Former New Zealand international Tom Bruce joins Scotland

Former New Zealand international Tom Bruce joins Scotland. (Photo Source: Twitter/X)

The top-order batter Tom Bruce has committed to Scotland and is set to make his debut in the upcoming World Cup League 2 Series matches against Canada and Namibia. The 34-year-old previously played 17 T20Is for his native New Zealand between 2017 and 2020.

Somerset bowler Josh Davey returns to the Scotland squad after featuring in the 2022 T20 World Cup. The squad for the four-match series, scheduled from August 29 to September 6 in King City near Toronto, was announced with several players unavailable due to work, personal reasons, or county commitments.

Notably absent from the squad are Michael Jones, Brad Wheal, Scott Currie, and Michael English. Bruce, who has had stints with Sussex and Lancashire, played for the Scotland development team in 2016 before breaking into the New Zealand setup.

“He has had a very successful career in New Zealand cricket, but he is proud of his Scottish heritage and we’ve been in conversations with him for some time about committing to playing for Scotland,” said Cricket Scotland head of performance Steve Snell as quoted by BBC Sport.

“He’s excited to get involved and sees a huge level of opportunity for both him and the team moving forward. It’s excellent to have Josh Davey back, as he’s been unavailable to us for some time due to his county commitments. We’ve remained in constant dialogue with Josh during that time and he’s always expressed his desire to continue to play for Scotland,” he added.

Defending champions Scotland currently sit third in the eight-team table, with 11 wins and seven defeats from 20 matches. Canada and Namibia occupy fifth and sixth positions respectively, with Canada just four points behind Scotland. This upcoming series will mark Scotland’s first outing since failing to progress at the European T20 World Cup qualifier.

Scotland squad

Richie Berrington (captain), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Josh Davey, Jasper Davidson, Chris Greaves, Jack Jarvis, Michael Leask, Finlay McCreath, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt.

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