Cricket: Pete Steindl hungry for more giant-killing chances

Published on 26/07/2012 00:00

PROUD Pete Steindl last night claimed his players have sent out a message to the cricket world following their stunning win over short-game giants Bangladesh. And the national coach is convinced his side deserve more opportunities to compete with the best.

The Saltires went into their one-off Twenty20 international in Holland as no-hopers against the side ranked fourth in the world. They responded with one of their most famous wins, Richie Berrington’s ton setting-up an comfortable 38-run success.

Yet, rather than climbing-up the rankings from their current position at 14th, Scotland will fall off the T20 table altogether because they haven’t played enough games. Steindl said: “I think Tuesday’s result sends a statement to the ICC that we are progressing and looking to compete with the best teams in the world. It’s a statement that we can win games like this. We would certainly like more opportunities. Instead, we’ll come off the table in August 
because we haven’t played the statutory number of official matches to qualify and that’s very frustrating.”

Steindl will not allow himself to be caught up in the euphoria of one of the most significant results in Scottish cricket history.

The Scots had beaten Bangladesh before – in a 50-over contest in 2004 – but never in a match with official ICC status.

They have also watched in frustration as Associate rivals Ireland and Holland carved-out high-profile wins against Test countries and Steindl is determined that Tuesday’s win is not a one-off result.

He added: “The guys sat down in the changing room immediately after the game and we spoke about the importance of building on this result. We knew we were capable of a performance like the one we gave against Bangladesh but we are looking for consistency. It is only one win and it’s vital that we show we can do it again.”

Scotland’s win was all the more remarkable in that it came in the wake of five consecutive defeats in the CB40 Trophy. Yet Steindl believes the seeds of Tuesday’s success were planted during a post mortem following Sunday’s tame loss to Notts.

“We had a long chat, a good and honest one, after that game,” he said. “We highlighted things we needed to work hard on to improve and the attitude of the guys in the 24 hours leading up to the Bangladesh game was first class.”

The Saltires resume CB40 duty against Glamorgan Dragons in Cardiff on Sunday.