The Scotland national cricket team represents Scotland in the game of cricket. When they play in the English one-day Friends Provident Trophy, they compete as the Scottish Saltires. The Scottish Saltires play their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh (and occasionally at Titwood in Glasgow, in the past having been Hamilton Crescent).
They were elected to associate membership of the International Cricket Council in 1994 after having severed their cricketing links with the England cricket team two years earlier. This allowed them to qualify for the Cricket World Cup in 1999 but they lost all their five matches.Furthermore, the team were unable to qualify in 2003.
In 2004 the Scotland cricket team competed in the inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup. They first played Ireland and the Netherlands, and then on the back of those results progressed to the semi-finals in Sharjah. They overcame Kenya in the semi-finals, and then won the Cup by beating Canada in the final. They also competed in that tournament in 2005, but failed to progress past the first round. By qualifying for the semi-finals of the 2005 ICC Trophy on 7 July 2005 they have gained One Day International status from 1 January 2006 to the next ICC World Cup Qualifier in 2009. Scotland played their first One Day International outside of World Cups against Pakistan in June 2006, with the European Championship matches against Ireland and the Netherlands during August also being classed as full One Day International games.
The current captain of the side is Ryan Watson, of Forfarshire, who has held the role since April 2007. The coach is currently Australian Peter Steindl, succeeding Peter Drinnen, who was forced out of the job in somewhat controversial circumstances.
Before ICC Membership:
The first recorded cricket match in Scotland took place in Alloa in 1785. It would be another 80 years however, before Scotland played their first full match, against Surrey in 1865, where they won by 172 runs.
The first Scottish Cricket Union was formed in 1879, and the national team beat Australia by 7 wickets three years later. The cricket union became defunct in 1883, and Grange CC took over the administration of the game until 1909. The first match against Ireland took place in Dublin in 1888, with the Irish emerging victorious. They also played South Africa, the West Indies, an all-Indian team, and New Zealand before the start of World War 2.
1948 saw Australia visit Scotland for two games at the end of their tour of England. These games, both of which were won by the Australians, were to be the last international games for the legendary Don Bradman. The Don signed off in typical style, making a fine unbeaten 123 in the innings victory.
Scotland first competed in English domestic cricket in 1980, when they competed in the Benson & Hedges Cup for the first time. 3 years later, they took part in the Nat West trophy. Their first B & H win would come against Lancashire in 1986.
ICC Membership:
In 1992 Scotland severed their ties with the TCCB, and England, and gained associate membership of the ICC in their own right in 1994. They competed in the ICC Trophy for the first time in 1997, finishing third and qualifying for the 1999 World Cup, where they lost all their games. The 2001 ICC Trophy saw them finish 4th, losing a play-off game to Canada, but they won the 2005 tournament, beating long-time rivals Ireland in the final. 2004 saw Scotland first confirm themselves as one of the leading associate nations by winning the inaugural Intercontinental Cup. They didn't progress beyond the first round in the 2005 tournament, however.
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and actual owners of pictures and videos used.
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