Alasdair Evans and Adrian Neill are recalled by Scotland for the ODI World Cup Qualifier
Alasdair Evans and Adrian Neill, two fast bowlers for Scotland, have been called back for the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
For the 2023–2024 season, Evans last week agreed to a professional contract with Cricket Scotland. He will soon participate in his first ODI since October 2021.
Only those two players were changed from the group that won Cricket World Cup League 2 in February. Liam Naylor and Kyle Coetzer, who left international cricket in March, were replaced by them. Richie Berrington will serve as the team’s captain.
According to a Cricket Scotland release,
“a number of players with county contracts were considered for selection but were unavailable due to their commitments in domestic cricket during the early part of the summer”.
“I think there’s a good mixture in this squad of youth and senior players who’ve been around a while – the likes of Richie [Berrington] and George [Munsey], as well as some exciting young talent in Jack Jarvis and Chris McBride,”
Scotland’s interim head coach Doug Watson said.
“It’s moving into winter over there [in Zimbabwe] just now, and the conditions are changing, and will be quite spin-friendly, but the key thing will be for us to adapt to the conditions and approach the games the way we want to play them.”
For the contest, Watson has a new backroom team. In addition to Gavin Cross joining the tour as a physiotherapist, Graeme Beghin (batting and fielding lead) and Glenn Pocknall (bowling lead) will serve as assistant coaches.
On Saturday, June 3, the team will take a flight to Pretoria, South Africa, for a pre-tournament training camp. Before moving on to Zimbabwe, they will also play two exhibition games against Nepal and the Netherlands.
Ten countries will compete in the Qualifiers for two slots in the ODI World Cup in India later this year, including Scotland. Apart from the hosts, Zimbabwe, the other eight nations are: West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Oman, Nepal, USA, and UAE.
Scotland squad: Richie Berrington (capt), Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Jack Jarvis, Michael Leask, Tom Mackintosh, Chris McBride, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Mark Watt
Men’s and women’s contracts for the 2023–24 season were made public by Cricket Scotland on May 10. It was the first time that female players received paid contracts.
The introduction of equal match fees for male and female players in 2021 is built upon by this.
A total of 14 male cricket players and 9 female cricket players signed contracts, with different bands recognizing the demands of players and the organization. From April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024, the contracts are in effect.
Men’s contracts: Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Jack Jarvis, Michael Leask, Chris McBride, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Liam Naylor, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Mark Watt
Women’s contracts: Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Priyanaz Chatterji, Katherine Fraser, Lorna Jack, Ailsa Lister, Megan McColl, Orla Montgomery, Hannah Rainey, Ellen Watson