John Blain has returned to his footballing roots as he prepares to join Scotland's ton-up club.

The former Yorkshire and Northants bowler will reach a century of caps during the European Championships being held in Dublin over the next week. Scotland launched their campaign for a first-ever Euro title against Denmark and Blain will reach the cap landmark in the clash with Italy.

It is twelve years since the 29 year-old quit a promising football career with Falkirk to make his big-time cricketing debut against Notts. And Blain has revealed he has been training with Penicuik Athletic to sharpen up for the tournament in Ireland.

He said: "It will be a fabulous honour to reach 100 caps for my country and something I really couldn't have seen coming when I made my debut as a teenager. I've never regretted my decision to opt for cricket but nor have I lost my love of football either. In fact I've been training two nights a week with the guys at Penicuik to get my fitness levels up after missing a big chunk of the season through injury."

Blain would undoubtedly have been the first Scot to reach 200 caps had he not spent a decade in county cricket. But he has still starred in two World Cups including the 1999 event in England when he boasted the best strike rate of any bowler in the tournament.

He has taken 154 international wickets and his growing prowess with the bat saw him named Scotland's top all-rounder last year.

He added: "I remember my debut quite well but although I was just a kid I wasn't all that nervous. At that time I was playing in big youth football matches which I considered more important occasions back then."

Blain, a team-mate of Kevin James, Martyn Corrigan and Andy Lawrie in the Falkirk side which won the BP Youth Cup, has been tipped to return to county cricket next season. His performances for the Saltires in this season's FP Trophy attracted interest from Gloucestershire and his old club Yorkshire.

He added: "I haven't ruled out going back south but for the moment I am concentrating soley on helping Scotland win the European Championships. The fact that we've never been champions will really motivate the guys."

After the Denmark and Italy matches the Scots face Norway on Monday before meeting their main rivals Holland and Ireland at the climax of the tournament.