The ICC does seem to be dragging its feet over when exactly the second tier of world cricket will reopen for business.

Jon Coates reflects on the Scotland Afghanistan match which the Scots lost in a tense finale.

Whatmakes cricket so enduringly endearing is the fact it can baffle not only those who cast a casual glance in its direction but also those tragic anoraks who have been watching it all their lives.

Scottish cricket on verge of rising to the next level at next month's World Cup.

Sports journalists whistle as they work because one day, if they play their cards right, a powerful club or governing authority might see fit to ban them from a stadium.

THE last three men to coach Scotland have all been believers in the creed that cricket matches can be won by adherence to modern performance theory.

Julian Rey, lynchpin of Helensburgh CC, on trying to keep a club afloat in a town with a transient population.

After their defeat to England at Mannofield Scotland now realise the standards they will have to achieve in the World Cup in New Zealand next year.

The widespread expectation was that Craig Wright would be the first Scot to take full-time charge of the national team.

Calum MacLeod has reinvented himself as a batsman and is now reaping the rewards of his dedication.

This winter has opened the Durham captain's eyes to a breed of cricketer and brand of cricket he did not know existed.

Jon Coates on the inspirational displays of Calum MacLeod who is leading Scotland to the Promised Land of the 2015 World Cup.

Paul Collingwood and Craig Wright are handed interim charge of Scotland's national cricket team.

In the next two days we will find out whether Scotland have ended a four-year exile from major tournaments and qualified for the World Twenty20 finals in Bangladesh next year.

Whether his Scottish coaching appointment is bold or desperate depends on your interpretation, and perhaps neither viewpoint is entirely cock-eyed.

Paul Collingwood's recent assertion that he is ìalways impressed with Scotland as an outfitî will be as rigorously tested this winter as his own coaching credentials.

A World Cup Qualifier, spread over more than a month in New Zealand in January and February, may be the best thing that could have happened to Scotland this winter.

To produce winners you need good infrastructure and a culture of self-worth. But there is no substitute for talent, and talent comes and goes in cycles.

Andy Tennant's call for greater focus on Twenty20 cricket in Scotland is to be applauded. It is also long overdue.

Some of the frosty glances darting around the Titwood pavilion steps last weekend suggested that a few Scotland players were unhappy with the severity of reviews of their work against Durham.

The ICC's official preview of the World Cricket League landed on our electronic mats yesterday and it would have made pleasing reading for Scotland's cannier fans.

Pete Steindl has kept us on our toes all season but after all of the experiments, ejections and elevations, he and Gavin Hamilton appear to be left with just one major choice to make ahead of Saturday's England game.

An old-fashioned performance from an old-fashioned bowling attack, purred the second string of Sky Sports' punditry team during today's interval at Grace Road.

If Iain Kennedy, Pete Steindl and Andy Tennant had not got the message across before now, its impact will be visible in the faces of four known Scotland internationals next time you see them.