Scotland cricket: Kyle Coetzer to take over from Preston Mommsen as captain

Kyle Coetzer (right) will succeed Mommsen (left), who has retired from cricket to go into business

Kyle Coetzer will take over as Scotland captain for the new Desert T20 tournament in January following Preston Mommsen's decision to step down.

Coetzer will be assisted by Con de Lange as vice-captain, but a full-time skipper will not be named until March.

Pace bowlers Brad Wheal and Chris Sole are both selected after breaking into the national squad in 2016.

The experienced Josh Davey and Safyaan Sharif, plus George Munsey and Craig Wallace, are also in a 13-man squad.

Matt Machan and Gavin Main both miss out because of injury, while Alasdair Evans has been granted a period of rest and recovery in preparation for the home season.

Former Durham and Northamptonshire batsman Coetzer was previously Scotland captain in 2013 but lost the role to Mommsen, who stood in when Coetzer was injured during the successful qualifying campaign for the 2015 World Cup.

The Desert T20, hosted by the Emirates Cricket Board, is set to feature eight of the top Associate nations and is expected to be hosted in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in mid-January.

Coach Grant Bradburn said: "The Desert T20 will be a fantastic event to kick off what is an exciting and important year for us as a team.

"All the top Associate teams are improving rapidly and we look forward to some epic battles during this tournament, which we would love to become a regular feature on our playing calendar.

"We have had a very good build-up over the winter months in Scotland, and in addition five squad players will arrive in Dubai with valuable off-season playing experience."

Scotland squad in full: Kyle Coetzer (capt), Con de Lange (vice-captain), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal.