A galaxy of top ODI performers from the Associate and Affiliate cricket world will assemble in the Netherlands next month after they are named in their respective squads for the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 which will be staged from 1 to 10 July.
A total of 18 matches will be played in the 50-over-a-side tournament which will feature Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Canada, Scotland and the only Affiliate Afghanistan. All the games will carry ODI status and will be played at VRA Amsterdam, VOC Rotterdam and VCC Voorburg - all three being ICC-accredited ODI venues.
Ireland will defend the title it won in South Africa last year which also incorporated ICC World Cricket League Division 2 sides and served as the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (formerly the ICC Trophy). Ireland defeated Canada by nine wickets in the final after outstanding performances by Trent Johnson (5-14) and captain William Porterfield (104 not out).
While Porterfield, along with Boyd Rankin and Niall O'Brien have been left out because of their county commitments, Johnston has been reappointed Ireland captain. Johnston was also the captain of the Irish side which played exceedingly well in the inaugural tournament in Nairobi in 2007 but just couldn't convert good performances into match-winning performances.
Johnston is amongst a group of eight players who will be out to defend the title and retain their country's status as the top Associate side. Other survivors from the South Africa tour include Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Andrew White, Gary Wilson and Andre Poynter.
The seven new faces in the Irish squad are 17-year-old left-arm spinner George Dockrell, 28-year-old left-arm pacer Phil Eaglestone, 28-year-old all-rounder Nigel Jones, 19-year-old opener Paul Stirling, uncapped Albert van der Merwe, upcapped 20-year-old Sussex fast bowler Craig Young and Rory McCann. They have replaced Peter Connell, Kyle McCallan, Eoin Morgan, Regan West, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin and Niall O'Brien.
The feature of the Kenya side, which won the inaugural tournament in Nairobi in 2007, is the inclusion of three brothers - Nehemiah Odhiambo, James Ngoche and an uncapped Shem Ngoche. Interstingly, a fourth brother, Lameck Onyango, also represented Kenya in 27 ODIs, five T20Is and 23 first-class matches between March 1996 and February 2010.
Besides Odhiambo, Kenya has included eight other members from the side that lost to the Netherlands by six wickets in the third-fourth position play-off last year. Those who will be returning to Amsterdam with the aim of regaining the lost title include captain Maurice Ouma, Hiren Varaiya, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Alex Obanda, Rakep Patel and Elijah Otieno.
The players taking over from Steve Tikolo, Peter Ongondo, Kennedy Obuya, Seren Waters, Rajesh Bhudiya and Lameck Ngoche are Dominic Wesonge, Alfred Luseno, James Ngoche, Nelson Odhiambo and Francis Ndege.
Luseno, 28, is a medium-fast bowler who has played eight ODIs since making his debut seven years ago, 21-year-old fast bowler Odhiambo has played two ODIs since starting his career against the Netherlands in Kenya in February and 31-year-old all-rounder Wesonge has yet to make his international debut.
Host the Netherlands will be without Jeroen Smits, Daan van Bunge, Edgar Schiferli, Ruud Nijman and Darron Reekers from the side which retained its third position in South Africa. They have been replaced by 24-year fast bowler Mark Jonkman, twin brother of Maurits, 28-year-old wicketkeeper Atse Buurman, and 35-year-old right-handed batsman Nicolas Statham.
Ryan ten Doeschate, the Essex all-rounder, has also been named in the squad while others who were part of the campaign in South Africa include Peter Borren, who is now the captain of the side, Mudassar Bukhari, Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif, Alexei Kervezee, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski and Bas Zuiderent.
Afghanistan is the least experienced of the participating sides. It entered the tournament in South Africa as a Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 2 side and by virtue of finishing fifth, it earned first-class and ODI status until 2013 at least. The tournament in South Africa also turned out to be its take-off point as it played in the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in the Caribbean after winning the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year and currently leads the points table in the four-day first-class ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10.
Afghanistan has retained 11 members from that hugely successful campaign in South Africa 15 months ago and the only newcomers are Mirwais Ashraf, Shabir Ahmad Noori, Aftab Alam and Mohammad Jawed Ahmadi. Mirwasi Ashraf and Shabir Ahmad Noori played in the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in the West Indies while Aftab Alam and Jawed Ahmadi were members of the Afganistan side that participated in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.
Those who will be playing in their second ICC World Cricket League Div.1 are Nowroz Khan Mangal, Mohammad Nabi Esakhil, Karim Khan Sadiq, Mohammad Shahzad, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shenwari, Noor Ali Noori, Asghar Stanikzai, Shahpoor Zadran, Khalid Dad Noori and Dawlat Ahmadzai.
Scotland has retained just Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq and Neil McCallum from the previous event at which it finished sixth while Canada has selected three players who were members of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010 side (Parth Desai, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada and Hiral Patel) besides retaining Ashish Bagai (captain), Khurram Chohan, Umar Bhatti and Sandeep Jyoti.
Squads:
Afghanistan: Nowroz Khan Mangal (captain), Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, Karim Khan Sadiq, Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammad Shahzad Mohammadi, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shenwari, Noor Ali Noori, Asghar Stanikzai, Shahpoor Zadran, Shabir Ahmad Noori, Aftab Alam, Khalid Dad Noori, Dawlat Ahmadzai, Mohammad Jawed Ahmadi.
Canada: Ashish Bagai (captain), Trevin Bastiampillai, Rizwan Cheema, Usman Limbada, Nitish Kumar, Sunil Dhaniram, Khurram Chohan, Umar Bhatti, Parth Desai, Zubin Surkari, Calvert Hooper, Sandeep Jyoti, Hiral Patel, Jeremy Gordon, Amarbir Hansra.
Ireland: Trent Johnston (captain), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Phil Eaglestone, Nigel Jones, Rory McCann, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.
Kenya: Maurice Ouma (captain), James Kamande, Collins Obuya, Dominic Wesonga, Alex Obanda, Elijah Otieno, Hiren Varaiya, Rakep Patel, Alfred Luseno, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Thomas Odoyo, James Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Nelsen Odhiambo, Francis Ndege.
Scotland: Gordon Drummond (captain), Richie Berrington, Ewan Chalmers, Josh Davey, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Omer Hussain, Neil Laidlaw, Douglas Lockhart, Ross Lyons, Neil McCallum, Gregor Maiden, Preston Mommsen, Matthew Parker, Fraser Watts.
The Netherlands: Peter Borren (captain), Tom de Grooth, Mark Jonkman, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Maurits Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif, Alex Kervezee, Bradley Kruger, Nicolas Statham, Bas Zuiderent.