Scotland to play Singapore in opener of T20 World Cup Qualifier

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Scotland and the Netherlands, joint winners of the previous qualifying event in 2015, will feature on the opening day of the T20 World Cup Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates from October 18 to November 2, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement.

Scotland, who are the top-ranked side in the 14-team tournament, will take on Singapore in the opener at the ICC Academy 1 ground while the Netherlands will take on Kenya later in the day at the same venue. 

In other matches on the first day, Test nation 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 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 in Australia from October 18 to November 15.

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.

Those six qualifying teams will join the top 10 teams in the T20I rankings as on December 31, 2018 -- Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley: "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.

"We are delighted to be working with the Emirates Cricket Board and in the UAE again, since they last played host to the ICC U19 CWC 2014, at world-class facilities in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

"On behalf of the ICC, 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."