Former New Zealand international Tom Bruce switches to Scotland

Tom Bruce has shifted his loyalties from New Zealand to Scotland, and will be seen in action for his new team later this month, when Scotland take part in the Cricket World Cup League 2 matches in the Canada leg, starting August 27.

Bruce, who qualified to play for Scotland because of his Edinburgh-born father, represented a Scotland Development side in 2016, before moving to New Zealand. A top-order batter, Bruce played domestic cricket for Central Districts since 2014, and represented New Zealand in 17 T20Is between 2017 and 2020. He was most recently in action for Central Districts at the Global Super League in Providence, Guyana.

In a Cricket Scotland statement, Bruce said, "There's a long Scottish history within my family and I know they will be incredibly proud that I am representing Scotland on the world stage. I've been fortunate enough to play for New Zealand five years ago, and I want to continue to showcase my skills on the world stage, and help the Scotland team achieve success, as I know the group is capable of achieving success and continuing to grow as a team.

"I was involved briefly in the set-up back in 2016, and it was an awesome experience. I played alongside and against a lot of the current group of Scotland players, and it's been great following their development through the years and I'm looking forward to linking up with them again.

"For me, I want to help the team in any way shape or form to play some consistent quality cricket and ultimately help get us to a World Cup."

Now 34, Bruce made a name for himself first when he hit 223 runs at a strike rate of 140.25 for Central Districts in the 2015-16 Super Smash. An innovative hitter, he had another good run at the following Super Smash, and that earned him a call-up to the New Zealand squad for a T20I series against Bangladesh. Success was elusive at that level, though, as Bruce scored a total of 279 runs at a strike rate of 122.36 from his 17 T20I innings with two half-centuries.

"I'm very excited about Tom joining the group, not only is he a world-class cricketer, he brings a whole range of experience, he's played a lot of 50-over and T20 cricket," Doug Watson, the Scotland men's head coach, said. "He's going to add massive value both on the field and off the field in the years ahead, and I'm looking forward to getting him amongst the group, and I'm sure he'll fit in perfectly well."