Scotland ‘working around the clock’ after late T20 World Cup call-up

Scotland are hurriedly “working around the clock” as they confront the logistical challenges of being called up to the T20 World Cup with just a fortnight’s notice.

Bangladesh were ejected following a refusal to play their matches in India because of safety and security concerns, and Scotland, the highest-ranked team not to qualify for the tournament, have been drafted in instead.

While Cricket Scotland has been putting contingencies in place, it was only notified of its inclusion by the International Cricket Council on Saturday – two weeks before their tournament opener against the West Indies in Kolkata.

Organising flights, hotels and visas for players and backroom staff – all while monitoring its sides in the Under-19 World Cup in Namibia and the Women’s T20 World Cup qualifier in Nepal – have taken precedence in the last 48 hours.

“Essentially we need to get to India within the next week,” Cricket Scotland chief executive Trudy Lindblade said on Monday.

“Our team is completely inundated with trying to make sure we get our team there, but also we can’t do that without the help of the ICC. We’ve been almost working around the clock.

“There have been messages on a WhatsApp group at all hours of the night. There might be a three-hour window when none of us are working.

“Our entire Cricket Scotland team is just over 30 staff so that’s everything from our coaching staff to office staff and development team. In the office, it’s been all hands on deck.”

Scotland, who finished outside the top two in last year’s Europe regional final qualifying competition, can look forward to a Group C showdown against England in Kolkata on Valentine’s Day.

Either side of that, they will take on surprise packages and tournament debutants Italy, who beat them in the regional qualifier, at Eden Gardens on February 9 and Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.

“This is not how we wanted to go to the World Cup,” Lindblade added. “There is a qualification process and nobody wants to attend a World Cup that we have done. We acknowledge the unique circumstances of our participation and we do feel for the Bangladesh players.”

Scotland announced their 15-strong squad on Monday, with Richie Berrington as captain in what is new head coach Owen Dawkins’ first assignment, having taken the reins last month with Gordon Drummond as his assistant.

Afghanistan-born teenage fast bowler Zainullah Ihsan has received his first call-up, having recently qualified to play for Scotland. All selections are subject to visas being approved, with Scotland naming two travelling reserves and three non-travelling reserves.

“We want to be as competitive as we possibly can be,” Scotland’s head of performance Steve Snell said. “We’re actually quite relaxed in the sense that the pressure is on the other teams.

“I back ourselves to be really, really competitive. The other teams have had all this preparation time, the time to configure their squads, their gameplans, and the conditions.

“I definitely don’t see it as a free hit, there’s always pressure in international sport and that expectation will come from ourselves.”