Scotland’s Kyle Coetzer retires from playing cricket to take up coaching role

Kyle Coetzer, one of Scotland’s greatest ever players, has announced his retirement from playing cricket as he prepares for a new role as assistant coach with Northern Diamonds.

The 38-year old former Scotland captain hangs up his bat having set several records, including becoming Scotland’s highest run scorer in ODI cricket, with 3192 in 89 matches.

Coetzer stepped down as skipper last year and now ends his playing career a month after lifting the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 trophy in Nepal last month. He begins his new job this week as the Diamonds, one of the eight women’s regional ECB hubs, head for a pre-season training camp in Spain.

“I don’t ever think there’s a perfect time for a decision like this, but I’ve been considering my options for some time, and an opportunity came up which was too good to turn down,” Coetzer told Cricket Scotland.

“The balance that the Scotland team need at this time was outweighed by the opportunity for me to move into coaching, and I’m extremely excited about the chance to work with such a high-profile team.

“The chance to move straight into the performance game isn’t always there, and I’m fortunate that this opportunity opened up for me at this moment. To be involved with coaching a performance team at that level is really exciting.”

Coetzer made his full Scotland debut against Pakistan nearly 20 years ago and considers himself “lucky” to have been at the forefront of the growth of the Scotland men’s squad on the international stage.

“I’ve been so lucky throughout my Scotland career that it’s tricky to pick out a highlight,” he said. “Getting our first win in the ICC T20 World Cup against Hong Kong in India in 2016 was special, but then so was the whole of 2018.

“The victory against England at The Grange was just amazing. That whole year – Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, England – just felt like a change of momentum and belief amongst the players about competing against the best teams in the world.

“Reaching the ICC T20 Super 12s in 2021, having never achieved it before, and being the captain of that squad, will also always stay with me.

“Creating memories, being around friends, and always finding a way to punch above our weight was just terrific. I’ve always loved the battle of trying to improve against all odds.”