Scotland boosted by eligibility ruling

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Six county players have been cleared to represent Scotland thanks to approval from the International Cricket Council under its exceptional circumstances guidelines.

Neil Carter, Richard Coughtrie, Matt Machan, David Murphy, Rob Taylor and Iain Wardlaw have been designated as ‘deemed national’ through their Scottish parentage and heritage.

Carter, who played for Warwickshire, retired from county cricket in September. Coughtrie represents Gloucestershire, Machan Sussex, Murphy Northamptonshire, Taylor Leicestershire and Wardlaw Yorkshire.

Former Warwickshire man Neil Carter retired from county cricket in September but can now play for Scotland thanks to the ICC's ruling

Cricket Scotland performance director Andy Tennant said: "This confirmation goes someway to levelling the playing field in terms of eligibility.

“To this point Scotland has been at a disadvantage as the nations we compete against generally have the ability to grant nationality by issuing ancestral passports.

“This is something that Scotland isn't able to do, and as a result players who have the right to deem themselves Scottish through parentage have missed out on the opportunity to play for their country.

“The exceptional circumstances ruling by ICC definitely helps to redress the balance. In real terms, however, the ruling merely helps brings cricket into line with most other sports where parentage and even grand parentage is a long accepted criterion for eligibility."

Scotland are still committed to developing indigenous talent, last month awarding Warwickshire’s Frederick Coleman and Nottinghamshire’s Matthew Cross development retainers.

Tennant added: "We will continue to work tirelessly to develop and improve our player development programmes and ensure that talented players raised in Scotland are given the best opportunity to fulfil their potential. In reality, having a wider talent pool to pick from will help raise the standard of players that we produce."

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