..Four Qualifiers set to Travel Australia & New Zealand to Prepare for 2015 world cup.. ..................................................................................................................... The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the four qualifying teams for the 2015 World Cup will travel to Australia and New Zealand in September 2014 to help prepare for the tournament. Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will play against local sides in Australia and New Zealand, and will also have access to coaches and former players of both countries. The tours are part of ICC’s High Performance Programme, which aims to shorten the gap in playing standards between associate nations and full member countries. UAE will be the first team to arrive in Australia and will play six one-day matches during their tour. Afghanistan, who will make their maiden appearance in the 50-over World Cup, will arrive next and play four matches each in Australia and New Zealand. Scotland and Ireland will arrive towards the end of September and are scheduled to play six and eight matches each. UAE will play two matches in Perth, where they land on September 7, which is also the venue for their match against India, the defending champions, on February 28. UAE made their only previous World Cup appearance in the 1996 edition. Afghanistan will also land in Perth, arriving a week after UAE, while Scotland will play two matches in Hobart, before heading to Christchurch for a further four matches. Scotland have taken part in two previous World Cups – in 1999 in England in 2007 in the West Indies. Ireland, who will be making their third successive appearance at the World Cup, will play four one-day games in Australia after landing in Queensland on September 23. They will then travel to New Zealand on 11 October and play four more one-day games in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch. Phil Simmons, the former West Indies batsman who is the Ireland coach, said the side couldn’t wait to play in the World Cup. “It’ll give us some much needed match practise in Antipodean conditions against a high standard of opposition,” he said. “We aim to be as well prepared as possible in order to claim more headline wins against Full Members, and this tour is an important aspect in that preparation.” Like Simmons, the captains and coaches of the other teams also welcomed the opportunity to tour, and stressed on how important it would be in familiarising themselves with the local conditions. “The pre-tournament tour will prove very useful,” said Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan’s captain. “Not only will we be able to familiarise ourselves with the conditions that we will face during the tournament, but we will also be able to seek guidance from former legends of the game and utilise world class facilities on offer in Australia and New Zealand.” Grant Bradbourne, the Scotland coach, expected his side to gain from the challenging opposition and conditions. “The pre-World Cup tour to Australia and New Zealand is a valuable chance for all the associate teams to keep building playing experiences against quality opposition on conditions that we are likely to be challenged with come February,” he said. “From a playing perspective we are expecting to be challenged with quality quick, swing bowling plus world class spin. These are two of the skill areas where the Scotland squad will be working hard to keep building our skills.” David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said helping emerging nations take a step up was a key part of the High Performance Programme. “Helping cricket’s top emerging nations to perform on the global stage is a key part of the ICC’s High Performance Programme, and these tours will provide a great opportunity for the four teams to gain valuable knowledge and experience of the conditions they will face during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.” The World Cup 2015 will be held in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 15:36:51 +0000