Coetzer leads 'versatile' Scotland squad for T20 World Cup; Trott joins coaching staff
Scotland have named Kyle Coetzer the captain of a provisional 17-member squad for next month's T20 World Cup in Oman and the UAE. Former England batter Jonathan Trott, meanwhile, has been roped in as the "batting lead" on their support staff.
Richie Berrington, Calum Macleod, Safyaan Sharif, Matthew Cross and Alasdair Evans, who have more than 1000 caps for Scotland, are among the 17 players picked for the world tournament, with the final squad of 15 to be named by October 10.
Dylan Budge, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace and Brad Wheal are set to play their first world tournament for Scotland while Josh Davey, Michael Leask, George Munsey and Mark Watt, who were in the squad for the 2016 T20 World Cup, have been also included.
"This squad has worked hard over a long period of time now and deserves the opportunity to show the world what we are about," Shane Burger, the head coach, said. "This is an experienced, versatile and exciting group of players and we're looking forward to embracing the challenges ahead as a team."
Chairman of selectors Iain Kennedy said: "I'm very happy with the squad that we've selected. It's a well-balanced group, with match winners in every department of the game led by one of the most experienced leaders in the competition in Kyle Coetzer."
Scotland's support staff includes assistant coach and fast-bowling expert Craig Wright, spin bowling coach Chris Brown, batting lead Trott, analyst George McNiel, strength and conditioning coach Nick Karamouzis, Physio Karen Gibson, team manager Kenny Crichton, and well-being manager Louise Finlayson.
Regarding the appointment of Finlayson, who is an experienced mental skills coach, Cricket Scotland CEO Gus Mackay said, "The pandemic has forced us into operating in Managed Environments and the role of a Well-being Manger has been identified as critical to support the players and staff of what we hope will be a long and successful tour."
Scotland begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Bangladesh, in round one, on 17 October in Oman. They then face Papua New Guinea and Oman on October 19 and 21 respectively. The top two teams will move to the Super12 stage of the tournament.