Scotland men’s head coach Burger was quick to snap up countryman Grant Morgan as his assistant coach when he came on the radar earlier in the year.
And now Morgan cannot wait to be part of the national team set-up that heads off to the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE.
Morgan joined Cricket Scotland from the Hollywoodbets Dolphins, a successful South African franchise based in KwaZulu-Natal.
He has previously coached South Africa at under-19 level, Royal Challengers Bangalore and KwaZulu-Natal Inland and on the chance to link-up with Scotland he said: “I was attracted to the post by the fact that Shane had told me that the Scottish team was a very talented one and that it had huge potential.
“I was attracted to work with Shane again and I was attracted to the potential that Scotland has to surge up the world rankings and create something special.
“The challenge of building a special team under Shane for a special nation and create great memories for all players was too good to miss.”
Having known Burger for nearly 20 years, Morgan is very happy to work under him and take his lead.
“As an assistant coach I am a worker and a giver and will create ideas for Shane to decide how he wants to use them,” Morgan explained.
“I am here to give 100% to the players at all times and build their capacities in total communication with Shane and the leadership group.
“Our roles are seamless, we want to to build a team, a plan, an enjoyment, an identity and a winning culture.
“There is no good or bad cop when it comes to us, just honesty.”
Morgan was able to see just how good this Scotland team can be in the T20 format of the game when they competed well against the Netherlands and Ireland recently in the GS Holding T20I Tri-Series in Dublin.
There they beat the Dutch twice and lost close affairs to the home side twice to finish second overall.
“I believe we have a very talented bunch of players and the tournament in Dublin gave me a chance to have a look at the team perform under pressure in game situations,” he explained.
“I have only seen a few games so far, so I am very new to the players, but it is very exciting. What I have seen so far has been exciting and the potential is massive.
“As a coach you watch, you speak to people, you reflect and you challenge yourself to grow. You grow daily by pushing boundaries and developing plans that fit the leadership and team you work with.
“You assist players to believe in themselves and their plans within the team plans.
“You continually evolve, but stay true to your core winning strategies and challenge and chip away at their effectiveness.
“The group of players in the Scotland squad has shown huge potential and it would mean everything to me to help them reach a World Cup.”
Scotland leave Edinburgh today [Wednesday, October 2] to travel to Durban for a week-long training camp before arriving into Dubai on October 11 in anticipation of qualifying event which begins on October 18.
The top team from each group will advance to the semi-final of the tournament whilst securing direct qualification to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020, with three more teams from each group featuring in qualification play-offs to determine the other four qualifiers.
Scotland have been placed into Group A alongside the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Singapore, Kenya and Bermuda and will play their group games in Dubai.
Scotland squad: Kyle Coetzer (c), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Oliver Hairs, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Tom Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt.
