IRELAND will face a considerable set of obstacles next April if they are to qualify for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The heroes of the Caribbean will face strong associate sides Scotland, Canada and Namibia in the event, which takes place in South Africa from 1-20 April.

The two six-team groups are based on the official ICC rankings at the end of December, but with no games scheduled before then, CricketEurope analysis confirms that Group A will feature Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Namibia, Oman and a qualifier from the World League Division 3 to be held in Argentina in January. A far less competitive Group B will comprise Kenya, Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE, Denmark and the WCL Division 3 winners, which will come from Afghanistan, Argentina, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea or Uganda.

The top two teams in each group will qualify for the 2011 World Cup, and they will also pick up additional funding which could run into millions of euro. Three of the teams in Group A played in the 2007 World Cup, when Ireland qualified for the Super Eights stage.

Meanwhile, the ICC is expected to fund three Irish players under the high performance scheme to train and play full-time in the run-up to 2011. There has been much debate already, but with the English-based professionals excluded, players most likely to make an impact on the 2011 World Cup and to respond to full-time training are set to pick up the grants. Coach Phil Simmons has the final say but he will not stray far from a shortlist that includes Kevin O'Brien, Andre Botha, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack and Trent Johnston.