Scotland

Based at The Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh, the Scotland national team have represented Scotland as an ICC member since 1994. Their history dates back over 200 years, which means they have played cricket for just as long as their cross-border rivals England. Scotland have competed in several major international competitions and have secured some interesting results over the years.

History

The first Scotland cricket match to enter the record books took place in the 18th century, but not for another 80 years would they play their first match, which was against English county team Surrey. They won this match and then formed the Scottish Cricket Union in 1879, recording another win, this time against International giants Australia.

In later years, Scotland would play host to legendary Aussie cricketer Don Bradman and his 1940s Australian team. His final two games on the international stage were played against Scotland, and thanks to a comfortable victory and a typically dominating performance, the focus was definitely on Bradman’s Aussies.

As members of the Test and County Cricket Board, Scotland competed in English domestic cricket from 1980 onwards, but they left the board in 1992 and formed the Scottish National Team in 1994, becoming an associate member of the ICC.

Biggest Players

Mike Denness is one of the most well-known cricketers to hail from Scotland, although Scotland did not have an International team during his illustrious career so he played for England at test level instead. He did play for Scotland at domestic level though, before moving on to Kent and then Essex.

When it comes to the modern Scotland team, one with recognized International status, names like Coetzer and Berrington stand out. As of 2016, these two are the top two highest run scorers for Scotland, with Coetzer leading the way. Coetzer also has one of the best scoring averages, although this is surpassed by the rising star that is Matt Machan. Machan has already worked his way up the batting leaderboard and has an enviable run-to-over average, yet he has only played since 2013 and has many years ahead of him.

Form

Scotland’s late introduction to the ICC meant that they were not eligible for World Cup qualification until 1999, which is when they first played in the competition. This has not been their best tournament though, far from it. They finished bottom of their group during their first and third World Cups, and they finished second-bottom during 2015. They did not qualify for the 2003 or 2011 competition.

Scotland haven’t faired very well in the World Twenty20 either, failing to make it beyond the group stage during their first two competitions and then failing to qualify for the 2010, 2012 and 2014 competition.

Their best performances have come in the ICC Trophy, which they won in 2005 and 2014, after finishing 3rd in 1997 and 4th in 2001. This competition is a feeder competition for the World Cup and in 2014 they fought off competition from the likes of United Arab Emirates, who they beat in both the Super Six and the final, recording their only loss against Hong Kong in the group stage.

Scotland have also put in some good performances in the European Championships, the ICC Intercontinental Cup and the World Twenty20 Qualifier, which they were the joint winners of in 2015, along with the Netherlands.

Fun Facts

The first international cricket match did not involve Scotland, but the first International football match did, and it was played at the West of Scotland Cricket Club. This meeting of soon-to-be global sports was contested between England and Scotland in 1872, a rivalry that would last for another 150 years and one that still thrives in International sport. There were more than 4,000 spectators at the game, but most of these would have gone home disappointed as the game ended 0-0.

Although he didn’t play for Scotland, and although he is generally considered to be English, Douglas Robert Jardine claimed Scottish heritage and could arguably go down as one of their most famous players. Jardine played for England, and during a 1932 to 1933 tour of Australia he implemented what would become known as “Bodyline” tactics. He is said to be the first man to use these tactics and he became notorious throughout Australia because of it. Bodyline tactics were considered dangerous at the time and were therefore very controversial.

Jardine was born in India, he lived and later died in Switzerland and he played for England, but his parents were Scottish, and he staked just as much claim to a Scottish heritage as he did to an English one, if not more so.