Ireland Coach Mike Hendrick is looking to end a three-year jinx today when his side tackle title holders Scotland at Greenock in the first match of the annual Triple Crown tournament.
Hendrick has not enjoyed a competitive win over Ireland's hosts during his spell in charge and the most costly of four defeats came last year in Malaysia where the Scots won the third-place playoff at the ITC Trophy and with it an invitation to next year's World Cup.
Hendrick said: "I don't think Scotland are a better team; but they do know how to press home their chances and that's something that we could improve on.
"Sometimes in cricket you get sequences like this, with one team regularly beating the other, but it usually goes in cycles and Jim Love knows his time will come."
For this meeting, Love finds himself without two men who played key roles in last week's narrow win over County side Worcestershire.
Love has had to apologise to Ian Stanger and Drew Parsons who were overlooked because the Scottish squad was selected before the NatWest Trophy tie.
The Irish squad was also picked before their recent loss to Warwickshire at Egbaston; but the only change in a squad of 13 is the return of evergreen seamer Paul McCrum. Ireland, who have the best batsman on show in 19year old Trinity left-hander Ed Joyce, will be hoping to recapture the title they won two years ago as a prelude to defending the European championship in The Hague next month.
