Group A sees Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and USA lock horns in an attempt to secure a coveted berth at the finals in the Caribbean in less than three months time.

Defending joint champions Ireland have lost their aura of invincibility in recent times, being hit by a combination of retirements and injuries. Ace spinner Kyle McCallan, and Jeremy Bray both called it a day, while Boyd Rankin and Regan West are both on the treatment table meaning it’s a very threadbare Irish attack.

Trent Johnston has continued his rich vein of form, while Andre Botha is slowly rediscovering the sort of form that made him one of the stars of the 2007 World Cup. The rising star of Irish cricket at the moment is left arm spinner George Dockrell, who showed just why he is so highly rated by taking 4 for 19 in a Man of the Match display as Ireland beat Canada by 11 runs yesterday.

There are no such concerns over the Irish batting, who boast a formidable opening partnership in William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien, followed by the explosive Paul Stirling. Kevin O’Brien is a potential match winner, while they have batting depth down to number nine.

Scotland endured a miserable 2009, but their Intercontinental Cup win over Kenya has given them a renewed sense of purpose and belief. They are very much in a transitional period following the retirements of Colin Smith and Craig Wright, and the very public falling out with star bowler John Blain.

They have given youth a chance, and they have responded positively, with Richie Berrington proving to be particularly adept at the shortened format of the game.

Kyle Coetzer and Ryan Watson are both clean strikers of the ball, while Navdeep Poonia, who so often has flattered to deceive, surely has to deliver sooner rather than later. Their trump card may prove to be Neil McCallum, who is a powerful hitter, playing the sweep to the spinners with great effect. Jan Stander is capable of clearing the ropes, while Majid Haq is more than capable.

Dewald Nel has proven to be their star performer with the new ball, while Haq is amongst the best spinners in Associates cricket. Gordon Drummond can be effective without being startling, while Ryan Watson may be required to bowl his darts if Ross Lyons is left out. Simon Smith has proven himself a more than capable replacement for his namesake, while Fraser Watts is enjoying a career renaissance.

If skipper Gavin Hamilton can maintain the high standards he set for himself, he may well be leading his Celtic troops to the West Indies.

There’s no doubting the success story of the last 21 months – the rise of Afghanistan. Helped along the way by the weather gods, their elevation from Division Five to One in that time, is nothing short of astonishing.

Their crushing win over Ireland in the ICup proved their victory in the 50 WCQ in South Africa was no fluke. They defeated Scotland twice in that competition, so they will enter this tourney with no inferiority complex.

Having missed out on the 2011 World Cup qualification, they will be doubly determined to make an appearance in front of the cameras this time around.

Nowroz Mangal is the skipper of a very talented bunch of players, who given the freedom to play without inhibition, have the potential to make some very high totals.

Noor Ali has been a prolific scorer in all forms of the game while Mohammed Shahzad can score quickly, as can Ashgar. Throw in the talented Mohammed Nabi and Raees Ahmadzai, and their batting is certainly not short of quality strokemakers.

It’s their bowling which is probably their strongest suit however, with Hamid Hassan arguably the quickest and best fast bowler at Associate level. With Mohammed Nabi proving frugal and effective as well, then a disciplined bowling unit is emerging. Shapoor Zadran and Dawlat are both more than useful up front, while Shenwari offers a little of the unknown.

USA are something of an unknown quantity, benefiting from a wild card entry courtesy of ICC, always keen to milk potential new sources of funding, be it dollars or yuan.

They have no experience of top level Twenty20 action, but any team with a liberal sprinkling of West Indian born players in their line up, has the ability to play cavalier cricket.

Two cases in point are Timroy Allen who blasted his side to victory over UAE in a warm-up game, and wicket-keeper Clain Wright. Lennox Cush, Steve Massiah and Nadkarni all can make things happen, while the enthusiastic Orlando Baker will always give 100%.

Like Group B, it’s a pretty open contest, with any team more than capable of progression if lady luck shines on them. It does seem though a perm any two from three of the big guns, which will make for some interesting clashes over the next week.