Wright message being sent out by Scots in T20
Craig Wright believes beating cricket’s big guns today is just as important as winning silverware two decades ago.
Scotland’s assistant coach, and lead fast bowling guru, captained the team during one of the most-successful spells in their history.
Wright had the thrill of leading the team to glory in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in 2004, and lifting the ICC Trophy the following year.
But he insists watching Kyle Coezter’s troops beat Bangladesh last Sunday, and follow that up with the win over Oman on Thursday, was just as satisfying.
Wright said: “When we won these trophies, our aim was to prove ourselves as the best Associate nation, and those wins went a long way to achieving that.
“I think beating Full Members is now almost more important, just in terms of where we are globally, and looking at the opportunity to progress to Full Membership.
“Beating Bangladesh – the sixth-ranked team in T20 – in a World Cup is really significant in terms of the message it sends.”
And Wright is looking for more big scalps when the Scots begin their Super 12 campaign against Afghanistan tomorrow.
They will also face Namibia on Wednesday after progressing as unbeaten winners of their initial group.
After a one-week break, they will go in against the real big boys of world cricket – India, Pakistan and New Zealand, who are ranked 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.
Wright added: “I think the opportunity we have over the next few weeks – to reinforce our message and ram it home – makes this a really important moment.
“For me, it’s a similar feeling being a player and a coach.
“I’ve been passionate about Scottish cricket for so long, and my primary motivation has always been to see the game in our country moving forward.
“Maybe when you’re playing it’s slightly different because you’re directly contributing to what’s happening on the field.
“But because I’ve known a lot of the current players for so long – and played with some of them – seeing what they are achieving, and being part of that from a coaching point of view, is really special as well.”
And coaching is what Wright will focus on as he
prepares a bowling unit, who impressed in the group stage, for the tougher tests ahead.
“I’ve been really pleased, not just with the pace bowlers but also the spinners. They’ve bowled fantastically in tandem,” he said.
“The margins are so small in T20, so we speak a lot about discipline – and we’ve shown that. I think in one game, we didn’t concede any
wides or no-balls.
“We also speak about making it hard for the batters to score, and we’ll keep working on that because our skills are going to be tested even more going through the tournament.”
The Scots will be renewing an old rivalry when they line up against Afghanistan in Sharjah tomorrow.
They suffered the heartbreak of a one-wicket defeat in the 50-over World Cup in 2015.
But they gained revenge with a superb seven-wicket win at the 2018 qualifying tournament, a match in which Calum Macleod subdued one of the best spin attacks in world cricket with a brilliant 157 not out.
Afghanistan go into the clash in high spirits after showing their class with a 56-run win against reigning champions West Indies in a warm-up match.