Group A of Division 1 contains number one seeds Scotland, along with Canada, Holland, UAE, Fiji and Singapore.

1997 ICC Trophy rankings

• Scotland 3rd (qualified for World Cup)
• Netherlands 6th
• Canada 7th
• UAE 10th
• Fiji 11th
• Singapore 14th

Scotland

The number one seeds the Scots will hope to repeat their 1997 triumph, where they beat Ireland in the 3rd/4th place match to qualify for the World Cup. Many will remember the 1999 World Cup team, and this forms the basis of their 2001 ICC Trophy squad. The notable absentee is Gavin Hamilton, now an England international, and his all-round abilities will be missed. Hamilton, however was not part of the team that did so well in 1997.

Captain George Salmond has been in charge since 1996, and has shown he can make runs against top quality bowling - he averages over 40 in first-class cricket. The most capped player in Scottish history, he will need to be on his best form in Toronto. The bowling will be led by John Blain, who in 1999 demonstrated that his fast-medium bowling could trouble the best bats in the world - he averaged 21 in the World Cup with 10 wickets, including those of Ponting, Astle, and Phil Simmons. His partner will likely be Lahore-born Asim Butt, whose lively left arm seam may do well on Canadian pitches. James Brinkley, Scots born and Australian raised, has made a successful return to first-class cricket with Durham this year, and will be the third member of a very useful pace attack.

The batting may be more of a problem, and has lacked consistency in recent matches. Douglas Lockhart has not fulfilled early promise, but is still a useful bat, likely to open with the very experienced Bruce Patterson. Lockhart spent 10 weeks playing cricket in South Africa this winter in preparation. Colin Smith, the first-choice keeper is a solid middle order bat. Darryl Anderson left Scotland at the age of three, but a successful stint with South African Universities earned him a chance with the national team on the tour of Namibia, and subsequently a place in the ICC Trophy squad. The coach is Jim Love and Mike Hendrick manages the team.

A disappointing performance at the Emerging Nations trophy last year, where they lost to Ireland, Denmark, Kenya and Holland; and a finish below Holland (losing to them on the last ball) in the European Championships suggests that they may find World Cup qualification difficult this year, despite the absence of Kenya and Bangladesh.

The Netherlands

The late withdrawal of Sussex bat Bas Zuiderent will make a big difference to the Netherlands's ICC trophy hopes. Zuiderent has performed well for Sussex, and his absence leaves a hole in the Dutch batting that will be hard to fill. Captain Roland Lefebvre is 38, but is still a bowler to be feared. His considerable experience of first-class cricket in the UK and New Zealand will be needed. He is also a useful bat, with a first-class century. Vice-captain Scholte is a wicketkeeper and was also vice-captain of the 1996 World Cup squad. He has been a regular choice since his debut in 1990. He bats well, sometimes as high as 6 but is more likely to be seen in the lower order.

Tim de Leede is likely to bat in the middle order, and is a useful one day bowler. Prominent in the national team for 11 years, he has also played for Northamptonshire, Sussex and Surrey second elevens. With the absence of Zuiderent, much responsibility will lie on his shoulders, and those of Van Noortwijk. New Zealand born New Zealand born all rounder Roger Bradley has brief first-class experience with Northern Districts in 1990-91, and will look to provide batting and bowling support.

Van Noortwijk, Van Troost and Lefebvre all have minor injuries going into the Toronto tourney. An extensive preparation for the tournament will leave the Dutch very much ready - in 2000 they toured the Tornto area, splitting a series with Group A rival Canada. An early season tour of South Africa in 2001 was followed by warm-up matches against a reasonable ECB XI that resulted in a narrow win, and two losses, one by only 1 run. The Netherlands are a strong all-round side, and qualifed for the World Cup in 1996. Their 6th place finish in 1997 was a disappointment and they will be looking to challenge Scotland and Canada at the top of the group.

Canada

The Canadian squad go into the ICC Trophy with high hopes, with home field advantage, and a team bolstered by experienced recruits. Ranked 7th in the 1997 ICC Trophy, but with Kenya and Bangladesh not competing in Toronto, Canada only need to move up two spots to qualify for a World Cup spot for the 2nd time in their history.

The squad has changed considerably since the 1997 venture, and has gained much experience playing against quality opposition through participation in West Indies domestic cricket. They captured the Americas Cup last year, beating Bermuda, Argentina, and the USA in the process.

Joseph Harris, the Indian-born off-spinning all-rounder who represented Barbados twice in the 1989 first-class championship, captains the side. John Davison was born in British Columbia, but grew up in Australia, and has played intermittently for Victoria. A good off-spinner, excellent fielder, and useful lower order bat, he spend the summer of 2000 coaching in Toronto, and was an important part of the victorious America's Cup squad. He'll share spin duties with Barry Seeberan, making his fourth ICC Trophy appearance - and he's only 29. A quality spinner capable of making useful runs, he gained valuable experience playing grade cricket in Australia last winter. In 1997 he surprised the touring Indians preparing for the Sahara Cup, taking 3/23 in a warm-up match, dismissing Tendulkar, Dravid and Kambli.

New to the team is Nicholas de Groot, an opening bat with considerable first-class experience with Guyana. He will bring much needed solidity to the Canadian batting. Muneeb Diwan, Canadian born, had a brief run with Essex in the mid 1990s, making two centuries for the Second XI and making a single first-class appearance in 1994. He will likely bolster the middle order along with all-rounder Ifill and skipper Harris.

Ashish Bagai will keep wicket, and is a rising star of Canadian cricket. Only 19 he's a capable wicket-keeper, and a fine middle-order bat. He represented the Americas in the under 19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 1999-2000, where as captain he topped the batting averages.

Davis Joseph will lead the pace attack - some will remember his dismissal of Tendulkar for just 2 in the Commonwealth Games in 1998.

Although they should qualify for the Superleague, Canada will need to perform well against tough opponents to stand a chance of a World Cup spot - a 2nd place finish in the opening round is nearly essential. The matches against Holland and UAE may prove critical (Canada and Holland split a pair of matches last summer).

UAE

Many will recall the UAE team that qualified for the 1996 world Cup under the charismatic leadership of Sultan Zarawani. Only one player remains from that squad, the current captain, Saeed Al Saffar, and the tightening of the qualification rules means the UAE squad contains 11 players born in that country. The 1997 ICC Trophy was disappointing, relegated to playing in the Plate final, where they lost to Bermuda. Cricket is thriving in the UAE with a strong crop of young players and the team won the ACC Trophy in November beating Malaysia in the semi-final and Hong Kong in the final.

Arshad Ali, with first-class experience with the Pakistan Board XI, has been a prolific run scorer in domestic UAE cricket, and also may bowl leg spin is one of three in the squad not born in the UAE. He will likely be the mainstay of the batting with support from Asim Saeed (who often opens both bowling and batting), Danish Jabbar at number 3, Babar Malik, and the skipper in the middle order. Vice-captain Mohammed Tauqir leads the bowling with his off-spin, and Abdul Wahab is an all-rounder, who can bowl either fast-medium left arm or spin. Mairaj Khaliq was successful in the ACC campaign and may also score runs in the lower order.

They should place in the top four, and may surprise any team in the competition.

Fiji

Led by all-rounder player-coach Neil Maxwell (formerly of New South Wales), the Fijian squad's recent international experience has been severely curtailed by political problems. They performed well in the Pacifica Cup in New Zealand, losing a good final to a strong New Zealand Maori team, and were merciless against weak opposition in the opening rounds. Tavo Sorovakatini scored two centuries in this competition, one in 63 balls as the Fijians totaled over 400 against minnows New Caledonia. He also top-scored in the final in more demanding conditions and will be a player to watch. He and two of his brothers played in Malaysia in 1997, but this time only Jone joins him in the squad. Waisake Tukana, who gained experience with Goulburn, New South Wales is a good all-rounder, and Joji Bulabalavu was the leading wicket-taker at the Pacifica Cup and is an aggressive top order batsman. Taione Batina, also a century maker in the Pacifica Cup, will contribute with the ball as well. Ranked 11th in 1997, and thus placed in Group A with some tough opposition, Fiji will likely have little experience against the quality of bowling of the likes of Scotland. They will have to play above themselves to reach the top four and move on to the next round.

Singapore

Ranked 14th after the 1997 World Cup, where they lost heavily to PNG in the 13th place play-off, Singapore are the lowest ranked team in the top divisions. The team struggled in the ACC Trophy in Sharjah, losing to Malaysia, Hong Kong and Kuwait. Andrew Scott was outstanding with the bat (a century and two fifties in the three games), but the bowling had trouble restricting the opposition. Three good players have subsequently become eligible for the team and will strengthen it considerably. Wicket-keeper teenager Zeng Renchun will be one to watch behind the stumps. Zubin Schroff is the leading bat in local competition and a century against Malaysia in the Saudara Cup confirmed his ability to make runs at the international level. Sandeep Seth is a useful leg-spinner who also makes runs in the middle order. Only left-arm spinner Kiran Deshpande and all rounder Ravi Thambinayagam return from the 1997 team, and the addition of these experienced players will improve a youthful squad. The team is lead by Johann Pieris who will open the batting, and coached by Bruce Yardley.

© Dave Liverman / CricInfo