The Emirates Cricket Board have sacked Dougie Brown as head coach, with Robin Singh installed in a new role of director of cricket.

Brown’s departure after three years at the helm comes as a shock. After arriving in 2017, he helped arrest a dire run of results and was a central part of sweeping changes in the game here.

The former Scotland and England international had steered the national team though a troubled past six months, when the side was rocked by a corruption scandal.

Five senior players, including the captain Mohammed Naveed, were banned as a result of the controversy.

The national selection panel was also disbanded, leaving Brown to select the squads for the series against Scotland and United States at home in December, and against Oman and Namibia in Muscat last month.

The inexperienced side had made a promising start to the Cricket World Cup League Two via those two series, with three wins from six completed matches.

Singh, the former India all-rounder, is expected to dovetail his new role with that as part of the coaching staff of Mumbai Indians.

He is also well versed in cricket beyond the Test sphere, having coached the national teams of Hong Kong and United States in the past.

He also knows UAE cricket well. He has an academy in Dubai, and has twice been a winning coach of the T10 League.

More to follow …