Scotland Twenty20 World Cup Team

Scotland - Twenty20 World Cup Scotland will be one of the minnows competing in the Twenty20 World Cup. While the Scots have a long history of competing in international cricket tournaments, they are yet to achieve success against any of the Cricket Council (International) test playing nations.

With Scotland drawn in a pool alongside South Africa and New Zealand for the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, it is difficult to see the Scots making a breakthrough at the tournament.

[[Scotland Twenty20 World Cup]]

Twenty20 World Cup History

In 2009 Scotland will become the only Cricket Council (International) associate member nation to have participated in two Twenty20 World Cups. The Scottish team qualified for the inaugural event in 2007, but played only one match at the tournament, losing to Pakistan by 50 runs. Scotland’s second pool game, against India, was rained out, leaving them at the bottom of their pool.

Scotland’s next taste of international Twenty20 competition came at the 2009 Cricket Council (International) World Twenty20 Qualifier, where they played four matches. During the tournament Scotland won two matches, defeating Bermuda in the group stages before recording an impressive victory over Kenya in the 3rd Place Playoff. Scotland were given a place in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup after Zimbabwe withdrew from the tournament.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Scottish national cricket team is largely an amateur affair, with players working full time in other professions. This limits the extent to which the national team can develop, with players exposed to international cricket on an infrequent basis.

Given the limitations of Scottish cricket, the team does well to field a competitive side. Ryan Watson and Gavin Hamilton are both solid batsmen, while Craig White and John Blain are high quality bowlers. While the team is out-gunned by Cricket Council (International) test playing nations, it is more than capable of holding its own against the Cricket Council (International) associate nations.