As this summer’s set of fixtures came to a close on Sunday with a 1-1 series draw with Zimbabwe, Scotland Head Coach Grant Bradburn reflects on the positives of the past month.
The squad managed to achieve two notable wins against two full members; firstly a convincing win in Beckenham against Sri Lanka, where Matt Cross and Kyle Coetzer both registered centuries, and the second a historic win against Zimbabwe, with a 26 run (D/L) win on June 17 – the first time Scotland has beaten a Full Member in an ODI.
“With the International season over for the summer, the Scotland squad now head back to club and regional cricket. Despite not having the consistency we expect of ourselves, the entire national team are proud of the achievements and progress made over the last month. “said Bradburn on Monday.
“Australia were the last Full Member nation we played in March 2015 at the World Cup, so to play both Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe over four matches within the last month has been gold for the players.” he added.
There is nothing like playing international cricket to learn international cricket and it is clear that this group of players have naturally adapted to this level with this small window of exposure. We would love to play more and the players live in hope that their performances over the last month are an indicator that Scotland deserve to play more.”
The hectic schedule over the past few weeks has also included an Intercontinental Cup encounter and two World Cricket League matches against Namibia means Scotland’s recourses have also been tested to its limits, “It has been a challenging time to get our full team on the park with a number of injuries and those unavailable. We have viewed this positively and our squad is now stronger for blooding new faces into the mix and having young players taking opportunities.”
Not one to usually single out specific praise, the coach made special mention to Kyle Coetzer who contributed a fifty and two centuries over the four previous one day matches , “Our skipper has been a standout performer throughout this past month and has lead the side brilliantly. Chris Sole and Stuart Whittingham have stepped into the team and have added another dimension with their raw pace. Scott Cameron has gained valuable time in the squad as has George Munsey, Dylan Budge and our young spinners Mark Watt and Michael Leask.”
“The future player pool is strong and bright and we hope that the major powers in world cricket support Scotland with appropriate funding and a chance to play more on the global stage where this group of players deserve to be.” concluded Bradburn
