Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland seek finishing touches

Three of the four Associate qualifiers for this year's World Cup descend on Dubai on Thursday for some much needed fixtures ahead of the main event. Afghanistan, Ireland and Scotland would probably prefer to get some pre-World Cup opportunities against Full Member opposition instead of playing amongst themselves. Yet, they can be grateful for the fact that they now have a bit of a leg up on preparation over Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, both of whom are starved of ODIs from December 1 through the start of the World Cup.

Each team arrives in Dubai with their World Cup 15 already chosen, so the main objective of the tri-series for the three Associates will be to establish their best eleven by the time they leave the UAE, so that they land in Australia and New Zealand next month ready to stir the pot with as many upsets as possible. Here's a look at each team's approach for the double round-robin series, which begins with Scotland taking on Afghanistan at the ICC Global Cricket Academy on January 8.

Afghanistan
The de facto hosts won four of eight contests on their pre-World Cup tour to Australia and New Zealand in September and October, but had their confidence dented by a humbling 3-1 ODI series defeat in November at the hands of fellow World Cup qualifiers UAE. Former captain Nawroz Mangal has been superb since moving to the top of the order but his opening partner is yet to be confirmed. Both Javed Ahmadi and Usman Ghani will be eager to present their respective cases to join Mangal.

The team management will be keeping its fingers crossed that fast bowler Hamid Hassan can make it through the series injury-free. Hassan took 5 for 45 against UAE on December 4, in only his second match back since pulling up lame in Afghanistan's Asia Cup win over Bangladesh in March.

Afghanistan's chances of excelling in both the tri-series and the World Cup will be greatly enhanced if Hassan remains on the field instead of in the physio's room. New bowling coach Andy Pick will be licking his lips at the chance to work with Hassan and the rest of Afghanistan's pace troupe, including Shapoor and Dawlat Zadran.

Squad: Mohammad Nabi (capt), Javed Ahmadi, Aftab Alam, Mirwais Ashraf, Izatullah Dawlatzai, Usman Ghani, Hamid Hassan, Nasir Jamal, Nawroz Mangal, Gulbadin Naib, Hasmatullah Shaidi, Samiullah Shenwari, Asghar Stanikzai, Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Afsar Zazai (wk)

Ireland
The darlings of the last two World Cups had a hit and miss autumn tour of Australia and New Zealand. The team suffered collectively due to the absence of Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce and Tim Murtagh, and it showed in the results.

A silver lining on the batting side was that the absence of Stirling and Joyce offered an opportunity for Andy Balbirnie to seize an opportunity to force his way into the World Cup squad. The former Ireland Under-19 captain made three fifties in his last four matches on tour then followed it up a month later with a century against New Zealand A in Dubai. The challenge now for Balbirnie is to force his way into the starting eleven, now that the first-choice players have returned.

On the bowling side, youngsters Craig Young and Peter Chase started off their acclimatisation tour down under with promise, but ended it with mental scars at the hands of opening onslaughts from Ronnie Hira and Jesse Ryder. Young claimed a five-for on ODI debut in September against Scotland and will be happy to see them again in an effort to rediscover the form he had at the end of the northern summer. The return of Murtagh should also ease pressure off the younger parts of the pace unit.

Squad: William Porterfield (capt), Andy Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andy McBrine, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wk), Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

Scotland
Despite coming away with just two wins on their September tour down under, Scotland turned in some encouraging performances including a nail-biting one-run loss to a virtually World Cup strength New Zealand XI. Scotland's improved depth over the past year was evident in the fact that they nearly chased down New Zealand XI's 263 despite Kyle Coetzer and Preston Mommsen scoring no runs on the day.

Aside from that blip, the decision to switch the captaincy from Coetzer to Mommsen has continued to have a positive impact for both players. However, Scotland needs more incisive contributions from their fast bowlers.

The last time a Scotland pacer took four or more wickets in an innings in an ODI was Iain Wardlaw's 4 for 43 against Kenya in June 2013. They will struggle to beat their fellow Associates, let alone Full Members, unless big hauls are taken on a more regular basis.

Squad: Preston Mommsen (capt), Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Freddie Coleman, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw