Scotland to host Afghanistan for two ODIs before World Cup

Afghanistan will play two ODIs against Scotland as part of their build-up to the 2019 World Cup. The matches will be held on May 8 and 10 at the Grange in Edinburgh.

The two sides last met at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe at the start of the year, with Scotland recording a seven-wicket victory; however, it was Afghanistan and West Indies who came through the competition to take the final two World Cup places.

"Our win versus Afghanistan earlier this year was for me the highlight of 2018, as we played them at their own game," acting head coach Toby Bailey said. "It was very pleasing to watch the team manage their world-class spin attack with the skills we had been developing throughout the winter."

Scotland have already arranged two ODIs against Sri Lanka, to be played on May 18 and 21, and will take part in a quadrangular T20 tournament with Oman, Ireland and Netherlands in February. After beating No. 1-ranked side England at the Grange in June, they complained about the lack of fixtures in the 2019-2023 FTP.

"It is fantastic to have attracted two Full Members for our summer internationals and we are delighted to be playing Afghanistan in May," Cricket Scotland CEO Malcolm Cannon said.

"With our quadrangular series in February and the new ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 starting in July, 2019 looks set to be a busy year for the men's international team."