It was called a "stunt that has become a farce" by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown but a few, including Fraser Nelson of the Spectator, believed he was was doing it for all the right reasons.

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Gordon Drummond skippers the side, while Kyle Coetzer, Fraser Watts and Gregor Maiden are the only survivors from the successful 2004 squad.

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Mr Fraser had seen service too, far more soberly, with the Gordon Highlanders in Africa and the Fourteenth Army in Burma.

ECONOMIST: George MacDonald Fraser | The