Sri Lanka clash for de Lange Call-up for ex-Ferguslie man
Paisley cricketer Con de Lange looks set to face some of the best the world has to offer after Scotland announced a clash with Sri Lanka later this year.
Former Ferguslie man de Lange has been a staple of the Scotland side, and was recently vice captain for the Desert Tour.
The Scots will play Sri Lanka on Sunday, May 21 and Tuesday, May 23 at the County Ground in Kent.
And it will by no means be an easy encounter for the Scottish side, with the Sri Lankans due to be at full-strength as they warm up before facing South Africa, India and Pakistan in June. It will be the first time the Scots have played Sri Lanka since the 2015 Cricket World Cup when the sides met in Hobart as Sri Lanka earned a 148-run win despite a battling 70 from Freddie Coleman.
Whilst the ability to play the matches as ODIs was not possible, the opportunity presented to Scotland to take on a powerful Sri Lanka side was not lost on head coach Grant Bradburn.
He said: “To secure two opportunities to play Sri Lanka is so valuable for Scotland. Our national team are desperate to play as much quality cricket as possible to keep advancing the growing skills and depth across our whole Scotland Performance squads.
“Despite these games not being official ODI’s we will treat them as if they are. Any opportunity to play a full member team is brilliant for our development and we look forward to fielding a side that resembles our strongest possible line-up.
“We hope that the opportunity to play in Kent will allow the many Scots and Sri Lankans based down south to come and support their team.
“Wherever we play in the world there are Scots who love cricket and we look forward to welcoming you to Beckenham Kent for what is sure to be two great occasions.”
Both matches will be free entry to the general public, and it is hoped a large number of southernbased Scots will come out in force to support the side.