Afghanistan and Ireland take on each other ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers

The newly promoted Test playing nations Afghanistan and Ireland will take on each other ahead of the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2018 in a three-match ODI series in Sharjah. The series is set to begin on Tuesday, 5th of December with the tenth ranked Afghanistan and 12th rank Ireland taking on each other for glory.

Both the sides will feature once again in the World Cup qualifiers, alongside the hosts Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Windies. Hong Kong, Scotland and Kenya will take on each other for the remaining two places from the ICC World Cricket League Championship, which will be confirmed by 8 December when these sides will take on each other.

Ten teams to fight for a place in the World Cup

The ten teams which will qualify for the qualifiers will be competed in Namibia in the month of February next year. The finalists of the competition will edge closer to taking their place in the World Cup pool, which is ICC’s pinnacle for the 50-over competition.

For these two sides, the 3-match series would be an eye-opener for the qualifiers. They would try to use and play different combinations before the qualifiers begin. For Ireland though, this series would be the last one they play before they face the tough test from the other qualified nations.

Afghanistan will have another series before the qualifiers

In contrast, Afghanistan will play Zimbabwe in a five-ODI series from 9-19 February in Sharjah in what will be their last series before the qualifiers. Apart from aiming to qualify, the players from both these sides would be looking to improve their rankings, with Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan being well placed in the bowling rank.

In the batting department, however, it is Ireland’s Paul Stirling who is the highest placed player in the ODI rankings between these two sides at 35th place. The opener would be looking to convert the two figures into three figures when he faces a similar test in the shape of Afghanistan.

The series is set to start on the 5th of December at Sharjah before they face each other again on the 7th. The concluding game of the series will be played on the 10th of the same month.