Scotland cricket: Richie Berrington named as new captain

Richie Berrington feels “incredibly honoured” after being named as Scotland’s new cricket captain.

Richard Berrington of Scotland plays a shot during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between Pakistan and Scotland at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on November 07, 2021 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

The 35-year-old will replace long-standing skipper Kyle Coetzer, who called time on his Scotland captaincy just a few weeks ago.

Berrington takes over the mantle and will lead Scotland in their upcoming tri-nation series against Nepal and Namibia in Ayr next month, which doubles up as ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 matches.

The appointment was decided upon by the men’s coaching team in consultation with senior players. Matthew Cross will be his vice-captain.

“I feel incredibly honoured and privileged to lead this team and represent my country,” said Berrington, who was born in South Africa. “Having come through the Scottish system from a young age, I’m very proud to take on the role of men’s captain.

“We have an extremely skilful and talented group of players and a lot of experience in our squad but as a group we are always looking to find ways to improve and I’m looking forward to seeing the team continually move forward.

“As a team we’re very much looking forward to what’s ahead – three home series over the next couple of months is a great opportunity for us to keep building on the team’s recent success and we’ll be doing all we can to produce some good results in front of a home crowd.

“We’ve had a fantastic leader in Kyle, who has been a great ambassador for our sport and I have learnt a lot under his leadership. As men’s captain I am aiming to lead through performance, bringing my experience to the role and giving everything I can to help support the team. Long term, World Cup qualification is key for us and we are determined to keep pushing towards full member status, while continuing to develop the younger players we have coming through.”

The full Scotland team for the matches next month, between July 10-17, reads: Richie Berrington (captain), Matthew Cross (wk) (vc), Kyle Coetzer, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Dylan Budge, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Michael Leask, Gavin Main, Adrian Neill, Hamza Tahir, Chris Sole, Chris McBride.