Scotland face tough time in Barbados

Scotland will face a West Indies Select XI in two matches at the climax of their two-week tour to Barbados which starts next week.

This was confirmed by Roddy Smith, Cricket Scotland's chief executive, at the launch of Scotland's new shirt. "We always hoped we would get games against a representative West Indies team," he said. "We are delighted to have this opportunity to pit our players' skills against some of the best cricketers of the Caribbean."

"It's very important to us that we get some prior experience of the unique cricketing atmosphere in the Caribbean before we go to the World Cup," Craig Wright, the captain, explained. "Although our competitive games in a year's time will all be at the new Warner Park Stadium in St Kitts, we will have some warm-up games in Barbados, and this trip is an ideal way to find out how to play the game in these conditions."

After acclimatisation training, the players will start their tour with a match against the University of the West Indies. This will be followed by a game against the Empire Cricket Club - who are the reigning one-day champions in Barbados - then two matches against the talented Barbados side before the two big games against the West Indies Select team.