Ryan Watson is part of the 15-man squad named for the qualifiers

Scotland have named their 15-man squad for April's cricket World Cup qualifying tournament in South Africa.

All-rounder Moneeb Iqbal returns to the squad more than six years after his only appearance for the national side.

And South African-born Jan Stander is in line for his debut after completing his four-year residency qualification.

Head coach Peter Steindl said: "We are expecting the toughest of tests in the qualifiers and are under no illusions as to the challenge ahead of us."

There are four places at the 2011 World Cup at stake, while the top-six nations will enjoy one-day international status for the next four years.

The squad includes Ryan Watson and Gordon Goudie, two of the players offered central contracts in December in order to play full-time cricket in Scotland.

Steindl said he was happy with his men's preparations for the qualifying campaign.

"The players have all worked exceptionally hard over the winter and it left the selectors with a difficult task in finalising their choices," he said.

"Our squad has a good balance between youth and experience and has been selected with the conditions we know we will face in South Africa in mind."

Watson was in no doubt about the importance of the qualification tournament in terms of its impact on Scottish cricket.

"It means funding, continuation of the pro process, qualification for the next World Cup," said Watson, "but the most important thing is keeping our one-day international status so we can continue to develop."

And Watson is confident the mix is right in the 15-man squad.

"The guys have all got experience in tournaments of this nature," said Watson.

"I think that counts a lot. I think having success to reflect back on is important and we've got that and we've also got some newcomers in who add some enthusiasm. It's a nice balance.

"We have performed well at these tournaments in the past and I would like to think we are going to do the same at this one."

Scotland squad: John Blain (Yorkshire), Kyle Coetzer (Durham), Gordon Goudie (West of Scotland), Gavin Hamilton (East Brierly), Majid Haq (Clydesdale), Moneeb Iqbal (West of Scotland), Neil McCallum (Grange), Calum MacLeod (Warwickshire), Dewald Nel (Greenock), Navdeep Poonia (Warwickshire), Qasim Sheikh (Clydesdale), Colin Smith (Aberdeenshire), Jan Stander (Stoneywood Dyce), Ryan Watson (Forfarshire), Craig Wright (Greenock).

Reserves: Gordon Drummond (Carlton), Ross Lyons (Clydesdale), Simon Smith (Grange), Fraser Watts (Carlton).

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