It never pays to take too much notice of what happens in Twenty20 matches, but the Scottish Saltires should have few fears about breaking their CB40 duck when they entertain Northants and Warwickshire at the Citylets Grange in Edinburgh on Sunday and Monday.
Whereas Gordon Drummond’s side have built up some welcome momentum throughout the last few weeks, recording significant victories over the Netherlands and, most impressively, Ireland, Northants were skittled out for a paltry 47 on Thursday, undone by the less-than-electrifying pace of Durham’s Paul Collingwood, while the Warwickshire Bears have stuttered from one poor display to another on their Twenty20 travels.
It goes without saying that Drummond’s personnel have not become world-beaters overnight; but, there again, neither of these English counties have a Lasith Malinga hovering in their ranks.
And the Saltires have been bolstered, both by Cricket Scotland reaching a loan deal with Durham to acquire the services of Kyle Coetzer, and by the news that George Worker, a 21-year-old Kiwi, who is currently representing Stewart’s-Melville, has joined up with the Scotland squad for these imminent brace of fixtures.
Indeed, whether in the form of such aggressive batsmen as Coetzer, Fraser Watts, Preston Mommsen and Richie Berrington, or the effervescence and experience of such stalwarts as Majid Haq, Neil McCallum and Drummond himself, there is a definite sense of advances being made by these players this summer.
They could have won both the corresponding fixtures in England earlier in the campaign, and although one can still quibble about certain members of the squad -- Gregor Maiden, for instance, is not scoring enough runs to merit inclusion ahead of Simon Smith -- the bottom line is that the Saltires have shrugged off their disconsolate look and have a spring in their stride again.
“After the memorable win against Ireland, we will be looking to build on the momentum we gained from that fixture. The Sri Lankan game was a tough experience, but one that the squad benefited from greatly,” says Drummond, who has gradually instilled a formidable esprit des corps in his compatriots.
“After two narrow defeats against these teams [Northants and Warwickshire], we will be looking to turn the small margins between victory and defeat in our favour, especially with home advantage.”
Thus far, the Scots have shone in patches, and pushed several of the English teams close, but they need more individuals to sparkle at the same time and one suspects that the Ireland triumph will have persuaded the likes of Coetzer, Berrington and Mommsen that they can dictate the tempo and seize the initiative in these contests.
Ultimately, they should be capable of one, if not two wins, in these tussles, and it is the visitors who are under a cloud. It’s time to confirm the new generation has arrived.
Scotland squad: Gordon Drummond (captain), Fraser Watts, Preston Mommsen (all Carlton), Kyle Coetzer (Durham), Josh Davey (Middlesex), Neil McCallum, Gregor Maiden (both Grange), George Worker (Stew-Mel), Majid Haq (Clydesdale), Gordon Goudie (Stoneywood-Dyce), Calum Macleod (Uddingston), Richie Berrington (Greenock). Safyaan Sharif (Dunfermline Knights).
***Neil Drysdale wants to hear from Scotland’s cricketing community and aims to highlight success stories and emerging talents in the sport at all levels. Next week, he will be writing about the 30th anniversary of Ian Botham’s heroics at Headingley against Australia in 1981, and would be delighted to hear from any Scots who were at that memorable match in Leeds. Neil can be contacted on neil694@btinternet.com
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