VIDEO: UAE take on Oman in the WT20 Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi

The UAE will look to start their WT20 Qualifiers campaign with victory against underdogs Oman in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

The UAE are second seeded team in the tournament after Scotland and have already played two 50-over World Cup and one World T20.

The UAE will look to make best of the opportunity and take early advantage in the tournament.

Fourteen teams are vying for the remaining six places in the showpiece event to be held in Australia next year.

Cricket’s lesser lights, including Jersey and Nigeria, are chasing a “dream” as qualifying for next year’s T20 World Cup gets underway on Friday, but the start of the tournament will be overshadowed by three UAE players being charged with corruption.

Scotland are the highest-ranked team in the competition, with 14 nations vying for six places in the opening round of next year’s World T20 in Australia, where they would join Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in attempting to reach the ‘Super 12s’.

Ireland are the only Test team having to go through qualifying and will be expected to book a sixth straight appearance in the tournament.

“We are here to compete at the world stage,” said Irish skipper Gary Wilson. “We have a great record in the Middle East and the boys are looking forward to a great tournament and ensure we finish right at the top again.”

The winners of each group of seven will qualify automatically, with the four remaining spots to be decided in playoffs.

Scotland, 11th in the world T20 rankings, claimed their first-ever win at a global ICC tournament in the 2016 edition by beating Hong Kong, but will be looking to put the pain of agonisingly missing out on the 50-over World Cup earlier this year behind them. They had two chances to secure a place during last year’s qualifying in Zimbabwe, but lost to Ireland before rain cut short their tense run chase against two-time world champions the West Indies.

“It is vitally important not only for us as Scotland but for every team here,” said Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer.

The Netherlands, who reached the ‘Super 10’ round in 2014, Oman, Hong Kong and the UAE will all be among the favourites to qualify.

But the likes of Nigeria, Jersey and Singapore insist they are not going to just make up the numbers as they bid to give cricket a boost in their countries.

There was already a shock in the Asian regional qualifiers, with Singapore reaching this stage ahead of Nepal, the world’s 13th-ranked outfit.

Island team Jersey are playing in their second consecutive qualifier, having fallen short four years ago despite surprise victories over Hong Kong and Nepal.

“For Jersey, it would probably be the biggest thing that has happened in our sporting history,” admitted captain Charles Perchard.

“It’s a dream of ours to potentially play in a World Cup next year.”

Nigeria have reached the final stage of qualifying for the first time as cricket continues to grow in the African country, with their youth side booking a spot at next year’s Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.

“It would be a great thing to be at the World Cup. It would be a great history for Nigeria,” said their skipper Ademola Onikoyi, after his team took the place of Zimbabwe following their suspension by the ICC, which was lifted on Monday.

Singapore, led by Amjad Mahboob, are also debutants at the qualifying event.

The qualifiers get underway on Friday, with Scotland facing Singapore in the opening Group A game, while Ireland take on Hong Kong and the UAE play Oman in Group B.

Meanhwile, despite boasting a history of having made it to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup twice, Hong Kong’s recent T20 form is a cause for concern ahead of the 2019 Qualifier.

Hong Kong, heavyweights in associate cricket, will go into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 with the experience of having won it before.

However, they will not be completely self-assured ahead of the 14-team tournament. Their returns in T20 cricket over the last three years have been far from ideal, with just one win in eight games in this duration.

Having played T20I cricket since 2014, though, Hong Kong are one of the most experienced teams competing in Dubai this year.