2010 was a real mixed bag for the senior Scotland international side, and their progress or lack of it, depends on whether you're a glass half-full or half-empty person.

The side played 36 games during 2010, winning just 12 of them, but optimists can rightly point to the team reaching the finals of both the Intercontinental Cup and the World Cricket league Division One.

On the downside, there was the failure to reach the ICC World Twenty finals, meaning that crucial television and world exposure would be denied the team yet again. For a team still struggling to find a major headline sponsor, this was a crucial blow.

The team played a total of twelve 50 overs fixtures during the season, winning six and losing six. One of those wins was a quite fantastic comeback victory against India A when they looked doomed at 64 for 7 chasing 277 for the win. That was due to the heroics of Richie Berrington who made 106, and Moneeb Iqbal's unbeaten 67.

The CB40 campaign saw two wins recorded out of their 12 fixtures against English counties. Both victories were achieved against Leicestershire, but the side did come close to beating eventual winners Warwickshire. That said, there were some dire batting displays inbetween which resulted in some trouncings.

The Intercontinental Cup saw four games played, with excellent wins away in Kenya and against The Netherlands. However, they were trounced at home by eventual winners Afghanistan, and lost to the same side in Dubai, despite being well placed after the first innings, thanks to a quite wonderful century from Neil McCallum.

That final appearance came after the Zimbabwe XI forfeited their tie following Scotland's decision not to travel to Africa following UK government advice.

The repercussions of that decision may be longer lasting than anyone realizes. With Scotland due to host the ICC Trophy in 2013, the tournament may now be in danger on two fronts.

With only ten teams qualifying for the 2015 World Cup, there are concerns that it will be limited to just Full Members, nullifying the need for the ICC Trophy. If the committee currently debating the format of any proposed qualifying competition decide that there will be some sort of tournament needed, then it is likely to feature the lower ranked members, namely Bangladesh and of course Zimbabwe.

With the latter not accepting Scotland as a venue, it can be expected that the ICC will switch to an alternative country - Netherlands or Ireland would be the favourites, although the UAE seems a wise choice. Scotland may then be offered one of the twenty20 WCQ competitions, which are to be held every two years.

Speaking of T20, Scotland didn't find the format to their liking, winning two games out of eight played, and losing to the USA along the way.

Scotland coach Pete Steindl struggled to find his favoured line-up, using an incredible 30 players during the course of the year. Very few players made themselves permanent fixtures, although two did emerge in the form of Richie Berrington and Matthew Parker.

Both attracted the attention of several English counties, but despite rumoured offers from Sussex and Durham, the pair seemed content to stay with Scotland for the time being.

Berrington played in all 36 games, scoring 1017 runs at 28.25, hitting 8 fifties, and that aforementioned century.

Neil McCallum (621 runs at 28.23), and Fraser Watts (599 at 23.96) were the only other players to pass 500 runs for the year.

Scotland's batting frailties are well documented, but their bowling and fielding are altogether much more potent and consistent.

Matthew Parker was their leading wicket-taker, claiming 39 wickets at 25.49, ahead of Berrington (37 wickets at 27.59).

Others who chipped in were skipper Gordon Drummond (35 at 29.71), Gordon Goudie (32 at 29.44), and spinners Majid Haq (32 at 34.50), and Ross Lyons (26 at 30.31).

On the fielding front, wicket-keeper Simon Smith took 21 catches and 2 stumpings, while Neil McCallum (16), Richie Berrington (15) and Dougie Lockhart (13 c and 2 st) also did well.

What then does 2011 hold for Scotland? There's no doubt they have a lot of talent, but their batting remains a cause for serious concern. They do have some prodigious talent, but will the likes of Olli Hairs and Freddie Coleman be given the sort of extended run that youngsters need?

The youth and domestic set ups have both undergone revamps, and the results have been encouraging. Scotland have ended the dominance of Ireland at European youth level and if those players can make the step up, then the future may not be as bleak as it may have seemed 18 months ago.