Hodge is on hand to stir up an Auld Enemy upset
DUNCAN HODGE famously defeated England singlehandedly on the rugby field 18 years ago — and he has been in camp with the Scotland cricket team in recent days helping them try to plot the downfall of Eoin Morgan’s top-ranked One-Day International side today in Edinburgh.
It was April 2, 2000 when stand-off Hodge scored all of Scotland’s 19 points in the famous 19-13 Calcutta Cup victory at Murrayfield which denied England the Grand Slam.
Hodge (below) earned 26 Scotland caps and was an accomplished cricketer with the national Under-19 team and Grange in his day and was invited into the Scotland cricket set-up to help the players prepare for the biggest test of some of their careers.
‘We’re fortunate enough to have Duncan Hodge with us for a few days, our coach Grant Bradburn has been in touch with him in recent years and it is interesting to hear how different sports people approach big games,’ Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer explained about the Edinburgh Rugby assistant coach’s role this weekend.
‘We’ve had Duncan come in as an ambassador, just to give a different view on some aspects of sport.
‘And with Duncan having beaten England single-handedly when he scored 19 points all those years ago, his is a very powerful message to come across.
‘He’s been here with us on Friday and Saturday and so he’s a great person to have around.
‘His big thing is that when you go out to play a game of cricket, you’ve got to look to win it. That’s the case with us and while we’ve got to be realistic, we also have to make sure we go out there with every intention of winning the game.
‘Possibly in the past it may not have been felt throughout the squad (that they could beat a team like England), but I think it most certainly is now and that will show in the style of cricket we’ll play.’ Coetzer, who will earn his 50th ODI cap in the game, admits that it has taken some of his players quite some time to recover from the World Cup qualifiers heartache suffered in Zimbabwe in March. ‘I think some people found it harder than others to bounce back,’ he stated honestly. ‘There was a lot riding on that tournament and there’s been quite a bit of time to wait until the next big game.
‘It was hard to take and I think some people took it harder than others but the longer you mull it over and wait, the worse it can become so I think that playing some cricket today will benefit everyone.
‘We’re extremely proud of how the guys represented themselves in Zimbabwe. Obviously we fell at the last hurdle, but the way we played our cricket and the style of cricket we played was seen throughout.
‘Pretty much all of the cricket we play has something on the line. This game has something on the line — there’s rankings and there’s a lot of pride to play for, but in terms of direct funding and our place in a World Cup, that pressure is not necessarily there today so this one is all about the cricket, which is great.
‘We’ve got two fantastic sides going to turn out today, it’s very exciting to have the No1-ranked ODI side in our back yard at The Grange, so there’s no bigger occasion for us.’
Batsman Michael Jones is injured
and will not feature for Scotland having been named in the original 15-man squad. Dylan Budge looks set to debut.
Meanwhile, England captain Morgan is wary of Scotland’s threat.
‘I think gone are the days when any game is a foregone conclusion. Cricket is moving forward at a fast rate and every team is moving forward with you, so I’d expect it to be very competitive,’ he said.
‘Scotland will be dangerous in all aspects; like any good team they are well rounded.’