Rampant Kiwis trounce Scotland
GRANT Bradburn watched his Scotland side slump to a heavy 199-run defeat against his old New Zealand team and declared: “we’re better than that.”
The Scots, competitive at the start, were eventually ripped apart at Ayr yesterdray by Test stars Grant Elliott and skipper BJ Watling who both scored tons as the Black Caps second string rattled up 347-6.
Bradburn said: “We are a better side than we showed out there today. It was evident that we are lacking the quality of cricket that we came up against today and it’s a short, sharp reminder of where we need to be to compete at this level.
“Having said that, I thought that for 35 overs we could be pretty pleased. We used the conditions well, bowled quite smart and fielded well. When we had them five wickets down I thought we could have kept them to about 270, which would have been par but we didn’t respond to the pressure in the last fifteen overs.”
Bradburn, who quit his role as New Zealand A coach to come to Scotland, added: “I know the quality they have and I suppose a few months ago I would have been pleased with a performance like that.
“It has been nice to meet up with a few old friends but my focus is firmly on Scotland and getting the team prepared for the World Cup.
“The two sides were a long way apart today, but we have to learn from it and bounce back in Sunday’s game.”
The sides meet again tomorrow at Ayr before the series concludes in Edinburgh on Thursday.