Grant Bradburn, the Scotland coach, is likely to make two changes to his starting line-up for the second one-day international against Ireland at Malahide today.
Bradburn sees the three-match series as a chance to look over his squad for the final time in a competitive series before focusing on next February's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, so seamer Alasdair Evans and top-order batsman George Munsey are likely to be handed starts.
Iain Wardlaw and Safyaan Sharif sat out Wednesday's training session, although Cricket Scotland say that the bowling pair were rested and are not injured. Michael Leask, who hit a run-a-ball fifty during Monday's seven-wicket defeat by the Irish, says he expects Scotland to provide a sterner test as they look to secure a first ODI win on Irish soil at the sixth attempt.
"We're determined to get back on the horse and look to get one over on them now," Leask said. "I think we obviously felt the hurt from that loss, and we need to start executing what we failed to do yesterday."
Scotland and Ireland have struggled to fill their fixture grid this summer, leaving both associate sides in danger of going into the World Cup undercooked.
Ireland qualified for the World Cup by winning the ICC World Cricket League last summer, while Scotland came through the qualifiers in February, but both countries have had precious little meaningful cricket this summer.
Ireland faced Sri Lanka in May and then a Sri Lanka A side in July, while Scotland have played an ODI against England in May, and three-match series against both the Netherlands and New Zealand A. "Neither Scotland nor Ireland are in the future tours programme, so we are reliant on the good will of other countries in securing fixtures," a Cricket Ireland spokesman said.
Aided by International Cricket Council targeted assistance money, both Scotland and Ireland will spend most of October Down Under playing against Australian and New Zealand state sides, then travel to Dubai for warm-weather training.
"In truth, both Ireland and Scotland have been sitting around kicking their heels a bit," the spokesman continued.
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