Michael Jones has been included in Scotland’s 18-player squad for their T20 and ODI series against New Zealand next week.
The 24-year old returns to the Scotland squad having impressed for Durham so far this summer in both the Championship and the T20 squads.
The 18 strong squad will take on the Blackcaps in two T20s and an ODI next week in the first multi game series New Zealand have played in Scotland.
In addition to Jones’ call up there is also room for Oliver Hairs and Craig Wallace in addition to the 15 who were involved in the CWCL2 fixtures in Glasgow last week.
Head Coach Shane Burger said: “We certainly respect a team like New Zealand but we don’t fear them. The opportunity this brings right now is for us to test our skills against a really good skillset coming back at us. We are excited to see our players play against one of the best teams in the world in Scotland and get our home fans around at the Grange, and it would be great to see as many fans down there as possible.
“This is a team that knows that they can go on to beat Full Members as we have shown recently, and is a fantastic preparation for the T20 World Cup later in the year”
This also comes with the news that former Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer has decided to retire from the T20 format. Coetzer, who led the national team in the 2021 T20 World Cup, will only be available for the ODI against New Zealand.
Kyle Coetzer said on his T20 retirement said: “After considered discussions with Cricket Scotland and the head coach, the team would gain more from someone else playing in the upcoming T20 fixtures and the subsequent T20 World Cup. It was a pleasure to take part and lead my country in the previous World Cup and help Scotland qualify for this year. It was a real driving force for me to continue helping the team in any way that I could.
From a personal point of view, I am looking forward to having a bit more time to spend with my family with two young daughters while also focusing on my coaching career and having more time for that. But ultimately, it is about what is best for the direction of the team going forward.”
Toby Bailey, Interim Head of Performance said: “Kyle has had an incredible international T20 career. He has helped the team to remarkable achievements including qualifying for multiple World Cups and leading the team to the Super 12s at the ICC 2021 T20 World Cup. His dynamic batting will be missed but will give opportunities to others coming through the system. This was a tough decision for Kyle but one which will benefit the team and the longevity of Kyle’s ODI career.”
Scotland squad
Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Kyle Coetzer, Ali Evans, Chris Greaves, Oliver Hairs, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, Chris McBride, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt
Fixtures
Scotland v New Zealand 27th July (T20 – 14:30 start)
Scotland v New Zealand 29th July (T20 – 14:30 start)
Scotland v New Zealand 31st July (ODI – 11:00 start)