Praise for centurion Drummond

Former England all-rounder Gavin Hamilton has paid tribute to Gordon Drummond, his Saltires captaincy successor, who has become the latest cricketer to achieve a century of caps for Scotland.

Carlton all-rounder Drummond, 32, actually registered his “ton” two matches ago but it was without fanfare as the emphasis was placed on trying to follow up a victory over Nottinghamshire with success against Glamorgan.

But Hamilton, who played a Test for England in South Africa in 1999, feels that Drummond’s feat should be recognised going into a match tomorrow at Durham in the Clydesdale Bank Pro 40 series. Hamilton said: “I captained Drummo and also played under his leadership. Drummo sums up what Scottish cricket is all about with his ability and determination. With Gordon you knew 99 per cent of the time that if he was asked to do something he would perform. It was never in doubt that he would settle into the captaincy because he has the immense respect of the players and would readily accept any responsibility placed on him.”

In fact, of the 54 matches Drummond has been at the Scotland helm, including several no-results due to rain, his win rate of 45 per cent is the best of any Scotland skipper other than those who have been in charge for a handful of outings.

Hamilton adds: “Gordon has always been ready and willing to step up and accept the pressure, say, of bowling the final over of an innings because he is such a cool customer. He also has this knack of knowing how to get the best out of the team without ever having to shout in getting a point across.”

Tomorrow’s clash will see the Saltires go into action ahead of Durham in Group B, albeit the Englishmen have a couple of games in hand. However, this has not been a vintage season for Durham so far and Hamilton says of a side he once served: “This could be a good time to get them.”

Coach Peter Steindl has named an unchanged side.

Scottish Saltires: Fraser Watts, Ryan Flannigan, Calum MacLeod, Jean Symes, Josh Davey, Richie Berrington, Preston Mommsen, Craig Wallace+, Majid Haq, Matthew Parker, Gordon Drummond (Captain), Alasdair Evans, Moneeb Iqbal