Vikki Laing and Catriona Matthew to team up in Nations Cup

VIKKI Laing, who almost replaced Catriona Matthew in last season's Ladies European Tour Nations Cup in Spain, will join forces with the former British Women's Open champion in this year's event at Le Sella, near Alicante, next month.

Laing, who has earned her place in the Scottish team after finishing tenth on the 2010 LET money-list, was on standby to partner Krystle Caithness last year when Matthew encountered problems travelling to Spain due to volcanic ash.

She eventually made it and the combination of youth and experience saw the Scottish duo finish in seventh in the 18-team field, which was topped by Sweden's Anna Nordqvist and Sophie Gustafson after they beat Australian pair Karrie Webb and Karen Lunn in a play-off.

Matthew made an encouraging start to the new season with two top-ten finishes in Thailand and Singapore and is off to America in a fortnight for two more LPGA Tour events - the Kia Classic and the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major of the season.

"After the European Nations Cup, Catriona is unlikely to play again until the Sybase Match Play Championship in New York," her manager at IMG, Vicky Cuming, told The Scotsman.

Laing, who missed the cut in three events Down Under earlier in the year, is currently practising in California and returns to action in the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco at the end of this month.

Nordqvist and Gustafson are heading back to Spain on 14-17 April to defend their title, while Webb, winner of the HSBC Women's Champions tournament in Singapore last month, will have a new partner in Katherine Hull.

England are being represented by long-time No 1 Laura Davies and the pretender to her crown, Melissa Reid; Becky Brewerton and Lydia Hall have secured the Welsh spots; and Rebecca Coakley and Martina Gillen will be flying the flag for Ireland.