TheSportsCampus

As Scotland took to the field against Uganda on the 15 March 2012, Scottish batsman Fraser Watts took his total of international caps to 195, one more than Scotland's leading wicket taker Craig Wright.

‘Fraggle' as he is affectionately known in Scottish cricket circles, started his cricket career for Carlton Cricket Club in Edinburgh. He demonstrated significant talent as a right handed batsman and also seam bowler; he once removed Australian Dan Marsh twice during a six wicket haul against Leicestershire CCC whilst playing for Loughborough University.

Watts is on the verge of passing 1,000 One Day International runs and has currently scored 4,384 runs in a Scotland shirt since making his debut against Bangladesh at Boghall, West Lothian on the 14th of July 1998.

John Boyd, Junior Convener at Carlton was the first to pay tribute to Watts, “Everybody at the club is very proud to see Fraser pass this landmark. He started at Carlton as a member of our primary school team and we’ve been delighted to watch him rise through the ranks over the years. Along the way he’s been a great inspiration to all our youngsters at Grange Loan. Best of all, he’s still every bit as enthusiastic about his cricket as he was when he first arrived at Carlton!”

Craig Wright added, “I am delighted to see Fraggle reach this milestone and it is a tribute to his work ethic and passion for playing for Scotland that he will soon be the first player to reach 200 matches.

He has shown great spirit and determination to fight his way back into the team on the occasions he has lost his place, and is a crucial component of this young team with the experience he has.

Rather than the number of games played,  I always feel it is better to remember the performances a player has contributed to the cause and Fraser has played some vital innings for us in pressure situations.  His 118no against Ireland and 146 against Kenya which were both significant factors in our success in the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup, as were his runs against Canada, Namibia and Ireland in the 2005 ICC Trophy.

He has always been a key member of the team dynamic and I hope that his 200th game sometime over the next week or so can be celebrated alongside some more Scottish success in the T20 qualifiers”.