has three hundreds and a career strike rate of better than a run a ball. When coupled with his excellence in the field, he should provide an inspirational counterpoint to Assad Vala's calm assurance. Squad: Jack Vare (c), Charles Amini, Sese Bau, Mahuru Dai, Willie Gavera, Vani Morea, Loa Nou, Kila Pala, Pipi Raho, John Reva, Lega Siaka, Chad Soper, Tony Ura, Assad Vala, Norman Vanua |
Scotland | Blessed with possibly the biggest hitter in the tournament in the form of Michael Leask, Scotland will be hoping to right the wrongs of the last Qualifier and progress to their third World Twenty20. Of course, they showed during the World Cup that they are far from a one-man team, with a pleasant balance of batting and bowling, of youth and experience. There have been some puzzling stories coming from the Scottish camp recently, with first Majid Haq and then Kyle Coetzer being excluded from the squad for rather niche reasons: Haq pulled out the race card, while Coetzer appears to have been involved in a three-way breakdown in communications in which his county and country each expected him to be playing for the other. He is back now, at the expense of Freddie Coleman, but Haq's Scotland career may have come to an end. Squad: Preston Mommsen (c), Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Matt Cross, Josh Davey, Con de Lange, Alasdair Evans, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt |
United Arab Emirates | The only Associate to have been outclassed when they arrived in Bangladesh, the UAE team is a throwback: an assortment of amateurs, led by a 43-year-old bank manager, their achievements are most impressive. All the same, the staging of Full Member series in the UAE to which the hosts are not invited, and the continued investment of Emirates into cricket - but not their own national team - mean that most Emirati players lack significant top-tier experience. Their devotion to cricket is unquestionable, but their day jobs deny them the time that other teams have to develop things like their fielding. Squad: Mohammad Tauqir (c), Fayyaz Ahmed, Amjad Ali, Saqib Ali, Umar Ali, Shaiman Anwar, Faizan Asif, Nasir Aziz, Manjula Guruge, Amjad Javed, Mohammad Naveed, Swapnil Patil, Ahmed Raza, Mohammad Shahzad, Abdul Shakoor |
United States | Although his initials sound more like a battery than a cricketer Alex Adrian Anthony Amsterdam is just one of a collection of new faces that hope to take the United States back to the global stage. For a while, it looked as if they might be able to spring a surprise in Group A, but the departure of Steven Taylor to play in the Caribbean Premier League and a typical USACA failure to organise any adequate of pre-Qualifier training have punched a big hole through their prospects. Ironically, Taylor's Barbados Tridents connection has secured pre-tournament training for some of the squad, but team spirit will not have been helped by other members of the squad finding out about this training via photos on Facebook. A typically poor show all-round. Squad: Muhammad Ghous (c), Alex Amsterdam, Fahad Babar, Adil Bhatti, Akeem Dodson, Karan Ganesh, Naseer Jamali, Japen Patel, Mrunal Patel, Timil Patel, Hammad Shahid, Jasdeep Singh, Nicholas Standford, Shiva Vashishat |
My predicted qualifiers: