Hussain destined for Pakistan as spinner nurses hurt at exclusion from Saltires squad

ANY fears that his brutal omission from the Scotland squad might cause Omer Hussain to cool on the idea of a cricket career can be put to bed with the news that he is flying to Pakistan this week to escape the January blues.

Hussain, 22, will miss this month's adventures in the Gulf and East Africa through no fault of his own. He was named in Scotland's provisional World Cup 15 at the end of last summer and had not been asked to play for Scotland since, nor veered away from his training programme. Rather, his omission simply stated that a fresh contender, Glenn Rogers, had pushed him into 16th place in the race for 15 seats on a jet bound for the Caribbean in March.

After a Christmas holiday spent recovering from shattered dreams, Hussain is now bound for a six-week stint in Multan - the city that not only Inzamam-ul-Haq, but also Omer's grandparents, call home - to fill the gap in his winter schedule. Injuries might yet have a say as the World Cup nears, and there could hardly be a more proactive response to such a setback.

"I leave on the 13th for Pakistan and I'm hoping to play some club cricket," he said yesterday. "I'm not sure who I am going to play for but I have a lot of family over there and although I haven't been for seven years, my Punjabi isn't too bad so it shouldn't be that hard to communicate.

"Losing my place won't stop me from working just as hard. I'm hoping to go to Pakistan and get some match experience under my belt, because it looks like I won't be playing for a couple of months. In the meantime I will keep training and keeping to my fitness programme."

The Ferguslie batsman did not feature in either of two one-day internationals in Bangladesh last month and Rogers, the spin-bowling all-rounder who toured as a late replacement for Dewald Nel, has clearly become a more attractive "package". Rogers took a wicket and scored 20 runs in each match in Bangladesh, forging a reputation for reliability.

Hussain's hopes of travelling to the Caribbean now hinge largely on the fitness of the preferred XV, as the inclusion of three spin bowlers - the status quo thus far - will surely be maintained on the West Indian wickets where this road ultimately winds up.

"Peter Drinnen talked to me about it," said Hussain. "Glenn Rogers played pretty well in Bangladesh and you can't really fault him. Obviously I am just disappointed that I never got the chance to show what I could do."

Drinnen insists that the youngster has impressed him with the reformed attitude he adopted while losing weight in the summer. "He is just an unfortunate victim of the balance we need in the squad," said the coach.

"He is a tremendous kid and his time will come. If he goes to Pakistan I think it will be positive, I have just told him to make sure he stays in contact because the call-up could come at any time."

ROGERS AND LYONS PUT HANDS UP FOR SELECTION

SCOTLAND'S spinners again made their case for inclusion as the national side continued their warm-up for the Intercontinental Cup match against UAE by bowling out a Development XI for 196 in Sharjah yesterday, writes Jonathan Coates.

The two-day match petered out into a draw after rain fell, but Glenn Rogers and Ross Lyons had already had their say as the hosts were dismissed 112 runs short of Scotland's first-innings 308.

Rogers took three for 36 and Lyons two for 25, while Neil McCallum claimed his first international wicket.

In their second innings Scotland made 69 for the loss of one wicket, but three batsmen retired to give team-mates time at the crease.

Scotland 308-9 dec and 69-1; UAE XI 196 (G Rogers 3-36, J Blain 2-25, R Lyons 2-25).