The old against the new

The fifth ICC Intercontinental Cup final which starts in Dubai on Thursday pits the old against the new - Scotland, the first winners back in 2004, against Afghanistan, a team who at the time of that inaugural final did not even exist in cricketing terms.

Whereas in the intervening six years Scotland have struggled to retain their place as one of the leading Associates, not helped by funding issues and the toll increasing demands being made on their national players, Afghanistan have become everyone's favourite Associate, a story of triumph in the face of adversity. Well, almost everyone's - one chief executive of a Full Member dismissed them as "little more than a Pakistan A side".

But the proof of their appeal can be seen in the traffic on Cricinfo whenever we cover one of their matches live, which often dwarfs that of one or two of the so-called international big countries.

All four Intercontinental Cups so far have been won by European sides - Ireland have taken the last three after Scotland's initial victory - but that monopoly may well end in the desert heat. Despite having no experience of four-day cricket, Afghanistan won five of their six qualifying matches and more than held their own in their drawn game against a strong Zimbabwe XI.

Scotland did well, although they were awarded a walkover by Zimbabwe XI because of the never-ending political issues with them playing a game in Harare. However, they were thrashed on home soil by Afghanistan three-and-a-half months ago despite having everything in their favour. That scar will travel with the Scots to the Middle East where the conditions will not be welcomed by a team coming from a country in the grip of winter, even if they have had a few days to acclimatise.

"Most of our squad haven't played in those conditions before," Scotland coach Peter Steindel admitted. "It will be a great opportunity for them to become better cricketers. How quickly we adapt to the conditions will be a challenge that we need to overcome. But if you are in the right mental state and fight hard you can overcome any sort of challenge that comes in the way."

Afghanistan have balance in their side. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad is the competition's leading run-scorer with 736 at 81.77, and the remainder of the top order all boast averages close to or over 40. And there is depth as well, with the lower middle-order more than capable of holding their own. Hamid Hassan is the pick of the bowlers, his 35 wickets at 21.57 instrumental in their success, and his seam is complemented by a battery of spinners.

"They [Afghanistan] hate to lose and are mentally very tough," coach Rashid Latif said. "This team has a lot of self-belief. They play aggressive and positive cricket. That is the strength of this Afghanistan team."

Scotland, in contrast, have struggled to field a settled side, largely because of the unavailability which is the persistent headache for many Associates, but it was the choice of the selectors that Qasim Sheikh, the only batsman to score a hundred in the competition, was left back home.

While Scotland's batting line-up is on paper a match for the Afghans, their bowling looks weaker and that could be difference between the sides, especially as to take the title Scotland have to win, and it is hard to see how they will bowl Afghanistan out twice in conditions which favour the bat.

Afghanistan: Nawroz Mangal (capt), Karim Sadiq, Asghar Stanikzai, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shinwari, Shapoor Zadran, Shabir Noori, Shehzad Mohammadi, Aftab Alam, Batin Shah, Abdullah Mazari, Mohammed Nabi, Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammed Sami Agha, Afzar Zazai, Najeeb Zadran, Gulbodin Naib, Khaliq Dad Noori.

Scotland:Gordon Drummond (capt), Kyle Coetzer, Neil McCallum, Richie Berrington, Majid Haq, Fraser Watts, Simon Smith, Gordon Goudie, Ross Lyons, Preston Mommsen, Matthew Parker, Gregor Maiden, Ryan Flannigan, Stuart Chalmers.