Phil Simmons will be hoping to guide Ireland to the 2011 World Cup

Ireland will open their ICC Cricket World Cup qualifying campaign in South Africa with a game against Scotland at Willowmoore Park on 1 April.

The match will be a repeat of the 2005 decider won by Scotland, when the competition was called the ICC Trophy.

Ireland will then have matches against Oman and Uganda at Krugersdorp on 2 and 4 April before taking on Canada and Namibia on 6 and 8 April.

The hopefuls need a top-four finish to qualify for the 2011 World Cup.

Ireland's game against Canada will take place at Willowmoore Park with the Namibia clash scheduled for Wanderers Oval 2.

The top four teams in both sections will progress to the Super Eight stages.

The teams will play four Super Eight matches against the sides they did not meet in the opening groups.

All points won in the groups will be carried over to the Super Eights apart from those gained against the bottom two from in the initial stage.

The top two teams in the Super-Eight stage will contest the final to be played at Centurion on 19 April with the third and fourth-placed sides playing off at Potchefstroom.

The top six teams secure one-day-international status until 2013 and also qualify automatically for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10.

Kenya, Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE, Denmark and Afghanistan form Group B.

Ireland caused a sensation at the 2007 World Cup by beating Pakistan to reach the Super Eight stage.

They also went on to defeat Bangladesh in the Super Eights.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version