Scotland pick Brad Wheal, Chris Sole for World Cup qualifiers

Hampshire seamers Brad Wheal and Chris Sole have been included in Scotland's squad for the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe in March. Scott Cameron, the 21-year old allrounder who was part of the squad in the recent tri-series in the UAE, was left out.

Allrounder Con de Lange, meanwhile, was unavailable for selection due to a health issue.

Wheal and Sole beef up a pace attack, which also includes Safyaan Sharif, Stuart Whittingham and Alasdair Evans.

Batsman Michael Jones and allrounder Tom Sole, who had made their ODI debuts in the UAE, retained their places in the squad, which will be led by Kyle Coetzer, Scotland's top scorer in ODI cricket.

The squad will depart for a pre-tournament camp in Pretoria on 15 February before the official warm-ups begin against Papua New Guinea and Ireland.

Scotland are the defending champions, having won the qualifiers in Lincoln in 2014. Coetzer believed that this squad had enough depth to repeat the feat and qualify for the 2019 World Cup.

"We hope to be in a position by the end of the tournament to not only qualify for the World Cup but also defend our title from the previous qualifying campaign," Coetzer said. "We have the depth within our squad to make this a reality and we will be raring to go when the opening game comes around."

Scotland's coach Grant Bradburn was pleased with the side's preparation and was also upbeat about their chances in Zimbabwe.

"The squad have had an excellent preparation phase over the winter months in Dubai including quality game and planning time leading into Zimbabwe," he said. "The team are now very familiar with the style of cricket that suits our individuals, which is also a style we believe will win the World Cup qualifiers.

"We have selected a nicely balanced side while the players themselves are determined to have no fear of bringing their dynamic skill sets coupled with a bloody-minded determination that reflects the prize at stake."