Cricket Scotland expresses sympathy for Bangladesh after T20 World Cup swap: ‘This is not how we wanted to go’

Cricket Scotland's CEO Trudy Lindblade expressed sympathy for Bangladesh after Scotland replaced them in the T20 World Cup.

Cricket Scotland chief executive Trudy Lindblade said she had “certainly” felt for Bangladesh’s players after Scotland were invited into the men’s T20 World Cup as a late replacement. Lindblade stressed Scotland didn’t want to reach a World Cup this way, even as they accepted the ICC invitation.

The Scotland Cricket team. (Scotland Cricket X)

“We certainly have for the Bangladesh team,” Trudy Lindblade, Cricket Scotland's Australian chief executive, said on Monday, when asked if she had sympathy for the side they had replaced. “Obviously, this is not how we wanted to go to a World Cup. There is a qualification process and nobody wants to qualify or attend or be invited to a World Cup in the way that we have done. We acknowledge it is certainly unique circumstances by our participation, and we do feel for the Bangladesh players.”

On whether Scotland expected criticism after qualifying via the back door, Lindblade said: “I wouldn't use those words… People will have their views and they are entitled to their views. All we know is that we have been invited to participate in the World Cup. We are a team that is ranked 14th in the world. We are also a strong team that plays consistently throughout the year.

"That World Cup [qualifier] for us was not how we normally play, and therefore we are just pleased to be at this World Cup… We are happy to step in, although it is unique and challenging circumstances and we absolutely recognise that."

But Lindblade said that they had started to plan for the eventuality a few days previously. "It's been a really busy couple of days for us," she said. "In the office today, it is all hands on deck…

"The Cricket Scotland team is just over 30 staff - that's everything from our coaching staff to office staff and our development team - so we're not very big. This is a lot to do also when we've got two teams touring: we've got the [men's] Under-19s currently playing, and we cannot lose focus from our women in Nepal, who also are trying to qualify for a T20 World Cup,” added Linblade

"Our team is completely inundated with trying to make sure we get our team there, but also we can't do that without the help of the ICC. We've been almost working around the clock… There have been messages on a WhatsApp group at all hours of the night. There might be a three-hour window when none of us are working,” concluded the chief executive of Scotland Cricket.