The World Cricket League Division One begins with three matches on the opening day. Afghanistan will face Canada in their first match, while Ireland play Kenya and the Netherlands meet Scotland.
Afghanistan will go into the tournament joint favourites with the usual dominant force in associate cricket, Ireland. Unlike most of the other teams, Afghanistan will have all their best players to chose from – Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands have injuries and people who are unavailable due to playing in the English domestic tournaments. And, to further boost the Afghans’ chances, Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi will play in the first match. There had be some doubt if they would arrive in time as they had to fly back to Kabul to collect their service passports which will allow them into the Netherlands.
All games will be played in three grounds in the Netherlands, and the matches are 50-over ones. The ICC will stream live all the games played at the VRA ground on their website. Afghanistan are scheduled to play against Kenya on 5 July on this ground.
Afghanistan fixtures:
Afghanistan v Canada at Voorburg
Jul 1, 2010 (11:00 local, 09:00 GMT)
Afghanistan v Ireland at Rotterdam
Jul 3, 2010 (11:00 local, 09:00 GMT)
Jul 5, 2010 (11:00 local, 09:00 GMT)
Jul 7, 2010 (11:00 local, 09:00 GMT)
Jul 9, 2010 (11:00 local, 09:00 GMT)
