Kyle Coetzer announces T20I retirement after giving up Scotland captaincy

Kyle Coetzer, who captained Scotland at last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE, has retired from T20Is with immediate effect.

Coetzer stepped down as Scotland's captain last month, handing over to Richie Berrington, and struggled with the bat at the T20 World Cup last year, averaging 12.00 with a strike rate of 102.43.

"After considered discussions with Cricket Scotland and the head coach, the team would gain more from someone else playing in the upcoming T20 fixtures and the subsequent T20 World Cup," Coetzer said. "It was a pleasure to take part and lead my country in the previous World Cup and help Scotland qualify for this year. It was a real driving force for me to continue helping the team in any way that I could.

"From a personal point of view, I am looking forward to having a bit more time to spend with my family with two young daughters while also focusing on my coaching career and having more time for that. But ultimately, it is about what is best for the direction of the team going forward."

He has been replaced in Scotland's squad to play New Zealand next week by Michael Jones, who looks set to make his T20I debut. Jones was Durham's leading run-scorer in the T20 Blast this season, averaging 26.58 with a strike rate of 140.52, and played eight ODIs between 2018 and 2019.

Scotland have named an 18-member squad to cover their two T20Is and one ODI against New Zealand, comprising the 15 players who were involved in their recent World Cup League Two fixtures plus Jones, Oliver Hairs and Craig Wallace. Coetzer is part of the squad but will only be considered for the one-off ODI.

Shane Burger, Scotland's coach, said: "We certainly respect a team like New Zealand but we don't fear them. We are excited to see our players play against one of the best teams in the world in Scotland and get our home fans around at the Grange, and it would be great to see as many fans down there as possible."

Meanwhile, Cricket Scotland is braced for the publication of an independent report reviewing alleged racism in the Scottish game on Monday. "The review's publication is one of, if not the most, important moments in the history of the sport in Scotland and will have a substantial impact on our future," Phil Yelland, Cricket Scotland's president, said.

"We look forward to learning the findings of the review and putting its recommendations into practice in order to improve our sport for all. There should be no place for racism in our sport and this is the environment we will work tirelessly to create going forward."

Scotland squad to play New Zealand: Richie Berrington (captain), Matthew Cross (wk), Kyle Coetzer (ODI only), Ali Evans, Chris Greaves, Oliver Hairs, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, Chris McBridge, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt

Fixtures: July 27 - 1st T20I, July 29 - 2nd T20I, July 31 - Only ODI (all fixtures at The Grange, Edinburgh)