Cricket Scotland and the KNCB are both
associate members of the
International Cricket Council (ICC), and both the
Dutch and
Scottish national teams have played in multiple
World Cups. Both teams currently have
Twenty20 International (T20I) status, while Scotland also holds
One Day International (ODI) status. The impetus for the creation of the Pro Series was the exclusion of the Dutch and Scottish national sides from the new
Royal London One-Day Cup, which replaced the
Friends Provident Trophy as the premier limited-overs competition in England and Wales.
Andy Tennant, performance director for Cricket Scotland, described the Pro Series as "an ideal opportunity for us to stand on our own two feet and begin to develop a strong domestic professional competition for our best cricketers." The North Sea Pro Series, contested in May and early June during the 2014 season, does not overlap with the
Scottish National Cricket League or the Dutch
Topklasse, the top-level club competitions in each country. ==Franchises==