The Netherlands will host Scotland and Ireland for a cricket T20I triangular series from May 18 to 24 ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June.

The series, which will be played entirely at the VRA Ground in Amstelveen, will see the three teams play each other twice in a round-robin format.

While Ireland will go into the series on the back of a three-match T20I series against Pakistan, the tri-series will provide crucial preparation for Scotland and the Netherlands ahead of the 20-team global event to be hosted by the USA and West Indies.

The Dutch were set for a more competitive build-up to the World Cup but suffered cancellations after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) pulled out of a planned three-match T20I tour in May citing concerns over player workload.

Uganda, who are set for their maiden senior World Cup appearance, were in line to host a quadrilateral series involving the Netherlands, Oman and Namibia this month but conversations fell through after failing to secure enough sponsors.

In the World Cup, the Netherlands have been drawn alongside Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa and Sri Lanka in Group D; Ireland have been drawn in Group A alongside India, Canada, USA and Pakistan; and Scotland in Group B alongside England, Namibia, Oman and Australia.

Roland Lefebvre, the high performance manager of Dutch cricket association KNCB, said: “We are excited to host this Tri-Series as part of our preparation for the T20 World Cup played in America and the West Indies in June.

“Twenty teams will be competing in this year’s event which makes this World Cup a truly global event, with more than a billion TV viewers worldwide. The Netherlands team will be aiming to emulate the success they had in Australia in 2022.”

All matches will be livestreamed by the European Cricket Network (ECN) on YouTube.

Tri-Series fixture: