DARLINGTON-born James Morrison made his international debut for Scotland yesterday - five-and-a-half years after he was sporting an England shirt on the front of The Northern Echo's Local Heroes supplement.

Morrison, who made 97 appearances for Middlesbrough before joining his current employers, West Bromwich Albion, last August, started on the left of midfield as Scotland were beaten 3-1 by the Czech Republic in Prague.

The 22-year-old, a former pupil at Darlington's Hummersknot School, qualifies for Scotland through two of his late grandparents, despite having previously represented England at junior level.

Morrison, who also played for Darlington All Stars' under-9s to under-12s teams, made his England under-17s debut in France in December 2002.

He went on to represent England at under-20s level, but switched his allegiance to Scotland last year, and his father Charlie, a former apprentice professional at Chelsea, insists he could not be prouder at his son's achievements.

"It's been a really great day for all the family," said Charlie, who watched James' Scotland debut on television in his Darlington home with a large group of family and friends. "We're all absolutely delighted for him, we couldn't be happier.

"He's had a really good season what with winning the Championship title with West Brom and getting promotion to the Premier League, but this is really the icing on the cake."

Both of Morrison's grandparents on his father's side were born in Scotland, but they moved to the North-East when his grandfather, George, was transferred to Hartlepool United at the start of the 1952-53 season.

Charlie was born in Hartlepool and has remained in the North- East ever since, but his son's Scottish connections remain strong.

"We still have quite a lot of family up in Scotland, mainly around Largs, and they're absolutely thrilled to be watching James in a Scotland shirt," he said.

"He came close to making his debut a little while ago, but got injured before he was able to play.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long for another opportunity to come around."

It wasn't all plain sailing in the build-up to yesterday's game either, though, as Morrison was forced to brush up on his knowledge of all things Scottish.

"I think he knows the words to Flower of Scotland' now," joked Charlie. "But I think he's had to have a bit of a crash course.

"He seemed to be trying his best when they were lining up before kick-off, and I can guarantee there would have been nobody prouder to be wearing that Scotland shirt."