Scots open their grand tour in heat of Sharjah

The Scotsman reports that Scotland’s cricketers set off on their longest-ever tour when they flew to Sharjah to prepare for a decisive Intercontinental Cup match against UAE.

Craig Wright's side will reach the final of the tournament they won two years ago if they defeat their Arab hosts in a four-day match starting a week today. To acclimatise, the Scots face a UAE Development XI over two days from Sunday, kicking off five weeks of almost continuous cricket ahead of their second World Cup appearance in the Caribbean in March.

Scotland C Wright (capt), J Blain, D Brown, G Hamilton, M Haq, P Hoffmann, D Lockhart, R Lyons, N McCallum, D Nel, N Poonia, G Rogers, C Smith, R Watson, F Watts.