The next stage in the long road to World Cup qualification gets underway in Buenos Aires tomorrow, with Division 3 of the World Cricket League.
- Afghanistan qualified from Division 4 in October, as they indeed did from Division 5 back in May. Their progress this far has been remarkable given the obvious obstacles they face.
- Hong Kong, fellow qualifiers from Division 4 in Dar Es Salaam, have a good prospect in 21-year old spinner Nadeem Ahmed, and have fleetingly been impressive in the past against weightier opposition, so will be one of the favourites in my book.
- Uganda are the side in the tournament which I know least about, although Wikipedia ensures me that they were represented in the 1975 World Cup as part of East Africa, and Frank Nsubuga’s Cricinfo page claims that he “shows high promise as a spinner”, so he may be worth looking out for.
- Argentina were promoted to Division 3 back in April 2007 following the suspension of the USA, so may not be the strongest side on paper, but home advantage will play a part, as will the fantastically-named Estaban MacDermott. Adding to the pseudo-Scottish connection is the fact that their player-coach is called Hamish.
- The Cayman Islands, not to be outdone on the unusual names front, will field twins Kevin Bazil and Kevon Bazil, which may prove to be “a commentator’s nightmare“. They will also be looking to 45-year old Pearson Best, who has proved himself to be a match-winner with scores such as 109 from 107 balls back in November as the Caymans beat Argentina by 108 runs in the Americas Region Division One.
- Papua New Guinea once made 572/7 in a 50-over match despite only batting for 49 oversagainst New Caledonia, but didn’t play any international cricket in 2008. Last time they took part in the WCL, Jamie Brazier was their star turn (taking 11 wickets at 9.18), and much responsibility will rest on his shoulders again.
SpunOut 
