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Scott McTominay scored twice to lift Scotland past a lifeless Spain side at Hampden Park.

Errors from two full-backs marked a forgettable evening for a much-changed Spain team, as La Roja fell 2-0 to Scotland.

Pedro Porro made the first mistake, easily ceding the ball to an advancing Andy Robertson, who fed McTominay for a 1-0 Scotland lead inside 10 minutes.

La Roja did show some fight for the remainder of the first period, with Joselu rattling the bar and Porro forcing a diving stop out of Angus Gunn.

Then, a second error doomed the Spanish. Dani Carvajal was barged off the ball by a surging Kieran Tierney, whose angled cross deflected into the path of McTominay to hand the home side a 2-0 advantage — an unassailable deficit for Luis de la Fuente's side.

GOAL rates Spain's players from Hampden Park…

Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence

Kepa Arrizabalaga (5/10):

Couldn't really do anything about either goal. Almost allowed a rather harmless free kick to float in.

Pedro Porro (3/10):

Gave the ball away in the run up to Scotland's opener, seemed rattled by Robertson's gamesmanship. Subbed at half time.

David Garcia (5/10):

Lost track of his man on a couple of occasions. His poor clearance fell perfectly to McTominay for Scotland's second.

Inigo Martinez (6/10):

Progressed the ball well, good in the air. Probably Spain's only good performer on the night.

Jose Gaya (5/10):

Certainly didn't lack for legs, but his final ball was lacking.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield

Rodri (6/10):

Composed as ever on the ball, offered a much-needed calm in the middle of the pitch.

Mikel Merino (6/10):

Was up for the fight in central midfield, and moved the ball well. Could have done with some support in front of him, though.

Yeremi Pino (5/10):

Deployed first on the right, and didn't offer much. Then switched to the left, where he didn't offer much.

Dani Ceballos (5/10):

Scarcely given room to operate as a No. 10. Didn't create a single chance.

Mikel Oyarzabal (4/10):

Wasn't the expressive presence that Spain needed. Replaced by Nico Williams at half time.

Getty ImagesAttack

Joselu (5/10):

Caused problems with his height and physicality, putting two headers on target inside the first 25 minutes. The former Stoke striker was largely ineffective after, and removed after 66 minutes.

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Subs & Manager

Dani Carvajal (3/10):

Brought on at half time. Horribly slow in the run-up to Scotland's second. Legs looked gone.

Nico Williams (5/10):

Offered more of a threat in behind, ran at Robertson. Didn't provide the right pass, though.

Iago Aspas (4/10):

Fluffed his lines immediately after being introduced. Could have been sent off for a reckless elbow.

Borja Iglesias (4/10):

Brought on to relieve Joselu. Touched the ball four times in nearly 30 minutes of work.

Gavi (N/A):

Introduced in the 79th minute, which was about 79 minutes too late.

Luis de la Fuente (3/10):

Made eight changes from Saturday's win over Norway, and it cost him. His team were rattled by the home side, and never found a foothold in the game. He simply doesn't have the depth or quality of previous Spanish sides.

The reasons for wanting to leave may differ but some of the biggest names in the game will be desperate to engineer a move before the window closes

GettyNeymar (PSG)

Despite his record-breaking £198 million ($248m) transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017 to pursue a new challenge away from Barcelona, Neymar has never appeared truly happy in Ligue 1.

The Brazilian forward essentially moved to the Parc des Princes to win both the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or. He has achieved neither goal.

PSG have now conceded that their statement signing is for sale at the right price after Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu finally confirmed the 27-year-old is keen to leave his current club.

This transfer saga could run all summer along but one can be sure that Neymar and his entourage will be doing everything to secure a return to Camp Nou.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesPaul Pogba (Manchester United)

The Pogba circus is currently on a pre-season tour in Australia but the Manchester United midfielder has already admitted that he wants a new challenge and his agent, Mino Raiola, is already paving the way for his client's departure.

The 26-year-old is poised to either join fellow Frenchman Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid or return to Juventus after becoming disillusioned with life at Old Trafford.

When motivated, there is no doubt that Pogba is a world-class player, as underlined by his record of 16 goals and 11 assists from midfield in all competitions last season, but it looks as if he's determined to join a club capable of winning the Champions League.

OSCAR DEL POZOGareth Bale (Real Madrid)

There is no doubting Bale's ability to be a match-winner but he has fallen out of favour at Real Madrid, both with the club's fans and, even more importantly, coach Zinedine Zidane.

The Wales international, who turns 30 in the coming days, could clearly do with a change of scenery but his wages, reportedly £350,000 a week after tax, represent a major stumbling block for potential suitors.

Nonetheless, Bale has been linked with a move to Manchester United as part of a deal to bring Pogba to the Spanish capital, while former employers Tottenham are also believed to be interested.

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GettyMesut Ozil (Arsenal)

Ozil is a playmaker with extraordinary talent but the German just isn't the right fit for the kind of football Arsenal boss Unai Emery is trying to play at the Emirates.

At 30, the attacking midfielder is hardly going to change his ways now and would be better linking up with a coach willing to build a side around him.

However, there has, as of yet, been no interest in a player who is on a whopping £350,000 a week in north London.

After Madrid took the honours for a third straight year in Kiev, we look back at the best performers over the course of a gripping competition

AFPAlisson | RomaThe Brazilian was ever-present in Roma's thrilling run to the Champions League semi-finals, establishing himself as one of Europe's elite goalkeepers in the process. His inspirational performances led former Roma coach Roberto Negrisolo to compare him to both Dino Zoff and Lionel Messi, and also led to links with Liverpool.AdvertisementGetty ImagesDani Alves | Paris Saint-GermainWhile PSG might have fallen short once again in the Champions League, their veteran right-back gave his all in every single game. Alves chipped in with two goals from defence and generally caused havoc down the flank, although his talents were not enough to avoid last-16 defeat to Real Madrid.Getty ImagesNicolas Otamendi | Manchester CityOnly the dazzling Mohamed Salah found the key this season to dismantle Manchester City's defence, led by a rock-solid Otamendi. That quarter-final reverse was a rare blemish on what was a near-perfect season for the Argentine, who marshalled Pep Guardiola's backline throughout their record-breaking campaign.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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GettyMats Hummels | Bayern MunichHummels proved why Bayern were so keen to repatriate their former youth-team star with a stellar season after completing a move back from Borussia Dortmund.

Nick Browne made a half-century to go with 103 in the first innings as Essex staved off the threat of defeat after being made to follow on

Paul Edwards at Old Trafford09-Jul-2015
ScorecardArron Lilley took three second-innings wickets but could not induce another Essex collapse (file photo)•Getty ImagesA match in which the cricketers had frequently triumphed over the conditions ended early in mocking Mancunian sunshine. Bowled out for 203 in their first innings, Essex’s batsmen exhibited rather more backbone when asked to follow-on, although as Paul Horton pointed out in characteristically shrewd fashion, James Foster’s men were essentially being asked to bat out time on what was a second-day wicket.For while this game will be remembered for Steven Croft’s hundred and should be remembered for Toby Lester’s successful debut, it may also be recalled, perhaps with a slight shudder, for the 138.2 overs that were lost to the weather on the first three days.However, the showers should not detract from Nick Browne’s achievement in making 105 and 50 against Lancashire’s skilful bowling attack. Had it not been for Browne’s admirable obduracy and well-honed technique, Essex would have been dismissed for rather fewer than the mediocre 203 they managed in the first innings; had he not then made a half-century in 97 minutes second time around, Croft’s bowlers may have been given the oxygen of early success with no one knowing to what long-shadowed dramas that might have led.Browne was fortunate in that he found at least one other batsmen prepared to tough it out with him in Essex’s first innings, although there was little surprise that his companion in the Old Trafford trenches was that cold-eyed battler James Foster. The pair had added 79 in 29 overs when Foster was pinned on the crease by James Faulkner for a deceptively modest 14 half an hour after the start of Thursday’s play. Had the Essex captain been caught at slip by Croft off Faulkner for only 5 on Wednesday, Essex’s decline might have been yet more rapid.Even as it was, Faulkner bowled Greg Smith for 3, thus completing his personal five-wicket haul, before Lester had Graham Napier caught behind by Davies for 23. That was Lester’s third and last wicket at the end of a week he had expected to be spending with Lancashire’s second team at Headingley.And the cynics who maintain that there is no romance in this game should have seen the left-arm bowler’s wide-eyed wonderment after the match was over as he talked about the moment on Monday morning when he was told by Ashley Giles that he was in Lancashire’s XI to play Essex. Even his team-mates were touched by his delight when he uprooted Jaik Mickleburgh’s middle stump on Wednesday afternoon. “I’d be happy to bowl all day at Old Trafford” he said, when asked how difficult he had found the windy conditions.However, neither Lester nor the offspinner, Arron Lilley, could precipitate the sort of collapse that Lancashire needed in Essex’s second innings. Lilley removed Mickleburgh, caught at short leg by Croft for 37, and Browne, snared one-handed by Ashwell Prince at short cover off the leading edge for 50, in successive overs, but that was the summit of Lancashire’s achievement on this last day.The crowd whiled away the rest of the afternoon enjoying the warm sunshine on their backs as Lilley tried to make further breakthroughs under the gaze of the watching national selector James Whitaker. The spinner managed just one, when Ravi Bopara was neatly caught at short leg by Brown for 22. Matters were then left in the hands of Essex’s fourth-wicket pair, Liam Dawson and Jesse Ryder, who dealt capably with Croft’s attack during the final 18 overs of the game. Ryder’s self-denial was exemplified by his taking 30 balls to score his first run, which may be something of a personal worst. By then, though, nobody minded very much.

A round-up of all the news coming out of the IPL, on April 13, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2016Ashish Nehra will miss Sunrisers Hyderabad’s next two matches, against Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at home, due to a groin injury. Nehra picked up the knock during Sunrisers’ 45-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday, hobbling off the field after just 2.1 overs in the first innings.”Nehra has hurt his groin. He will be out for a couple of games,” David Warner, Sunrisers’ captain, said after the game. “We have to look back and look at positives and turn it around. We have a good batting track at Hyderabad. We should not lose wickets in clumps.”When you look at the outcome of the game, it really hurts when the bowler goes down. You have to reassess you plans and when two batsmen are going hard here, it’s very difficult to stop them. One bowler going down really hurts and you plans are thrown off the track.”Nehra was one of India’s standout performers at the recently-concluded World T20, picking up five wickets from five matches at an impressive economy-rate of 5.94.’I regret retiring’ – HoggChinaman bowler Brad Hogg has said he regrets having given up international cricket in 2008, just when it looked like he might have a good run in Test cricket given Shane Warne’s first-class career was at an end then. Hogg gave up ODIs and Tests in February 2008 soon after his 37th birthday due to issues on the personal front, before making a T20I comeback in early 2012 at 40.”I do regret retiring back in 2008. I had a Test berth for Australia at that stage but I had some personal issues with family and yes, I retired there,” Hogg was quoted as saying by PTI, on the eve of Kolkata Knight Riders’ game against Mumbai Indians. “I wish I didn’t, because the marriage did not survive. Luckily it did not, because I met a new partner and she’s someone who supports me. There’s talk about me when I’m going to stop and she just says play as long as you possibly can. We’re going to try get there to fifty.”Hogg said he still looks forward to playing every game, and that keeps him going at 45. “I think it’s just having the passion of wanting to play. Everyone knows I retired in 2008, had about two-three years out of the game. To have an opportunity [to do] what you love, I don’t take it for granted. I just love it, I still have the passion of a five-year-old kid, when I first had that dream of playing for Australia. The game has changed, it has evolved. It has given a new lease of life to cricket and it has given a new lease of life to me.”Kings XI co-owner keen to help out drought victims
Ness Wadia, one of the co-owners of Kings XI Punjab, has said he is willing to shift his franchise’s matches out of Maharashtra, given the drought issues in the state. He also said he was willing to help out those affected by the drought, if directed how to.”IPL is about enjoyment and fun. But where’s the fun when there’s death and malnutrition and basic facilities like water are unavailable? The IPL is important in its own way, but the matches can always be shifted,” Wadia told the . “If we’re told in whichever way we can contribute, we’re willing to participate. Whether it’s contributing to the chief minister’s fund or adopting villages in the region or anything else that would help us do something to help.”The case relating to holding IPL games – which require large amounts of water to maintain the grounds, etc – in the drought-hit Indian state is ongoing in the Bombay High Court, with the court yet to make a final ruling.

Mahmudullah will miss the entire series against India after fracturing his index finger on his left hand in training

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2015Bangladesh allrounder Mahmudullah will miss the solitary Test and three ODIs against India after sustaining a fracture on his left index finger during training. His availability for the T20s against South Africa is still unknown.Nasir Hossain has replaced Mahmudullah in Bangladesh’s Test squad. Nasir has played the last of his 16 Tests against West Indies in September 2014. He missed the three Tests against Zimbabwe and the two Tests against Pakistan.”Mahmudullah got hurt while training this morning,” Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said. “He was injured on his left index finger. X-rays have showed he has a fracture. He didn’t train thereafter. It takes about three to four weeks for this type of fracture to heal.”Mahmudullah’s fractured finger was strapped when he left the Shere Bangla National Stadium, to have his injury examined.

Kusal Perera and Asela Gunaratne’s 198-run sixth-wicket stand remained unbroken and revived Sri Lanka A’s innings on the third day of the first unofficial Test against Pakistan A

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Kusal Perera continued his good form with the bat in the longer format too•AFPKusal Perera’s outstanding limited-overs form continued into the four-dayers against Pakistan A, as he hit an unbeaten 119 from 140 balls to help rescue the hosts on a curtailed third day in Colombo. Sri Lanka had been 115 for 5 after Pakistan A hit 401, but Perera combined with Asela Gunaratne to put on an 198-run partnership that remained unbroken at stumps.Perera had had a mediocre domestic season, but has now revived his game ahead of a busy home season for the national side. His century in Colombo is his third triple-figure score in four innings, across formats. The other innings had brought him 87. He struck 16 fours and two sixes as he batted alongside the more sedate Gunaratne, who hit 64 not out from 138 balls. Sri Lanka A are now 88 runs short of Pakistan A’s score, but with only one day to play, a result seems unlikely.Mir Hamza and Zia-ul-Haq had dismissed the overnight pair of Kithuruwan Vithanage and Ashan Priyanjan between them, in the early overs of the day.

England are likely to stick with the same XI that took them to the final of the Carlton Mid tri-series when their World Cup campaign begins

George Dobell03-Feb-2015England are likely to stick with the same XI that took them to the final of the Carlton Mid tri-series when their World Cup campaign begins. They were beaten three times by Australia, their opponents on February 14, during the tournament but feel they showed enough improvement to suggest they could still pull-off a shock if they can just put all facets of a performance together at the same time.Certainly that was the view of the coach, Peter Moores, as he reflected on the first few weeks of a tour that has been, to date, quietly encouraging.While Moores accepted that aspects of England’s cricket – their batting in the final, the lack of yorkers from the bowlers and the modest performance of Ravi Bopara – had been frustrating, he also defended the balance of the side and suggested the team had shown they were “not far away” from being able to beat the best.”We’re happy how we’re progressing,” Moores said. “We’re better placed now than when we started because we’ve had some really good individual performances.”The final was disappointing as we just didn’t show up with the bat. And we’ll look back and say we should have bowled more yorkers to James Faulkner. We didn’t, we’ll take that on the chin and take that experience and make our plans simpler so we get it right. But if we look back on the event as a whole, we’re in a much stronger position now than we were when we came to Australia.”We’ve had more 100 partnerships in the tri-series than any other team. We’ve now beaten India – who will be one of the favourites in the World Cup – three times in a row and, in one game against Australia, we scored 300-odd and felt we should have scored more. We’ve walked away from that game thinking we’ve maybe we’ve missed an opportunity. Then, in the final, we had then 60 for 4, but they had a partnership and got away at the end.”We’re not that far away. We’ve got to keep pulling the performance together as a team. We need to pull the whole thing together.”Moores admitted that Bopara had not enjoyed the most impressive tournament – he was trusted with just three overs and averaged 14.25 with the bat – but restated his value to the team. So while England will use the warm-up matches against West Indies and Pakistan in Sydney to look at other players, it is likely that they will play the same team in the opening match of the World Cup as lost in the tri-series final in Perth.”We like the flexibility in the current team as it gives us some options,” Moores said. “We’re trying to be settled as, coming into this tournament, like any side in transition, you try new things and give opportunities to people. But at some point you have to say, right let’s trust these guys to go and play. Everyone gets clear in their role and you move forward.”You’re always conscious going into a tournament that the people who aren’t playing need to be ready to play. You don’t know at what stage you’ll need them, through injury or whatever. Gary Ballance has not been fit, but he’s been netting here and he should be fit in Sydney.”We haven’t used Ravi’s bowling much but it gives us an option. Ravi had a couple of opportunities to bowl but didn’t really take them. To really get your teeth into the side, when you get those little windows of a chance to bowl you want to grab them and he’s missed a couple if we’re honest. I think he’ll be frustrated with that.”But Ravi will know that, the last time he was in Australia, he had a very good tour with the ball. Don’t underestimate Ravi’s batting or his bowling. He’s a very experienced cricketer with bat and ball.”Moores also rejected the suggestion that the new-look England team were in any way “soft”.”This team’s got something about it,” he said. “They’re not soft at all. They’re quiet, but that’s a big difference. Steely quiet is different to being soft.”This team’s got something about it. Those who haven’t played internationals much have to find their way of being tough to play against. We’ve got those finding their style of how they’re going to be – much like Jimmy Anderson found his way through his career. Now people find him hard to face. We’ve got a few lads finding that, but they’ll find it fast.”

The second day of the series involved a similar scenario to the first with West Indies dominating the opening session, but England ending with the advantage

Report by Andrew McGlashan14-Apr-2015West Indies 155 for 4 (Chanderpaul 29*, Blackwood 30*) trail England 399 (Bell 143, Root 83, Stokes 79, Roach 4-94) by 244 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:58

Dobell: West Indies showed discipline and pride

The second day of the series involved a similar scenario to the first, with West Indies dominating the opening session but England ending with the advantage. The home side’s quicks had another excellent morning to restrict England to 399 but their reply was a stuttering affair as they stumbled to 155 for 4.There was good bowling on display throughout the day, firstly by West Indies’ pace trio and then the collective five-man England unit led by James Anderson, who moved one wicket closer to breaking Ian Botham’s Test record. Successes were hard-earned, as they should be, and Chris Jordan’s brilliant low catch at slip brought Kraigg Brathwaite’s scalp to leave West Indies tottering on 99 for 4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, in a familiar role, and Jermaine Blackwood, who was given a life on 21 when Ben Stokes overstepped having taken the edge, battled to the close with West Indies still 244 behind.England began the day with eyes on a total around 500 but instead ended up just short of 400. In all, going back to Ian Bell’s dismissal late on the first evening, England’s last six wickets fell for 58 and that included a stand of 38 by the final pair of Jordan and Anderson.There was a period of five consecutive maidens, which highlighted West Indies’ early grip on proceedings. That stranglehold included the removal of both overnight batsmen, Stokes and James Tredwell, then Jos Buttler struggled through a 22-ball duck and Stuart Broad’s batting woes continued. The combination of Bell, Stokes and Joe Root contributed 305 of England’s runs; the rest 70.Anderson, who had flayed 20 via five boundaries in his 100th Test, responded with an outstanding opening spell which included the scalp of Devon Smith, who was worked over before edging to Buttler. Jordan, without quite the same consistency of line or length in his first spell, provided the second breakthrough when Darren Bravo was late trying to withdraw his bat.Brathwaite impressed in South Africa with his steel and determination, traits that were again on show as he withstood the early forays. Marlon Samuels, meanwhile, was more aggressive from the outset and was aided by four overthrows when he took a quick single to the off side and Anderson’s throw – a justifiable one as Samuels would have been short – was just wide of the stumps.Chris Jordan went low to his right at slip to take a fantastic catch•Getty ImagesHowever, Samuels was removed by a smart piece of bowling by Broad shortly after tea when he rolled his fingers across the ball and found the outside edge. In finest Hannibal style, a plan had clearly come together, given the applause from the bowling coach Ottis Gibson on the balcony and Broad himself.During this period, Tredwell was wheeling away through what would become a 12-over spell. His selection is viewed more as an indictment of English spin resources than recognition for Tredwell – and there is an element of truth to that argument – but he performed his role admirably, using his experience with subtle changes of pace. His reward was to remove the nuggety Brathwaite, who edged a ball on the back foot, but it was the grab at slip by Jordan, low to his right, which was the show-stopping moment.Blackwood responded by putting his second ball, from Tredwell, over long-off and was a curious combination of defence and the occasional moment of outright aggression. Chanderpaul did what he has done forever and a day. However, although West Indies resisted well during the closing stages of the day – with a little help from Stokes’ errant front foot – the signs are that batting last will not be an easy task on this surface so much work remains to narrow the deficit.To start with they will need a good morning session on the third day, and for that at least the omens are promising given the way the match has gone so far. Whatever Curtly Ambrose said during a passionate team talk shortly before play clearly had the desired effect on West Indies’ bowlers. Kemar Roach and Jerome Taylor soon settled into their work before Jason Holder followed them with an exacting spell of 7-4-14-1. The frustration will be that the disciplines of line and length deserted them for two sessions on Monday.Stokes angled one boundary down to third man before succumbing attempting a repeat which landed in the lap of a fine gully. The shot was neither one thing nor the other, which was a contrast to the conviction Stokes had shown for much of his innings. Tredwell’s stint as nightwatchman ended with a flat-footed drive that gave Bravo his third catch of the innings. Buttler was given nothing to free his arms against before he could resist no longer and edged a very full delivery.Broad has spoken very honestly about the problems he has faced with the bat since returning to the side after knee surgery, a delayed reaction to the blow from Varun Aaron at Old Trafford which broke his nose. On this occasion it took Roach just three deliveries to entice him into driving a soft catch to point.The most fluent batting of the morning came from the last-wicket pair as Jordan and Anderson managed to put bat to ball with decent impact. Jordan provided a reminder of his very solid technique while Anderson unfurled a couple of boundaries that revived the “Burnley Lara” tag. His fun came to end when he popped a catch to cover against Samuels and attention turned to his attempts to pass Botham’s England wicket-taking record.

The Dubai Triangular Series will be a final chance for three of the four Associates at World Cup 2015 to fine-tune before the showpiece event

Peter Della Penna08-Jan-2015Three 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 YoungScotland
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