A NEW era for Scottish cricket will begin in the warmth of Dubai and Abu Dhabi this week when the national team head for the Desert T20 with a different skipper at the helm. Preston Mommsen’s decision to quit the captaincy and retire from international cricket in November took many by surprise but, in looking to fill that void, coach Grant Bradburn has turned to Kyle Coetzer who previously captained the side from 2013 before being sidelined by injury. Coetzer will be assisted by the experienced figure of Con de Lange.

“It’s really tough to lose Preston,” admitted Bradburn. “Everyone has noticed quite a change without him around. He’ll be a tough player to replace. You never want to lose a player at the top of his game and Preston had a nice mix of experience and skill. He was still developing as a player but had been a fine leader for us for another of years. So he will be a big loss. But it’s a great opportunity for someone to step in to that line-up and we’ve got a lot of depth with our batting. So there will be no issue with our guys being hungry to step up and replace those runs.

“From a leadership point of view, Kyle Coetzer and Con de Lange as his deputy take over the reins and that is going to be really cool. It’s a great opportunity for Kyle to stamp his mark on the team again. He has obviously led the side before and I think we’ll see a subtle difference in Kyle’s leadership in Dubai. So we’re looking forward to a slight change.”

The inaugural Desert T20 event comprises eight of the leading Associate nations, with Scotland getting the tournament under way against Hong Kong on Saturday. The Scots also face the Netherlands and Oman in Pool B, with Afghanistan, Ireland, Namibia and hosts UAE in the other group.

“The tournament in Dubai is going to be so exciting,” Bradburn said. “Obviously it’s the inaugural tournament and all the top associate countries will be there. It’s a great chance for us to renew some epic battles. The groups have come out and we take on Hong Kong in the first game of the tournament which is a great opportunity for us to make a statement. The guys have been training well and it’s a format we love so we can’t wait until we get over there.”