T20 World Cup can be a launchpad for Scottish cricket
SAYS PAUL COLLINGWOOD
PAUL Collingwood says Scotland have a chance to change the future of cricket in this country as t hey l ook to set up a World T20 showdown with England.
Preston Mommsen and his men start their tournament against Afghanistan this afternoon in Nagpur, needing to top a preliminary pool if they are to reach the Super 10 stage — and face Eoin Morgan’s talent-packed side.
Collingwood is firmly back in the English camp, having worked with the Scots in the build-up to last year’s World Cup, as he forms part of Trevor Bayliss’ backroom team in India.
But the only captain to lift a world trophy for England wants to see Scottish success and insists they have a chance to achieve something special in the shortest form of the game.
‘It is exciting t i mes for Scottish cricket and they have an opportunity to put cricket on the map in Scotland,’ said Collingwood.
‘To have a T20 World Cup in India is fantastic. It is a hotbed of cricket and, if Scotland do well, it certainly could be career-changing.
‘You are not just going to have thousands of people watching, you are going to have millions or billions watching.
‘The players should not feel that puts extra pressure on them but their performances could change the future of Scottish cricket.
‘Looking at the games they have got to play, I think they will have the belief that they can beat Afghanistan. Zimbabwe is going to be a tricky game but they have got an opportunity.
‘This is where they want to be as a team and I know that, under (head coach) Grant Bradburn, they have been working very hard on their game.
‘I hope they qualify. It will be nice to play against them. I have a lot of great friends in the Scottish lineup and I keep in touch with them.
‘I want Scotland to do well in the competition. It would be great for England to play against them in a World Cup in the Super 10 stages, so hopefully they can do something special against Zimbabwe.’
Collingwood looks back on his time in Scotland with fondness and, having worked with Gavin Ma i n at Durham, believes the fast-bowler can become a star.
‘Gavin has been brilliant at Durham. He is a great character to have around the dressing room, he’s a very ambitious young lad,’ added the former Test batsman.
‘These days in T20 cricket you need a physique, to be athletic and to be something different. He has got real pace and some really good attributes.
‘He has been an absolute joy in the Durham dressing room, very hard to understand of course with his Scottish accent! ‘He has been a dream and I am sure when he gets his opportunity with Scotland, he will do very well. ‘He has not played a lot of T20 cricket for Durham, but I have seen him in four-day cricket for us and he has genuine pace.
‘He has got a lethal bouncer, too. When I asked him to bowl a yorker against Stuart Broad at Trent Bridge, he executed that like no one else and took his stumps out the ground.
‘He has good skills there and is genuinely quick, and you need that pace to do wel l at international level.
‘Also, Calum MacLeod has played a lot of high-pressured cricket and Matt Machan, the way he times and strikes the ball could be lethal out in Indian conditions.
‘If you are asking for someone to strike a cricket ball, Richie Berrington is also hugely talented.
‘If Scotland can keep the runs down, they will give themselves a chance. That i s not being derogatory. I t hi nk s c ores throughout the tournament will be high anyway.’
With Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong in their group, Scotland should progress into the Super 10 stage, despite a 14-run defeat to Oman in a warm-up match on Friday.
Whereas Scotland have not won a match in a World T20 before — having missed the l ast three editions — England were crowned Champions i n 2010 and hold hopes of emulating the success of Collingwood’s team. And the former captain believes England have never been more f l ush with talent.
‘They have got the players to do it,’ he said. ‘You want a team full of match-winners and I don’t think an England team has had a team like this one before.
‘If one or two of them come off, they can really cause some major problems in the competition.
‘Usually we go into a tournament saying: “We really need this player to have the time of his life”, but in this tournament we have so many players who can take the competition by storm. It is an exciting ti me to be part of English cricket.
‘England are in a place now where the talent and the skill level are exceptionally high. If you can take the pressure off them, they can go out and do something really special, which they have done so many times in One Day cricket since the last World Cup.
‘If you want a T20 side that can win a World Cup, you have to have a powerful batting line-up. You have to have a left-arm seamer. England have two — and spin bowlers who can turn it both ways. England have one in Adil Rashid.
‘Our white-ball cricket has been exceptional and they need to take that positive mindset into the conditions that they will be up against in India.’ SKY SPORTS will show every ball live from the ICC World Twenty20, starting with Scotland v Afghanistan today.