Brown convinced Saltires are fully entitled to believe in themselves at top level
Associate nations play with their heads as well as their hearts
HAVING played One-Day International cricket for both Scotland and England, it is no surprise that Dougie Brown cannot wait to be in the commentary box for the showpiece clash between the two nations in Edinburgh today.
The 48-year-old is now head coach of the UAE, but has travelled back from Dubai to his homeland to watch the clash at the Grange in Edinburgh and pass on some of his words of wisdom through working with Sky Sports.
As an all-rounder, Brown’s first ever ODI as a player was for England against India back in 1997 while his last, some 25 outings later, was for Scotland against the Netherlands in 2007.
As a coach of some repute these days, Brown’s UAE were amongst the sides not to make it through the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe earlier this year.
With only two sides progressing to the big event in Ireland next year, it was always going to be tough, but the UAE gave it a good crack while Scotland’s ultimate failure was even tougher to watch.
The West Indies and Afghanistan eventually made it through, but not before Scotland had pushed the former close in the final match before the rain came and they were edged out by five runs via the Duckworth/Lewis System.
‘With the World Cup being shrunk down to ten teams it made the qualifiers very tough, but I was very impressed by how Scotland went about their business,’ Brown stated of the event held in March.
‘You have to dust yourself down after such setbacks, that is just the way top-level sport is, and from what I have seen and read a lot of the Scotland guys have started the domestic season firing and I think that is testament to the culture that head coach Grant Bradburn has created within the group.
‘The team are very disciplined and work ever so hard and they will see this game against England, the world’s best in this format, as a real opportunity to showcase their abilities on the global stage.
‘In the past we have maybe talked about the plucky Scots and the passion they would bring into a big game such as this, but I think what we have seen recently is that a number of the associate nations don’t just play with their hearts,
they actually play with their heads as well and have some really good skills.
‘That is certainly the case with this current Saltires side and all it takes is for it to be a bit cloudy in the morning, Scotland to win an important toss and suddenly all of the pressure will be on England.
‘Of course England are the favourites for this one, they are a high-quality white-ball side, but pressure is a funny thing and Scotland definitely have the ability to put England under pressure during the course of a 100-over match.
‘That said, England could quite as easily score 400 if they bat first because on their day with their batsmen firing they have learned how to take games by the scruff of the neck.
‘Their squad is very strong and dynamic, but Scotland have a lot to prove to a lot of people in the international game and they will probably be still feeling frustrated after what happened in Zimbabwe and will want to put the record straight.’
So, who should we be looking out for in the Scotland side?
‘Captain Kyle Coetzer seems to get better with age, he is 34 now, but over the last couple of years in ODI cricket he has looked very good with the bat,’ said Brown.
‘He is a bit like a fine wine, he has got better as he has got older. He now seems to know his own game very well and seems to be plying with freedom and that helps the players that he is leading too.
‘He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone and I think the way the team are playing for him shows how much respect they have for him.
‘We know that if the bowlers give him width or get too straight to him then he will look to capitalise.
‘What Scotland will try and do with the bat is lay a solid foundation for the innings and they have a very strong top order.
‘They will try and use the first 40 overs to set things up and then give the likes of George Munsey a licence to come in and play his shots late on.
‘The bowling attack has improved in recent years, of that there is no doubt, but the team will know they have to be on top of their game when it comes to batting, bowling and fielding if they are to have any chance of an upset.’