Singapore will begin their T20 World Cup qualifying campaign with a tough match against Scotland, according to an International Cricket Council (ICC) statement. The T20 World Cup Qualifier is scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates from October 18 to November 2.
Scotland are the top-ranked side in the 14-team tournament, from which the top six teams will qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia in 2020. Singapore will play Scotland at the ICC Academy 1 ground on October 18, with the Netherlands, joint winners of the previous qualifying event in 2015, taking on Kenya later in the day at the same venue.
"This tournament is the final stage of the qualification pathway to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia which started in February 2018 and included 61 teams across the five ICC regions. I wish all participating teams the very best and look forward to seeing some compelling and competitive cricket that showcases the quality of the game worldwide," ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said.
In other matches on the first day, Ireland will take on Hong Kong and Oman will play hosts UAE at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Bermuda, Canada, Jersey, Namibia, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea (PNG) are the other teams in the tournament who will be vying for the six available places at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020.
Also Read: Singapore creates history, qualifies for ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifier
The teams are placed in two groups, with Scotland, the Netherlands, PNG, Namibia, Singapore, Kenya and Bermuda forming group A and the UAE, Ireland, Oman, Hong Kong, Canada, Jersey and Nigeria in group B.
The top team from each group will advance to the semi-final of the tournament whilst securing direct qualification to the T20 World Cup 2020, with three more teams from each group featuring in qualification play-offs to determine the other four qualifiers.
The knockout stage of the T20 World Cup Qualifier will be played primarily at the Dubai International Stadium with the play-offs scheduled for October 29 and 30. The semi-finals will be held on November 1 while the third-place match and the final are scheduled for Saturday, November 2.
The six qualifying teams will join the top 10 teams in the T20I rankings: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies for the World Cup.
