‘I don’t want to climb up the ladder from the bottom again!’ Scotland captain Coetzer left frustrated by a lost summer
THE irony that the recent weather would have been ideal for the start of the domestic cricket season is not lost on Kyle Coetzer.
April has barely seen a drop of rain but the temporary cessation of all sporting events as a result of Covid-19 means grounds all around the country lie empty as the sun beats down.
“I could have had a couple of hundred runs by now!” laughs the Scotland captain, taking a break from another multi-sport session in the back garden with his kids.
“Early-season weather is usually hit and miss so it’s a shame that we’re stuck inside when the sun’s been out most days.
“Leading into this lockdown I actually felt that I was finding my touch again. You see it in players who aren’t necessarily out of form but they’re not quite operating at 100 per cent. And
I felt that in the last year or so. That has been frustrating.
“But I trained really well over the winter and worked on a few things and felt I was coming into this season in good shape. And now we can’t play of course. But it is what it is. There are far more important things going on in the world right now.”
April was meant to be a busy month for Coetzer and his Scotland team-mates with World Cricket League trips planned to the United States and Namibia. Instead, he is at home on furlough.
“If there’s any positive to come out of this situation it’s the chance to get a bit of a breather,” added the Aberdonian.
“We were meant to be in America and then would have had about a week’s break before heading to Namibia. It’s actually quite nice just being at home and spending time with the family.
“But it’s also a shame as the guys had worked really hard to get where they needed to be and were in pretty good shape.
“We keep in touch with each other but because we’ve all been furloughed, we’re not allowed to work. But I’m sure all the guys will be looking after their physical wellbeing in any case without being told what to do.
“I’m just trying to keep my fitness ticking over so that I’m ready whenever the opportunity arises to play again.
“I’m 36 now so I don’t really want to have to climb all the way up the ladder from the bottom again! So I’m doing little bits at home, playing with my kids and things like that just to keep ticking over.”
All cricket activity in Scotland is suspended until at least June 1, meaning it would take a massive turn-around in circumstances for Australia and New Zealand’s planned visits to Edinburgh later that month to go ahead, much to Coetzer’s regret.
“With the lockdown having been recently extended for another three weeks, I don’t expect when we get to the end of that period that will be it and we’ll all just stroll outside and back to normal.
“I’d imagine there will be measures in place for quite some time. What impact that will have on sport I’m not sure as yet.
“Any time you can get Full Member teams coming to Scotland it’s something to get excited about so that would be a shame if we can’t get these games on. But I don’t doubt if that happens that behind the scenes they’ll be doing all they can to bring big names back to the Grange for next summer.
“But everything is up in the air as we don’t know when we’re going to be able to play again.”
That also includes the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, with already some talk about the possibility of playing games in empty stadia.
“It would be great if that were to go ahead as planned,” added Coetzer. “But with all these different countries flying all around the world to get there, you just don’t know. Some of those countries involved might be struggling more than others.
“I wouldn’t really want to play in front of empty stadiums. That would be disappointing. But we’ve got to trust that the people making decisions relating to the event are doing it for the best for everyone.
“I just hope this winter can provide some sort of cricket for us. I’d imagine we could be looking at a reasonably hectic schedule through the winter if we don’t get any games played in the summer. We could be pretty busy later this year and then into 2021. So that’s at least something to look forward to.”
DOMINIC McKAY hopes rugby can help lift the Scotland’s spirits when lockdown is over and the country starts to move on from the coronavirus pandemic.
Scottish Rugby’s chief operating officer, who is also a member of the PRO14 board, insists all sports can have a role to play in the mood of the nation once restrictions are lifted.
McKay is adamant the SRU is doing all it can to plan for a future made uncertain by the global health emergency and says officials are co-operating well with politicians to plot a way forward.
And he believes collaboration with other governing bodies will also be important to ensure the game survives the current crisis.
He said: “We have had very good dialogue with the Scottish Government, which has been regular and constant at a number of levels.
“We definitely recognise the remarks made by the First Minister recently in respect to mass gatherings and sport, and we will absolutely take the guidance from the government in respect to when it is right for the sport to recommence.
“We are also looking at how best to set the sport back up again, in terms of re-starting once we have been given that green light by the government, because it will be quite a different environment from the one that was paused a few months ago.
“There will be a lot of collaboration between ourselves and other sports to make sure we make the most of expertise.
“Sport has an enormous role to play in terms of the economy and I think the second thing worth mentioning is that the importance of sport to affect positively the mood of the nation shouldn’t be underestimated.
“I think sport is going to have an important role to play in projecting a positive side of Scotland and a very positive side of our society.”