Sunday, July 01, 2007

Scots under strength for Pakistan

One-day international, The Grange:
Scotland v Pakistan (1030 BST)
[Please note that the Live Scores will be exclusively available here]

Scotland will be without all-rounder Dougie Brown and Durham batsman Kyle Coetzer for their one-day match against Pakistan in Edinburgh on Sunday.

Brown has an Achilles injury while Coetzer has decided to miss the game to concentrate on county commitments.

Their absence hands chances to Qasim Sheikh and Paul Hoffmann.

Injury-plagued paceman Shoaib Akhtar and batsman Younis Khan, who rejected the captaincy so he could play for Yorkshire, are in Pakistan's squad.

For Pakistan, the game is as an appetiser for Tuesday's sell-out clash with India in Glasgow.

Scotland skipper Ryan Watson said: "This is a significant event for our players. Every game we play at this level gives us a chance to improve our world rankings.

"Last year, we made the Pakistanis work hard for their victory. We would like to go one better this time."

Pakistan beat Scotland by five wickets in 2006, despite at one stage being 93-5 in pursuit of 204 for victory.


You should just play the ball, and bat as you would in any normal game of cricket

Scotland skipper Ryan Watson


Coetzer's withdrawal prompted Watson to voice his concern that counties are putting pressure on players to snub international call-ups.

Scotland's match does not clash with a Durham fixture, but 23-year-old Coetzer says he was struggling with the demands from his employers in Chester-le-Street as well as his country.

"It's a tricky situation and we're going to come up against it a lot, county versus country. Kyle's under a bit of pressure," said Watson.

"The disappointing thing is Durham don't actually have a game on the day.

"Kyle's in his final year of his contract, so I think he's looking to get that extended. He's having a good season so it is a pity he's not available.

"He would love to play for Scotland at any opportunity so you would have to say there is a bit of pressure being put on him."

The injury to 37-year-old Brown denies Scotland the services of a player who faced Pakistan on England duty almost 10 years ago.

Brown made an unbeaten 18 and bowled Shahid Afridi for a first-ball duck as England beat Pakistan by eight runs in a Champions Trophy match in Sharjah.

Watson added: "We know what to expect, we've always known there was quality. But the guys have got experience and so hopefully they'll not play the man.

"You should just play the ball, and bat as you would in any normal game of cricket. Hopefully the experience will allow us to do that."

Worcestershire seamer Dewald Nel has remained with the squad while Watsonians captain Gordon Drummond could make his second appearance.


Scotland squad: Ryan Watson (Forfarshire, captain), John Blain, Majid Haq, Omer Hussain (both Ferguslie), Dewald Nel (Worcestershire CCC), Gordon Drummond (Watsonians), Neil McCallum (Grange), Glenn Rogers (Stenhousemuir), Colin Smith (Aberdeenshire), Fraser Watts, Craig Wright (both Greenock), Qasim Sheikh (Clydesdale), Paul Hoffmann (Uddingston).

Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Yasir Hameed, Fawad Alam, Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Iftikhar Anjum

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