Safyaan Sharif called up for Scotland Cricket

Glenrothes all rounder Safyaan Sharif will be part of the Scotland cricket squad to return to the United Arab Emirates in the new year to face Ireland and the UAE in a Tri-Series.

Sharif, who made his international debut against the Netherlands in 2011, celebrated his 100th cap for his Scotland in their victory over Kenya last month to help them qualify for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

It’s been an impressive year for the 26-year-old for both club and country, with Sharif in the Glenrothes CC side they have certainly got use to the taste of victory.

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In 2017 he helped the team to ten wins, racking up a stunning 645 runs in the process - his highest game total of 101 and averaging 49.6.

Sharif’s attention will turn to Scotland when they will play in the Tri-Series which will provide some valuable preparation for the qualifiers which will be held in March.

Kyle Coetzer will again lead the side after a bumper year with the bat.

Scotland’s captain scored the highest number of runs ever in 2017 by a Scotland player in a calendar year, and in fewer innings than the next seven best totals.

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The tour will consist of two One Day International matches against Ireland (January 16 and 18) and UAE (January 21 and 23) at the ICC Academy in Dubai.

Scotland coach Grant Bradburn said on the announcement, “We are very grateful to have the opportunity to play this Tri Series in Dubai against two quality sides as an excellent build up to the WC Qualifier in Zimbabwe in March 2018.

“During this coming series, we will be developing our ability to win, with a variety of line ups, where we will challenge some players to take on subtly different roles.

“In Associate cricket we get very few opportunities to provide players game time in a variety of positions – simply because every series has so much on it and we get precious little match time leading in.

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“This Dubai series is no different in terms of importance, but we have full confidence in our players to take on different roles.

“We must continually improve and give players the exposure to grow. Our sole intent is to qualify for the CWC 19 and to do that we must develop depth and allow players to show their vast range of abilities at international level.

“This series in Dubai will give us that chance to learn more about our players and refine our plans to qualify for CWC 19.”

Tri-Series Squad: Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richie Berrington, Scott Cameron, Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Tom Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Stuart Whittingham.