AFTER a difficult week for cricket in Scotland, here was at least a wearying if also welcome sense of familiarity. The damning revelations in the independent report into Cricket Scotland unveiled on Monday will take some time to sink in before the slow rebuilding process begins, starting with the appointment of a new diverse and inclusive board and a new chief executive.
The focus yesterday, however, shifted back to the on-field action where a Scotland team, criticised in places for a lack of visible support for the anti-racism campaign, welcomed New Zealand for the first of two T20 internationals. If Cricket Scotland, or those still there, had hoped to go into hiding for a few months then the fixture list did not indulge them.
In a strange way, standing out in the middle in front of thousands of people probably offered the Scotland players a form of sanctuary after a difficult few days but they would quickly find that New Zealand were not of a mind to go easy on them.
When Scotland won the toss and put their visitors into bat it was one of the few things that went right for them all day. Martin Guptill survived being caught off a no ball and made the most of the lifeline to make 40 but it was opening partner, Finn Allen, who was the undoubted man of the match as he racked up 101 off just 56 balls, a dazzling knock that included eight boundaries and six maximums as the ball flew into the neighbouring Stockbridge street at regular intervals.
Glenn Phillips (23), Daryl Mitchell (23 not out) and Jimmy Neesham (30) all played their part too as New Zealand posted an imposing total of 225/5, something that looked too rich for Scotland’s tastes.
And so it proved. An opening stand of 62 between George Munsey and Calum MacLeod offered early hope but once Munsey departed for 28 and MacLeod fell for 33 not long after it quickly became evident that there would be no good news story to perk up a difficult week for Scottish cricket.
Chris Greaves, star of the World Cup win against Bangladesh last year, did put up some resistance with a quickfire 31 but the rest failed to accompany him in the long journey to 225, with Scotland finally finishing on 157/8 from their 20 overs to lose by 68 runs.
“l give credit to NZ their skills were far superior to ours today,” admitted Burger. “There were times in the game where we played really good cricket and I thought our fielding was really good.
“From a bowling point of view to give them 14 sixes to our four and to bowl five no balls was down to some ill-discipline on our part. That really gave them momentum and then when you get a wicket in the second over off a no ball it just means that little things are not going for you in the game.
“Then we have to get better and show that we can execute with our bowling. With our batting I thought we started well and the ball was doing a bit.
“We don’t always get the chance to play these teams so we have to take every opportunity to get better. The more opportunities the guys get to play like this under pressure and do it more consistently.”
Burger admitted it had been a tough week following the publication of the report but that being able to play again – despite the score – was something to relish.
“It is always nice when you have got cricket coming up because whatever way you are programmed you can use it to get back out there on the field and execute,” he added. “But I think it has been a particularly hard week for a lot of people given what has come out in the review.
“Given my background growing up in South Africa and having dealt with a lot of this in the past, it is not a great place to be. The key for me is that we learn from it and that we put systems in place so that people can play the game from all backgrounds and all walks of life. That is what we want to see from within our unit and from within the whole organisation.”
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