IT MAY be a long shot, but at least the Intercontinental Cup campaign that Scotland launch in Stirling today is a shot of some sort aimed at giving themselves the hope of Test cricket in three years.
That they are facing one of their main rivals in the four-day encounter only adds to the pressure on the home players.
"It is hugely important," said Grant Bradburn, the Scotland coach. "The added carrot is that opportunity to move into a position to challenge for Test cricket.
"That is the ultimate goal but we know that this game is just the first step in that journey and we are fully aware of the hard work and graft that needs to go on to make that dream a reality.
"When you are playing international cricket, you always want a result in your favour. We respect Afghanistan hugely, as we do the other associate rivals. Clearly they are a quality side. "We have never beaten them in this format of the game [they have faced each other three times with Afghanistan winning them all] and we would love to achieve that over the next four days."
Scotland come into the game with little in the way of recent four-day experience, but Bradburn reckons a friendly against the UAE in England last week will have done his troops the world of good and he is not the least bit worried about their ability to switch from 50-over to four-day to Twenty20 cricket without blinking.
"They are professional cricketers," he said. "In the counties they do that all the time, and I am sure we will be able to. There will be some subtle changes when we announce the T20 squad next week, we value different skills across the formats but the fundamentals that we value and the way that we play does not really change across the different formats. It something we pride ourselves on - to be able to create that difference from the four-day plan to the one-day."
The key thing for Scotland is to get the campaign off to a winning start, with home conditions set to play a vital role as the two teams wrestle with the Scottish weather. "Home advantage is huge, these are conditions we know well and are comfortable in," said Bradburn. "We are desperate to get four days of cricket and show our skills in this format of the game."
SCOTLAND (from): Preston Mommsen (captain), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Freddie Coleman, Con de Lange, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, Safyaan Sharif, Andrew Umeed, Mark Watt
AFGHANISTAN (from): Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai (captain), Mohammad Javed Ahmadi, Mohammad Yamin Ahmadzai, Mirwais Ashraf, Izatullah Dawlatzai, Nasir Jamal, Nawroz Mangal, Mohammad Nabi, Shabir Noori, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shaidi, Sami Ullah Shinwari, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Rahmat Shah Zurmati
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