T20 World Cup: Scotland name final 15-player squad; Trott named batting consultant

Edinburgh, Oct 10 (IANS) Scotland on Sunday announced their final squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup with Kyle Coetzer all set to lead the side, and former England batter Jonathan Trott roped in as batting consultant.

The Scottish side sees the inclusion of veterans Richie Berrington, Calum Macleod, Safyaan Sharif, Matthew Cross and Ally Evans, who will be led by Kyle Coetzer.

The former England batter, Jonathan Trott has been roped in as batting consultant for the side. Trott's experience from the previous World Cups and the Ashes series will help the side prepare for pressure situations and acclimatise to the demands of ICC tournaments.

Josh Davey, Michael Leask, George Munsey and Mark Watt, who were all in the squad for the last ICC T20 World Cup in 2016, also find a spot. While Dylan Budge, Chris Greaves, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace and Brad Wheal will be part of the tournament for the first time.

From the 17-member provisional squad that was announced, Chris Sole and Oli Hairs failed to make the final squad. While Sole will remain a reserve player, Hairs will travel back to the UK after suffering a shoulder injury during a warm-up game against Papua New Guinea on Friday. Michael Jones is set to join the team as cover for Hairs.

"It's been a very tough decision because we have a lot of depth currently in Scottish cricket. There's a lot of skill, talent, versatility and adaptability within the squad and many of them have put their hands up at various times recently. We've also tried over the last 18 months, even during Covid, to look forward to this World Cup and think what the combinations would be," said Scotland head coach Shane Burger reflecting on the squad selection.

"I'm really excited for the spin bowling attack that we can put together. We have a wrist spinner in Chris Greaves who has done well in his last two outings for Scotland, and then obviously we have the two left-arm spinners in Hamza Tahir and Mark Watt, who are consistent performers as well as Michael Leask, who is in the form of his life at the moment with both bat and ball.

"From a seam bowling point of view, we have the evergreen Safyaan Sharif who is one of the best death bowlers around, along with Josh Davey and Brad Wheal coming off really good county seasons. And then you've got Ally Evans with his height who has had a fantastic season and probably been one of our better bowlers recently," he added.

The coach also mentioned that it's disappointing to lose Oli Hairs, but he is confident about the abilities of replacements.

Scotland will commence their tournament's journey against Bangladesh in Round 1 of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 on October 17 in Oman. They will then compete against Papua New Guinea (October 19) and Oman (October 21). The top two teams will move to the Super12 stage of the marquee event.

Full Squad: Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richard Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal.

Travelling Reserves: Michael Jones, Chris Sole.