World Twenty20 team guide – Scotland

Scotland will rely on their more-English-than-England attack of bustling medium pacers eking teams out short of three figures

The captain

Gavin “Hammy” Hamilton. The former England, Yorkshire and Durham all-rounder took over the captaincy from Ryan Watson at the beginning of May. Eclipsed every England batsman at the 1999 World Cup, scoring 217 at an average of 54.15, including 76 against Pakistan and an undefeated 34 against Australia. Selected for England for the tour of South Africa later that year, he scored a pair and didn’t take a wicket in his only Test. He won the county championship with Yorkshire in 2001 but his career fell off a cliff the following year when he got the yips and his bowling fell to pieces. “I’d rather have gone out and stood in front of a bus than be given the ball by the skipper,” he said and his last over for the White Rose comprised 12 balls with five wides and a no-ball. Had to requalify for Scotland, which took four years, he will be operating solely as a batsman in this tournament which is likely to be his international swansong.

The coach

Peter Steindl was born in Bundaberg, Queensland, home of Pacific pirates’ fighting fuel, Bundy Rum, and moved to Scotland with his Scottish wife in 1993. A galumphing steady-Eddie seamer, he played 10 ODIs for the Saltires in a distingushed club career before becoming Cricket Scotland’s youth development manager in 2006. He was appointed caretaker coach of the national side a year later when Peter Drinnen, now Holland’s coach, left after falling out with senior players and was confirmed in the post soon after.

Twenty20 international prowess

Lost to Pakistan by 51 runs at the last T20 World Cup and their other match in the tournament (against India) was rained off. In four qualifiers in Belfast to make this competition they lost to Ireland and Holland but beat Kenya in the third-place play-off by nine wickets with 11 balls to spare. Originally only two teams would have made it through but Zimbabwe’s withdrawal gave Scotland a second chance.

Best biffer

Durham’s Kyle Coetzer opens the batting and averages 49.50 with the bat in T20 internationals at a fair lick. The Aberdeen Grammar School old boy has had his appearances restricted by his commitments with Durham but was released for the Belfast qualifiers where he hit three of the Saltires four sixes.

Best bowler

With John Blain, the former Northants and Yorkshire bowler who took 10 wickets at the 1999 World Cup, walking out of the squad at the beginning of the week following an “aggressive argument” with the captain, Dewald Nel takes the mantle as Scotland’s key bowler. More of a run-miser than stump destroyer, the South Africa-born trundler took two for 25 against Pakistan and nine wickets in Belfast.

The showman

Scotland suffer from a lack of marquee players but the 6ft 5in wicketkeeper-batsman Colin Smith, a police constable, scored 51 against Australia at the 2007 World Cup. Dependability outweighs his dashing qualities but his height alone makes him the Scots’ colossus.

Success depends on

They will struggle to post defendable totals. The worst side in the competition, they could pray for a run of No Results to save their blushes or favourable conditions to enhance the chance of their more-English-than-England attack of bustling medium pacers eking teams out short of three figures.

Pleased to be in England

The opener Fraser Watts was born in King’s Lynn – his first name is actually David but one doubts that Ray Davies actually ever had him in mind for the Kinks classic and few, but the most one-eyed Scotland fan, has ever thought “I wish I could be like (this) David Watts”.

YouTube clip

Tweety20: What they might be saying on Twitter

‘iuahfdiasdn aiudhaio io0asdjo o0i9auiqw qweqw’ (if Hamilton gets the yips when he’s on his Blackberry)

The squad

Gavin Hamilton (captain), Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Gordon Drummond, Majid Haq, Calum MacLeod, Neil McCallum, Navdeep Poonia, Dewald Nel, Glenn Rogers, Colin Smith, Jan Stander, Fraser Watts, Ryan Watson and Craig Wright.

Odds to win

500-1

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