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A laid-back Pakistan team enjoyed a day of carefree batting practice at Country Club, the CFX Academy headquarters in the eastern suburbs of Harare, finishing the day with 352 on the board for the loss of five wickets. With one unfortunate exception, all the leading batsmen enjoyed their meal but nobody made a pig of himself.The pitch was flat, although it had a little pace, and the bowling not too testing; none of Zimbabwe’s young hopefuls among the bowlers was able to trouble the batsmen or press a claim for a Test berth. Saleem Elahi (49) and Taufeeq Umar (86) enjoyed an opening stand of 127, before getting out and allowing two even better innings from Younis Khan (84) and a slim-looking Inzamam-ul-Haq (63).Inzamam-ul-Haq, scourge of Zimbabwe’s bowlers on their first tour here in 1994/95, was the master, toying with the bowlers for 63 off 62 balls before he decided he had had enough. Younis Khan looked to be heading for a century but was well caught at long leg by Nkala running in.The only batsman to miss out was Yousuf Youhana (1), ironically the one most in need of practice. He fell victim to cricket’s most unfair law, that which allows a non-striker doing his job properly to be fortuitously run out by an accidental deflection off the bowler. A straight drive from Younis and a boot from Blessing Mahwire, whose intention was merely to stop the ball, did the trick for the luckless Youhana, the man who played so many vital innings for Pakistan when they last toured Zimbabwe in 1997/98.Hasan Raza, officially the world’s youngest Test cricketer since he made his debut against Zimbabwe six years ago at the age of 14, finished the day unbeaten with 32, and Shahid Afridi with 21. Pakistan might well decide to bat on tomorrow to give them more sustenance.

Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Monday hinted surprise changes in the list of probables to be announced later this week for the forthcoming World Cup.The mega event is scheduled to be held in South Africa in early 2003.Tauqir said that the board would determine if some senior players who missed the tough series against Australia on medical grounds were genuinely unfit or otherwise.He warned that if the senior players had avoided facing the Australians deliberately then he would say “good bye” to them.Veteran fast bowler Wasim Akram and opening batsman Saeed Anwar opted out of the series on pretext of taking rest while middle-order batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana were unavailable because of fitness problems. However, all four senior players have expressed their availability for next month’s tour of Zimbabwe.PCB chief said that Wasim stayed away citing a shoulder problem as one of the reasons for missing the Test series.Saeed, meanwhile, never indicated his desire to the PCB about his availability to play against Australia in the absence of some senior players.Tauqir, whose resignation was not accepted by President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf the patron-in-chief of PCB, in the wake of Pakistan’s recent spate of defeats, said that from now on, he would not depend on his advisors and would personally oversee every matter before taking a decision.To another query, Tauqir said that Shahid Afridi was sent to Sharjah for the third Test against Australia in place of injured all-rounder Abdul Razzaq. But after reaching Sharjah informed that he was not fit to play.He said that Shoaib Akhtar was the only match-winner bowler available in the current Pakistan side.Our Sports Reporter adds from Karachi: Pakistan is contemplating having different captains and teams for Tests and One-day Internationals. This proposal was discussed in detail by PCB hierarchy.In latest developments, team coach Richard Pybus has been asked to fly back with Pakistan squad at the end of series against Australia to give his views on the teams to be named for the tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa.Chairman of selectors, Wasim Bari, and Pakistan ‘A’ coach Aqib Javed were originally due in Sharjah to discuss the squad with team management. But this plan has now been changed and meeting may take place at Lahore.PCB has also decided to hold a one-day match before the squad is announced to assess the fitness and form of Wasim, Saeed and Youhana.Selectors will pick the two teams for this trial game. Other players expected to be invited are fast bowlers Mohammad Zahid, Abdul Rauf, all-rounder Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan and batsman Naved Latif.Tauqir also held discussions on the revised constitution of PCB, the draft of which is shortly expected to be presented before President Musharraf for approval.Meanwhile, Tauqir was given detailed briefing about the development projects in progress. PCB chairman asked the general manager developments, Irfan Mirza, to speed up the work since he would like to have underdeveloped stadia ready before the year is out.

LAHORE, Sept 23: Fine batting by Mohammad Umair (85) and Hasnain Abbas (71) helped Multan to earn a narrow three-wicket victoryagainst Rahimyar Khan in the National Junior (Under-19) Grade-II Cricket Championship at Mahmood Stadium, Rahim Yar Khan Monday, according toamessage received here.Multan, who gained a 86-run lead on the first innings, were set a target of 238 after Rahimyar Khan had piled up 323 in their second innings thanks to Shaharyar (82) and Mohammad Saleem (55).Meanwhile, to decide the Pool ‘D’ champions Faisalabad and Gujranwala will face each other at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala from Thursday.Owing to large of teams in this pool was divided into two groups. Faisalabad emerged as Group-I champions while Gujranwala topped the other group.The winners will play Pool ‘B’ winners Azad Jammu Kashmir in the semifinal.Summarised scores:*At Gymkhana Ground, Okara:Okara beat Kasur by five wickets.KASUR 231-8 in 80 overs (Shahid Hussain 53, Faisal Ayub 44; Zulfiqar Babar 5-67) and 149 (Zulfiqar Babar 6-35);OKARA 290 in 78.5 overs (Noman Nasim 105, Jawwad Hafeez 55; Mohammad Aslam 4-118) and 91-5 (Noman Nasim 42 not out; Ahmed Raza 4-24).*At Mahmood Stadium, Rahimyar Khan:Multan beat Rahimyar Khan by three wickets.RAHIMYAR KHAN 169 in 53.3 overs (Adeel Basit 65; Umar Zaman 5-43) and 323 (Shaharyar 82, Mohammad Saleem 55, Fayyaz-ul-Hasan 52, Afrahim Zia 41; Mohammad Umair 6-84).MULTAN 255 in 67.1 overs (Yasir Arafat 130; Aamir Akram 3-72) and 238-7 (Mohammad Umair 85, Hasnain Abbas 71; Adeel Basit 6-73).*At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad:Larkana beat Hyderabad by 22 runs.LARKANA 116 in 42.4 overs (Farrukh Zaman 4-9, Furqan Azeem 3-30) and 173 (Zafar Ali 46);HYDERABAD 162 in 68 overs (Salman Hyder 58; Wasim Hussain 5-46) and 140 (Suleman Haider 52; Wasim Hussain 3-35, Ahmed Ali 3-52).*At D.I. Khan, D.I. Khan:Haripur beat Dera Ismail Khan by 10 wickets.DERA ISMAIL KHAN 87 in 39.5 overs (Amjad Waqas 6-28) and 275 (Mohammad Imran Baloch 46, Falak Kamran 43, Mohammad Irfan Khan 41; Amjad Waqas 8-89);HARIPUR 321 in 75.4 overs (Babar Khan 78, Usman Sawati 63, Asghar Khan 54; Kashif Niazi 4-66) and 43-0.*At Nawabshah Stadium, Nawabshah:Match drawn.BADIN 273 in 79.5 overs (Imran Malik 86, Danish 46; Sharafat Ali 3-66) and 228 (Ahmed Khan 56; Sharafat Ali 6-65);SHIKARPUR 305-7 in 80 overs (Najeebullah 101, Asif Babar 98; Kamran 3-96) and 169-6 (Ghulam Yasin 84 not out, Najeebullah 62).

MELBOURNE, Aug 8 AAP – Australia Test cricketer Mark Waugh today echoed his brother Steve’s reservations about touring Pakistan in October after the latest violence.Six Pakistanis were shot dead in an attack on a school for children of foreign missionaries near Islamabad on Monday.”Obviously what happened two days ago with the shooting at the international school puts a few more question marks over the tour,” Waugh told Melbourne radio station Sport 927 today.”There’s no doubt about that. I think the ACB (Australian Cricket Board) would be first to admit that.”Several other senior players have also expressed reservations about the tour.On Tuesday, Test captain Steve Waugh said he would be happy to go to Pakistan if it was deemed safe, but stressed the players would rely on information from other sources.”I think every one (of the players) would have some slight reservations after what’s happened in the past, it’s only natural,” Steve said.”You’ve really got to be guided by High Commissions and those places tell you what the feeling is, whether it’s safe for tourists to go there.”If it’s deemed safe enough to go, then I’m quite happy to go, but if they say it’s not then the (Australian Cricket Board) will make that decision (not to go).”New Zealand pulled out of its Pakistan tour in May after a bomb near its hotel killed 14 people in Karachi.ACB spokesman Pat O’Beirne said the latest attack “adds some currency” to advice the board is receiving from Australian Government officials and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).”The tragic recent incident has increased concern about the tour,” O’Beirne said today.”We will continue to monitor our information over the next short while.”

After notching up three successive wins against Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland, Namibia couldn’t quite keep up with Afghanistan’s intensity on Sunday, losing by 62 runs. It is only going to get tougher for them as they next run into group-toppers Pakistan, followed by India and New Zealand, in three different venues across six days. Namibia’s head coach Pierre de Bruyn admitted as much after they were pinned down to 98 for 9 in a chase of 161 in Abu Dhabi.”We are definitely looking forward to them,” de Bruyn said at the post-match press conference. “We’re fully aware that it’s going to now get really tough. We just don’t want to be a team that’s just going to rock up and provide middle practice. We want to continue competing and we need to sharpen up our skills and we need to believe.Related

• Afghan bowlers deliver another massive win to stay second on table

• Asghar does his bit in emotional Afghanistan farewell

“Today was maybe an icebreaker for us as a team – experiencing this level of intensity. So, we haven’t got a long turnaround – one day of rest and training and then we’ve got to come and face the heat.”Namibia lost three wickets in the powerplay and the damage proved irreparable despite the injury-enforced absence of Mujeeb Ur Rahman in Afghanistan’s attack. Namibia’s top three – Craig Williams, Michael van Lingen and Nicol Loftie-Eaton – all fell swinging across the line, leaving de Bruyn rue their shot selection.”Yeah, it was always going to be difficult. You’re [up] against top players,” de Bruyn said. “We had a plan – we had a game-plan in how to approach that powerplay – it was all about no damage. The moment you lose four [three] wickets in a powerplay, you’re behind and if you look at our dismissals, every batter will go and say that they got themselves out. [There were] one or two good yorkers on the day that the batter can say ‘that was a good ball’. But we know we’ve been here long enough to know that on these wickets you’ve got to play straight and we’ve learnt some dear lessons.”Loftie-Eaton, though, had a good outing with the ball earlier in the afternoon. He got some balls to turn big and others to skid off the pitch, keeping the Afghanistan batters guessing. He was rewarded with the wickets of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran – both trapped lbw. Curiously enough, the legspinner had bowled just one over in four matches prior to the Afghanistan fixture. de Bruyn revealed that an injury was limiting his bowling in this tournament.”It was about managing Nicol leading-up to game-time,” de Bruyn said. “He had a quad strain – tear two – so you know it was tough. He wasn’t ready on tour, so we need to get him bowling fit in the nets first and what he’s shown today is that he’s ready. I’m so pleased for him and that’s a huge positive for us. He’s a confident player, he’s a youngster, so that’s a very big positive for the bowling unit itself. I thought we executed good plans today. The moment we didn’t execute we were punished and I suppose those are good lessons.”de Bruyn also acknowledged Asghar Afghan’s contribution to the game after the 33-year old ended his career with 31 off 23 balls in a crucial victory for Afghanistan.”It’s inspiring everyone out there. He’s had a fantastic career,” de Bruyn said. “Am sure every cricketer in the world would like to finish his career on a high note like he’s done today. So, congratulations to him for what he’s done for cricket. For global cricket and especially for Afghanistan cricket.”

Pakistan’s men’s team will travel to Bangladesh in November for their first bilateral series in the country since 2015. The tour will consist of three T20Is and two Tests, which are part of the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle.The tour is scheduled right after the T20 World Cup, which begs the question of what happens if either Bangladesh or Pakistan or both make the knockout stages of that tournament. If they do, there will be little time between events for even the customary three-day hotel quarantine for visiting teams.The T20 World Cup is scheduled to conclude on November 14. The three T20Is, which will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, will be played on November 19, 20 and 22. The same venue will also host the second Test from December 4 to 8.The first Test is scheduled to be held at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram from November 26 to 30. This will only be the third international fixture hosted by Chattogram this year, after the ODI and Test against West Indies in January-February.The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the BCB to host the recent matches against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand sides only in Dhaka, with visiting teams showing reluctance to travel outside the capital.The last meeting between Pakistan and Bangladesh took place in January 2020 when Bangladesh toured Pakistan to play three T20Is (one of which was abandoned due to rain) and a Test in Rawalpindi. The second Test of the series, which was supposed to be held in Karachi in April, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.During Pakistan’s last bilateral visit to Bangladesh, the hosts won the ODI series 3-0 and also the solitary T20I, while the visitors won the Test series 1-0.

He is not part of Australia’s squad for next month’s Champions Trophy, but Peter Handscomb could hardly be doing any more to ensure he is the first man called upon if Australia need a replacement player. On Sunday at Headingley, Handscomb plundered 140 off 112 deliveries for Yorkshire, his maiden one-day century, and in doing so jumped to the top of the Royal London Cup run list.In five innings during the tournament, Handscomb has made 46, 86, 47*, 88 and 140, the kind of form that will appeal to Australia’s selectors should any of their batsman be ruled out of the Champions Trophy, to be held in England, due to injury. Handscomb played the first five ODIs of his career during the southern summer, but after 82 on debut did not reach double figures again.”Any time you get dropped from a team there’s going to be some disappointment, but I was able to see where the selectors were coming from,” Handscomb told radio network . “I only got my opportunity because Chris Lynn got injured during the summer and I was able to come in for him. He’s now fit and ready to go for Champions Trophy, so it makes sense to bring him back in and I completely understand that selection.”Just being in the country, I’m here and ready to go if anything does happen. But the Champions Trophy squad is unbelievably strong. Hopefully for the boys nothing does happen and they can have a great Champions Trophy.”Handscomb has enjoyed a remarkable start to his Test career: it took until his eighth innings before he was dismissed for less than 50, the longest such stretch from debut for any player in Test history. Although life became a little tougher on the tour of India, an unbeaten 72 in the second innings in Ranchi helped Australia grind out a draw and was described by captain Steven Smith as being “worth 150 in my eyes”.Next summer, he faces the challenge of helping Australia regain the Ashes in a home series against England, and he is confident that his winter placement with Yorkshire will help him when the Australian season comes around.”It’s very important. I’ve often found that when I have been able to play cricket matches over the Australian winter, I’ve been able to come back and hit the ground running during the Australian summer,” Handscomb said. “It’s good just to constantly play cricket and that time in the middle is so valuable and so much better than just hitting balls in the nets.”And although Handscomb’s form for the time being is outstanding, he is well aware that the relentless nature of the county season can mean that any dip in productivity can be difficult to remedy.”With the county season, it can be sort of one way or the other,” he said. “If you can get yourself onto a bit of a roll, because there is so much cricket, you can find yourself feeling really good out in the middle and hopefully converting that into runs. But on the flip side, you don’t get a lot of time to practice if you are out of form. If you’re having a tough time out in the middle, you don’t really get any time to work on it.”The job is to make runs every time you go out to bat. Once you start thinking that batting becomes easy, then that complacency sets in, and cricket’s a bit of a fickle game like that, it can really take you down if you do start getting a bit complacent.”

New Zealand and Auckland batsman Colin Munro will miss the next round of games in the domestic first-class competition, the Plunket Shield, due to a code of conduct breach. At a hearing on March 8, Munro was found guilty of using “inappropriate language” in Auckland’s previous game, against Canterbury. He did not appeal the verdict.New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said in a statement: “Colin Munro has been suspended from playing in the upcoming eighth round of the Plunket Shield, as a result of a Code of Conduct hearing following the Aces’ previous match, against Canterbury at Eden Park. Munro had used inappropriate language in the round-seven fixture and, given his previous record in this area, handed down a one-match suspension.”Auckland’s next match is against Northern Districts, from March 14. They currently sit fourth out of seven teams on the points table, with one wins, two losses and four draws. Munro has been in good touch in the competition, hitting three centuries in six innings to total 475 runs at 95.00.

AB de Villiers brought it up first this time. South Africa are heading back to Eden Park for a winner-takes-all showdown. And it’s not a one-off T20I this time.Neither is it a World Cup semi-final, but with the Champions Trophy looming, it is not irrelevant.Throughout the first few days of this tour, every South African player put up for interview was asked for memories of the famous semi-final almost two years ago. The general mood was that it would always be part of their history, but it’s time to move on.After winning the T20, de Villiers smiled when he said he had seen endless runs of the semi-final on TV since arriving in New Zealand and added that time had helped him see “only good things” about the game.Now, after seeing this series levelled on the back of Martin Guptill’s unbeaten 138-ball 180, de Villiers hinted at South Africa’s history with the venue for the deciding encounter.”There’s a big final to play, there’s a lot at stake, it’s a big-pressure game,” he said. “It would be great for us to come through a big-pressure game like that, especially at Eden Park. We won the T20 and it would be great to win the ODI and finish this leg of the tour on a high. We haven’t yet hit our straps as we wanted to, yet, in both departments, so hopefully it will happen in the last game.”Twice he called Saturday’s match a “pressure game” and twice he termed it a “final” – a combination of factors that haunts South African cricket history. Even a decider of a bilateral series – during which South Africa have seen their No. 1 ranking slip away – can’t replicate the significance of a global tournament semi-final, but it’s the closest they will get before it comes to crunch time at the Champions Trophy.No one came into this series with a bigger reputation than Imran Tahir. He is ranked No. 1 in both white-ball formats and claimed 5 for 24 in the T20 victory. However, in the ODIs he has been kept quiet with just four wickets and an economy rate of 5.87. In Tuesday’s match at Seddon Park, New Zealand mixed caution with aggression – two maidens being traded for 56 runs, including five sixes hit by Guptill.De Villiers acknowledged how New Zealand have been able to combat Tahir’s threat, but expected the surface at Eden Park to be more to his liking.”They respect him a bit more, are playing him better, and that sometimes happens if you have a match-winner in your team,” he said. “We also look after one or two of their bowlers and are confident we dominate the rest. They have a similar game plan against Immi; they really looked after him well tonight (on Wednesday). They took him on at the right time.”Eden Park’s wicket is a bit quicker; Immi likes to bowl on quicker wickets. Tonight’s was pretty slow, so even if you didn’t pick him, you could play him. Most spinners like a pitch that turns quickly.”Respect was the word used by Mike Hesson as well when asked about quelling the threat of Tahir. After the T20 thrashing, he had said it was important New Zealand played Tahir on “their terms” rather than being forced to chase the game against him. Instead, Hesson believed they have made Tahir strain for success.”We’ve respected him as a threat, also bearing in mind if we deny him wickets he does go searching a little bit and create scoring opportunities.”

Eight of the top Associate teams in world cricket have touched down in the United Arab Emirates this week to compete in – what a few of the participants have dubbed a ‘mini-Associate World Cup’ – the inaugural Desert T20 Challenge. Associate teams are constantly pining for more opportunities to play and, as such, this tournament is a welcome addition to their fixture calendar, one that they hope is not a one-off.Some of the participants are looking at this tournament as a way to make a big statement by potentially knocking off some of their big-named peers, such as Afghanistan. For others, it is an opportunity to blood new talent in a rare Associate event in which promotion, relegation or some other form of ICC tournament qualification or progression isn’t at stake.The format has eight teams split into two groups of four, and playing three round-robin group games. The top two teams from each group then advance to finals day, with a pair of semi-finals played on the morning and afternoon of January 20 before the final that same night. Here’s a look at how each team is shaping up heading into the tournament that begins from January 14 in Abu Dhabi.Group A
2:33

We’ll try to repeat what we did in 2016 – Rashid Khan

AfghanistanThe top-seeded tournament favourites took another big step forward last year by not only reaching the main draw of the World T20, but beating eventual world champions West Indies in a low-scoring thriller in the group stage. In terms of their T20 form, they swept UAE 3-0 in a series held in Dubai last month, giving them more recent game experience in the format than every other team in the tournament.Aside from the usual suspects like Mohammad Shahzad and Dawlat Zadran leading the way with bat and ball, some younger faces have emerged to ensure that Afghanistan remain the top dogs of Associate cricket. Najibullah Zadran was the Man of the Match in the win over West Indies and the impact of that performance gave him a wondrous boost of confidence that carried over through the rest of 2016. In the recent series against UAE, Najibullah scored a total of 104 runs off 45 balls across three innings, without being dismissed in his role as the team’s finisher. Any team hoping looking to disrupt Afghanistan’s path to the final will need to find a way to cool down his red-hot bat.United Arab EmiratesAfter a poor showing at the 2015 World T20 Qualifier, UAE sprang a major surprise by upending Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman to reach the main draw of the 2016 Asia Cup, where they very nearly pulled off another upset against Sri Lanka. It was their bad luck that Lasith Malinga decided to suit up to test his bruised knee ahead of the World T20, wrecking UAE with a spell of 4 for 26 in their pursuit of a target of 130. Malinga hasn’t played another match since.Though they were downed by Afghanistan last month in all three T20Is in Dubai, UAE ran them close in the first two encounters. They fell 11 runs short chasing down 161 in the first match before Shaiman Anwar’s half-century in a total of 179 was negated by the brilliance of Najibullah. Shaiman was the leading scorer in the three-match series with 150 runs and he’ll need to produce similar output to give UAE the best chance of reaching the semis.William Porterfield and Ireland have not had much to cheer about in T20 cricket of late•ICC/Getty Images

IrelandIt may seem odd to some that Ireland and Afghanistan were paired in the same group for the round-robin stage, especially when they’ll be facing each other in an extended tour beginning in March. But Ireland was drawn on this side by virtue of having the lowest T20I ranking – 17th – of any team at the tournament. It is the most tangible representation of their struggles in the format. Beginning with a shocking loss to Papua New Guinea in Belfast at the 2015 World T20 Qualifier, they have lost eight of their last 11 completed T20Is.Ireland’s most recent match was a 40-run loss at home to Hong Kong in September in which they brought in five debutants in an attempt to stop the rot. The most promising performance from that group was delivered by Greg Thompson, who top-scored with 44 that day.William Porterfield is the longest tenured captain at the tournament and will be hoping that a return to the site of Ireland’s victorious 2012 and 2013 World T20 Qualifier campaigns may serve as an inspiration to turn around their fortunes.NamibiaThe only team without T20I status in the tournament, Namibia received an invitation after Papua New Guinea declined to participate. In their most recent major T20 tournament action, they ended up a frustrating seventh place at the 2015 World T20 Qualifier after having finished third in the group stages. With two chances to clinch a trip to India, they were soundly beaten by the Netherlands before being stunned by Oman, which not only cost them a spot at the main tournament but a chance at T20I status as well.Namibia had a rocky road against other Associates throughout 2016 as well, losing an Intercontinental Cup match by an innings to Afghanistan before being swept in a pair of WCL Championship matches in Nepal. Their problems were magnified when a full-strength side were delivered a crushing 141-run home defeat in September by Saudi Arabia in preparation for a I-Cup and WCLC tour of Papua New Guinea, which also ended with three losses. Their hopes for reaching the semis may be pinned to the return of Louis van der Westhuizen. The big-hitting left-hander helped Namibia to a 7-0 record in round-robin play at the 2012 World T20 Qualifier in these same venues, including a destructive century against Scotland, but was out of the side for nearly two years before marking his return in November.Group B
Peter Borren will try to shore up Netherlands, who have not played regularly in the lead-up to this tournament•International Cricket Council

NetherlandsThe highest seeded team in their half of the draw have shown remarkable resiliency to replenish their available assets over the years to keep themselves in the conversation for top Associates. This has shown through particularly in T20I cricket where once again they demonstrated their capabilities on a global stage at last year’s World T20, running Bangladesh very tight before succumbing by eight runs, before continuing to have Ireland’s number with a win in Dharamsala.Their entire fixture list has been sparse since then. A grand total of four days of cricket since last March – losing inside of two days to Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup in July, followed by a WCL Championship split with Nepal in August – may have allowed some rust to build and it was borne out in a five-wicket loss to a UAE Developmental XI on Wednesday. It’s up to captain Peter Borren to coax a good bounce back in their opening encounter against Oman on Sunday.Hong KongThe lone side in this group to play a T20I since the World T20 in March, Hong Kong defeated Ireland by 40 runs in September and have stayed fairly busy since then in all formats with tours to Scotland and Kenya in addition to hosting Papua New Guinea for three ODIs in November. Most recently they had a development tour to Australia with an emphasis on T20 cricket, which included games against Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.The batting is headlined by captain Babar Hayat, who eclipsed Afghanistan batsman Mohammad Shahzad’s then record score of 118* to produce the highest T20I score by an Associate player when he made 122 in a loss to Oman at the 2016 Asia Cup. Hayat will be tasked with taking a good chunk of the batting burden in the absence of Mark Chapman, who continues to develop playing with Auckland in New Zealand’s domestic competition. The spin arsenal, led by left-armer Nadeem Ahmed, may be a handful in these conditions.Calum MacLeod will be looking to bring the big runs into T20s as well•Peter Della Penna

ScotlandDespite the sudden retirement of former captain Preston Mommsen in November, Scotland enter this event with one of the most settled squads in this tournament. Kyle Coetzer has taken over the leadership once again after relinquishing the job to Mommsen in 2014 and remains an explosive presence at the top of the order. Calum MacLeod produced two centuries in his last three ODI innings for Scotland at home against UAE and Hong Kong and has a great opportunity to continue that form in T20 cricket.On the bowling side, Scotland has a young pace attack that may be tested in desert conditions. However, the glue holding the side together with the ball is Con de Lange. The left-arm spinner was a ripe 34-year-old when making his debut for the national side in June 2015 after migrating from South Africa, and in the 18 months since then has rapidly turned into one of Scotland’s most consistent contributors, marked by his elevation to the vice-captaincy in the wake of Mommsen’s departure. He’ll need good support though, from fellow left-arm spinner Mark Watt, in order to tie down some explosive batting lineups in Group B.OmanThough they are officially the lowest-ranked side in this half of the draw, Oman will not be taken lightly after making waves in the cricket world over the past year and a half by not only qualifying for the World T20 in India, but then defeating Ireland in their tournament debut. Despite not having played any T20Is since leaving Dharamsala, they have actually been one of the busiest Associate sides in world cricket, playing a total of 16 one-dayers as part of their consecutive promotions at World Cricket League Division Five in May and Division Four in November.Coach Duleep Mendis has never been afraid to tinker with the side in the search for winning combinations and as a result a slew of changes have taken place for the squad arriving in the UAE. The biggest ones are the omissions of batsman Jatinder Singh and slingy medium-pacer Munis Ansari, who each paid for sub-par performances at Division Four in Los Angeles, while the side may be galvanized by the return of wicketkeeper-captain Sultan Ahmed. The 39-year-old’s career appeared finished after he was axed following the World T20, but he has been given a surprise recall in a bid to boost Oman’s chances of reaching the semis.