Western Warriors have called up Durham opening batsman Michael Jones as they bid to kick-start their Pro50 campaign against Caley Highlanders at Titwood tomorrow (Mon).
Jones, already firmly on the radar of the national selectors, made his mark when scoring a brilliant 173no for Scotland A against Durham 2nd XI last month.
The youngster has subsequently been in the runs for the county’s second string, including 172 against Northants, and is sure to boost the Warriors as they bid to bounce back from their opening defeat to the Eastern Knights.
Warriors manager Colin Mitchell said: “We were alerted to Michael’s availability and things have worked out for him to make his debut for us.
“Although originally from Liverpool, he has a Scottish mother and Glaswegian links so he is already qualified for Scotland and playing in the Pro50 is a pathway to the national team.
“As a right-handed orthodox opening batsman, we believe Michael will add quality and a bit more depth to our squad.
“We believe we should have beaten the Knights in our first game and so we’ll be looking to put a win on the board on Monday. We don’t want to be the third wheel in this tournament.”
Meanwhile, the Highlanders are also on the rebound from defeat to the Knights and the visitors are boosted by the return of a fully fit Safyaan Sharif who is ready to push for a Scotland recall.
The Glenrothes all-rounder was only able to bat in the six-wicket defeat to the Knights due to a troublesome foot injury.
However, Sharif took a wicket with his second delivery in Saturday’s defeat to Heriot’s and said: “It’s been a frustrating first few weeks of the season but the priority had to be to make sure I was 100%.
“I feel I’m there now and am looking forward to fighting to get back in the Scotland team.”
The Highlanders are also boosted by the presence of national skipper Kyle Coetzer who is expected to take part at Titwood.
Warriors: J Snyman M Jones M English R Berrington C de Lange F Jawad M Awais R Lyons M Rao N Alexander A Raza I Malik
Highlanders: K Coetzer C Venske C Greaves C Garden B Wilkinson R Johnston S Sharif A Paul S Cameron R Brown A Neill C Robertson B Ditchmen
