After Kyle Coetzer flew home because of injury, the captaincy of Scotland at the World Cup Qualifiers in New Zealand in 2014 fell to Preston Mommsen. It was a challenge to which he responded magnificently. Mommsen led the side enterprisingly in the absence of Kyle Coetzer, and hit 520 runs at 86.66 apiece from No 4, , including 139* in Scotland's victory over UAE in the final. The upshot was that Mommsen was named the ICC Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year, and, even after Coetzer's return, was confirmed as Scotland's captain for the 2015 World Cup.

Born in Durban, Mommsen grew up playing at Hilton College and Natal Schools. A talented sportsman, he represented South Africa School Boys in both rugby and cricket, and played for South Africa U-19s in cricket. He gained a cricket and rugby scholarship to Gordonstoun School, in Scotland, in 2006, and then stayed on permanently in Edinburgh. He played for Carlton Club, and was selected for Scotland in 2010 after completing his four-year qualification period. He performed well in the CB40 competition, including scoring 408 runs at an average of 58.28 apiece in 2011, and had a brief spell at Leicestershire in 2012.

However, having been a vocal critic of the ICC and its lack of support for Associate nations, he decided to give up on the game aged 29. Offered an "attractive opportunity in the corporate world", he relinquished both the captaincy and his Cricket Scotland contract to leave hopes of becoming the first Scotland batsman to score 2000 ODI runs unfulfilled.
ESPNcricinfo staff