Scots in need of a breakthrough
A lot of good work is being done behind the scenes but now it is up to the players to make an impact by beating one of the big boys. Graeme Macpherson reports
THE biggest paradox facing Scottish cricket is that the simplest way of taking the game forward has also proved to be the most difficult to achieve. A lot of good work is being done by Cricket Scotland and the clubs behind the scenes to improve coaching and facilities – the opening this week of a European Performance Centre in La Manga should make a big difference to winter training programmes – but it is the equivalent of planting seeds and waiting years or even decades to see them blossom.
The quickest way to make an impact, then, would be to land an “iconic” victory against one of cricket’s leading lights. Ireland can speak to the benefits of that, recording World Cup wins over Pakistan, England and West Indies over the past decade. Speaking in Spain last week, their performance director, Richard Holdsworth, credited those moments as being as significant as anything else behind Ireland’s elevation to elite status as they prepare to take on full Test-playing membership.
Scotland have nothing like that to get dewy-eyed over. When they recorded their first win at a major tournament at the 21st attempt last year, it was a dead rubber T20 tie against Hong Kong, another aspiring Associate nation. It was a definitive moment 17 years in the making but not the sort of victory to make much of an impression on the collective conscience of the nation.
A vacancy is likely to emerge soon for a 13th full member and landing a victory against one of the leading nations would undoubtedly help the Scots’ cause of claiming that spot. They will try again this week to land that telling blow, facing off against Sri Lanka – who include Angelo Matthews and Lasith Malinga in their squad – in two 50-over matches (albeit not official one-day internationals) in Kent today and again on Tuesday.
Following that there will be two ODIs against Zimbabwe in Edinburgh (as well as matches against Namibia) while next year there are plans in place to welcome England and possibly Pakistan to Scotland. Malcolm Cannon, CEO of Cricket Scotland, hopes that by then he will be reflecting on Scottish cricket finally making an historic breakthrough.
“If you look at the likely criteria for full membership the boxes we likely don’t tick relate to performance,” he said. “We’ve not had those iconic wins on the pitch. It’s within the gift of our teams to start putting in those performances that will make the difference.
“I hope by this time next year we will have won at least one of the matches against full members and I think that would catapult us both in terms of profile and opportunity. People will start to take us seriously as I think they should do.
“These margins are incredibly small. Having been out in India for the World T20 match with Zimbabwe we should have won that, and beaten Afghanistan. Should have, would have, could have is no good, but the margins are so small and the defeats were frustrating. It will be a hell of a task, but we are not far away from it.
“Cricket is a sport for all and we need to raise the noise level a bit, and there is no doubt that a win by the men or the women on the global stage would be a fantastic boost. We just have to keep bashing away and one will come.”
Cannon hopes there will be a number of victories to savour this summer.
“Namibia in the one-day matches, we really have to win those ones. The other four one-day games – two against Sri Lanka and two against Zimbabwe – are terrific opportunities for our guys to play against full members, opportunities they don’t normally get. It has taken a lot of hard work to get them over the line.
“We are hopeful for another two full member games next year [against England and Pakistan] which would mean four full member series outside of world events [over two summers] which is almost unheard of for Scotland. But we have got to keep giving the players these opportunities because only playing against highquality opposition will make us better.”
Cannon retains faith that Grant Bradburn will be the man to deliver the breakthrough. The former New Zealand Test off spinner has been Scotland’s head coach since 2014.
“We still have a way to go until all the structures are in place, but without a doubt Grant has brought a level of professionalism that wasn’t there before,” he said. “His experience as a pro cricketer and as a coach at a high level has made us able to make some big strides forward.
“We have to recognise that the young players are the group that are going to take Scotland forward and we have to invest time, money and expertise so that they mature.”
Should have, would have, could have is no good, but the margins are so small. It will be a hell of a task