Scotland name Doug Watson as interim men’s head coach for crucial World Cup qualifiers

South African Watson, head coach of male performance with the Auckland Aces in New Zealand, will take up the reins on April 8 and will remain in charge until July 31.

That period covers the 2023 Cricket World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe and the 2024 T20 World Cup Europe qualifiers, which are being held this July in Edinburgh.

Watson takes over after compatriot Shane Burger stepped down as Scotland head coach last month after four years in charge to join Somerset.

Former South Africa A player and Namibia head coach Watson said: "It's a wonderful chance for me to coach another country, and Scotland's Men have been doing really well over the last four years.

"I'm looking forward to carrying on and develop the great work that Shane Burger has put in here. I know Shane well, he's worked really hard to help get Scotland to where they are, and it was great to see them lift the CWCL2 trophy last week in Nepal.

"I know it's obviously a short period of time that I'll be in charge, but there's two massive tournaments coming up which will be tough for us, especially the Cricket World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe in June. But it's also an exciting time as well - I'm looking forward to it and it's going to be fun."

Interim head of performance Toby Bailey revealed Watson, who stepped in as New Zealand batting coach for the recent Test series against England, topped a lengthy list of candidates for the job.

He said: "We conducted a very thorough hiring process and looked at around 45 candidates. We wanted someone who'd been previously involved with coaching smaller teams, with Associate Cricket, with experience of World Cup qualifying competitions, with knowledge of top-level cricket, and with experience of Zimbabwe.

"Doug really fit the bill in all those cases."