Scotland national cricket team

Infobox non test cricket team
country_name = Scotland


image_caption = Flag of Scotland
icc_member_year = 1994
icc_status = Associate member with ODI status
icc_region = Europe
current_captain = Ryan Watson
WCL_division = One
regional_tournament = European Cricket Championship
regional_tournament_division = One
first_match = 7 May 1849 v All England XI at Edinburgh
world_ranking = 13th
regional_ranking = 2nd
icc_trophy_apps = 3
icc_trophy_first = 1997
icc_trophy_best = Winners, 2005
odi_matches = 26
odi_win_loss_record = 7/17
fc_matches = 175
fc_win_loss_record = 27/62
la_matches = 217
la_win_loss_record = 39/165
asofdate = 14 July 2007

The Scotland national cricket team represents Scotland in the game of cricket. When they play in the English one-day Friends Provident Trophy, they compete as the Scottish Saltires. The Scottish Saltires play their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh (and occasionally at Titwood in Glasgow, in the past having been Hamilton Crescent).

They were elected to associate membership of the International Cricket Council in 1994 [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Countries/24.html Scotland] at Cricket Archive] after having severed their cricketing links with the England cricket team two years earlier. This allowed them to qualify for the Cricket World Cup in 1999 but they lost all their five matches. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/WC99/ 1999 Cricket World Cup] at Cricinfo] Furthermore, the team were unable to qualify in 2003. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/WC2003/ 2003 Cricket World Cup] at Cricinfo]

In 2004 the Scotland cricket team competed in the inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup. They first played Ireland and the Netherlands, and then on the back of those results progressed to the semi-finals in Sharjah. They overcame Kenya in the semi-finals, and then won the Cup by beating Canada in the final. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2004/OTHERS/ICC-CONT/ 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup] at Cricinfo] They also competed in that tournament in 2005, but failed to progress past the first round. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OTHERS/ICC-CONT/ 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup] at Cricinfo] By qualifying for the semi-finals of the 2005 ICC Trophy on 7 July 2005 they have gained One Day International status from 1 January 2006 to the next ICC World Cup Qualifier in 2009. [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES/articles/000042/004282.shtml Ireland's ODI status - the facts] by Andrew Nixon, 19 April 2007 at CricketEurope] Scotland played their first One Day International outside of World Cups against Pakistan in June 2006, with the European Championship matches against Ireland and the Netherlands during August also being classed as full One Day International games. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/Scotland/Odis/Odi_List.html List of Scotland's ODIs] at Cricket Archive]

The current captain of the side is Ryan Watson, of Forfarshire, who has held the role since April 2007. [ [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/25428.html Ryan Watson] at Cricinfo] The coach is currently Australian Peter Steindl, succeeding [ [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES/articles/000051/005105.shtml Tennant fills the gap for now] by Jon Coates, 11 July 2007 at CricketEurope] Peter Drinnen, who was forced out of the job in somewhat controversial circumstances. [ [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES/articles/000050/005058.shtml 'Devastated' Drinnen is forced out] by Jon Coates, 7 July 2007 at CricketEurope]

History

Before ICC Membership

The first recorded cricket match in Scotland took place in Alloa in 1785. [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/SCOTLAND/DATABASE/SCL/history.shtml A History of Cricket in Scotland] at the official Cricket Scotland website] It would be another 80 years however, before Scotland played their first full match, against Surrey in 1865, where they won by 172 runs. [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/SCOTLAND/GENERAL/timeline.shtml Scottish cricket timeline] ]

The first Scottish Cricket Union was formed in 1879, and the national team beat Australia by 7 wickets three years later. The cricket union became defunct in 1883, and Grange CC took over the administration of the game until 1909. The first match against Ireland took place in Dublin in 1888, with the Irish emerging victorious. They also played South Africa, the West Indies, an all-Indian team, and New Zealand before the start of World War 2.

1948 saw Australia visit Scotland for two games at the end of their tour of England. These games, both of which were won by the Australians, were to be the last international games for the legendary Don Bradman. The Don signed off in typical style, making a fine unbeaten 123 in the innings victory. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/18/18709.html Scorecard] of Scotland v Australia, 17 September 1948 at Cricket Archive]

Scotland first competed in English domestic cricket in 1980, when they competed in the Benson & Hedges Cup for the first time. 3 years later, they took part in the Nat West trophy. Their first B & H win would come against Lancashire in 1986.

ICC Membership

In 1992 Scotland severed their ties with the TCCB, and England, and gained associate membership of the ICC in their own right in 1994. They competed in the ICC Trophy for the first time in 1997, finishing third and qualifying for the 1999 World Cup, where they lost all their games. The 2001 ICC Trophy saw them finish 4th, losing a play-off game to Canada, [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/ICCT2001/ 2001 ICC Trophy] at Cricinfo] but they won the 2005 tournament, beating long-time rivals Ireland in the final. 2004 saw Scotland first confirm themselves as one of the leading associate nations by winning the inaugural Intercontinental Cup. They didn't progress beyond the first round in the 2005 tournament, however.

Present day

2006

March 2006 saw Scotland embark on a pre-season tour to Barbados. They performed with some credit, although they only won one of their 6 games, against a Barbados XI. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/WI/2005-06_WI_Scotland_XI_in_Barbados_2005-06.html Scotland in Barbados 2006] at Cricket Archive] They owed much of their success to Dougie Brown, who re-qualified to represent Scotland internationally in 2004. They competed in the C & G Trophy in English domestic cricket in the early part of the 2006 English cricket season. They performed better than expected, winning three of their nine games, and finishing eighth in the Northern conference. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Events/Tables/Cheltenham_and_Gloucester_Trophy_2006.html 2006 C & G Trophy points table] at Cricket Archive]

In June, they played their first ODI since the 1999 World Cup when they took on Pakistan in Edinburgh. Without key players Dougie Brown and Navdeep Poonia, they lost by five wickets. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/96/96843.html Scorecard] of Scotland v Pakistan, 27 June 2006 at Cricket Archive] They finally got their first ODI win in the European Championships in August with a win over the Netherlands in a rain-shortned game. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/96/96847.html Scorecard] of Scotland v Netherlands, 6 August 2006 at Cricket Archive] They again missed key players for some games in this tournament though, and thanks to their loss against Ireland, finished second in the tournament. [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2006/TOURNAMENTS/EURODIV1/about.shtml 2006 European Championship Division One] at CricketEurope]

Throughout 2006 and into the early part of 2007, Scotland participated in the Intercontinental Cup. In May, they beat Namibia, and drew against Ireland in August. They also drew against the UAE in January 2007 and did not reach the final. [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2006/TOURNAMENTS/INTERCONTINENTAL/about.shtml 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup] at CricketEurope] In late 2006, they travelled to Bangladesh for their first ODI series outside the UK, losing both matches against Bangladesh.

2007

In January 2007, after the Intercontinental Cup match against the UAE in Sharjah, they travelled to Kenya, first playing in a tri-series against Canada and Kenya in Mombasa, which they finished second in. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Events/Tables/ICC_Associates_Kenya_Tri-Series_2006-07.html ICC Associates Kenya tri-series 2007 points table] at Cricket Archive] This was followed by Division One of the World Cricket League in Nairobi, where Scotland finished as runners up. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/96/96884.html Scorecard] of Kenya v Scotland, WCL Division One final, 7 February 2007 at Cricket Archive]

They then travelled to the West Indies for their second World Cup. They again lost all their games and failed to progress beyond the first round. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/WC2007/ 2007 Cricket World Cup] at Cricinfo] Back in the UK, they competed in the Friends Provident Trophy, their only win coming against Lancashire. [ [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2007/TOURNAMENTS/FPTROPHY/about.shtml 2007 Friends Provident Trophy] at CricketEurope] They also drew an Intercontinental Cup match against the UAE [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/123/123037.html Scorecard] of Scotland v UAE, 27 June 2007 at Cricket Archive] and an ODI against Pakistan in July was washed out. [ [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES/articles/000050/005010.shtml Rain denies Scots a shot at Pakistan] by Jon Coates, 2 July 2007 at Cricket Scotland's official site]

In July, Scotland took part in a quadrangular series in Ireland against the hosts, the Netherlands and the West Indies. However, the endeavour was not a success. They lost their matches against Ireland and the West Indies with the match against the Netherlands being abandoned due to rain.

At the beginning of August, Scotland were on Intercontinental Cup duty as they won against the Netherlands by an innings and 59 runs. They then drew with Ireland in a rain affected match, only gaining 3 points however after a poor 1st innings display. India were Scotland's next ODI opponents in mid-August, which was shown live on BBC Scotland from Titwood, Glasgow. The match was reduced slightly to 46 overs after a couple of brief showers, but India won by 7 wickets.

Having reached the final of the World Cricket League earlier in the year, Scotland qualified to play in the Twenty20 World Championship held in South Africa. They lost by 51 runs to Pakistan in their first game, and did not get a chance to play their other Group D opponents India, as the game was washed out without a ball being bowled.

Tournament History

Most ODI wickets for Scotland [cite web|url=http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/scotland/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?class=2;id=30;type=team| title=Scotland ODI Career Bowling| publisher=Cricinfo]

ee also

*Cricket in Scotland
*Scottish national cricket captains
*Sport in Scotland
*Scotland national women's cricket team

References