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Coach Leaves Scotland Duties After T20 World Cup 2026 Dream Hits Dead End

Aakash Saini

Scotland head coach Doug Watson leaves team [Source: @DS24IN, @CricketScotland/x]Scotland head coach Doug Watson leaves team [Source: @DS24IN, @CricketScotland/x]

Former South Africa cricketer Doug Watson has tendered his resignation as Scotland head coach. The 52-year-old parted ways with the Scotland men’s team after they failed to qualify for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year.

Watson was appointed as Scotland head coach back in 2023 on a short-term contract to cover the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe and the 2023 Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier.

Doug Watson Departs, Scotland To Name Replacement Soon

While Doug Watson was appointed as interim Scotland head coach in 2023, he took over the role on a permanent basis the following year. However, during his tenure, the Scotland cricket team recently failed to qualify for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup owing to their disastrous run at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Region Final 2025 in the Netherlands.

Watson, a former South Africa cricketer, expressed his “disappointment to be moving on”, but claimed that he will be taking “many fond memories” from his time with the Scotland team members.

Cricket Scotland confirmed on their official website that the recruitment process of appointing a new head coach of the Scotland men’s cricket team will “begin shortly”. The appointment will be made in time for the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 series in Namibia in March 2026 next year.

The Scotland cricket team recently lost to Italy and Jersey in successive games at The Hague. By recording just a solitary win in four matches, Scotland finished fourth on the five-team ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Region Final 2025 points table in the Netherlands.