Cricket: Young Scotland side eager for big Test if and when it comes

Published on Sunday 12 February 2012 03:42

Having overseen a generational shift of the national side since he took over as Scotland coach in 2008, the decision to offer Pete Steindl a new three-year contract to complete what he had started courted little dissent.

Less consensual were the contents of the Woolf Report, commissioned by the International Cricket Council. Its conclusion, damning in parts, was that the monopoly of influence held by the ten Test-playing nations must be brought to an end.

For that to happen the turkeys will have to vote for Christmas. But it is a mark of the progress of Scotland, Ireland and other associate nations that begging for crumbs off the table when it comes to places at major tournaments is no longer enough. “For our players, the next step’s not about being the best associate nation,” says Steindl. “It’s about beating full members. We’ve a long way to go to get there but at the same time, that’s what you aspire to.”

This season, Scotland – with an average age of just 24 – will have at least ten players on professional contracts. With a lengthy schedule, it is no more than they deserve. On Friday, the squad left for a seven-week tour which will shuttle between the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka. Hefty commitments are required.

Their competitive duties begin on Thursday with an Intercontinental Cup tie against the UAE in Sharjah. The competition is a four-day format, long enough to encompass most of England’s feeble efforts in the country in recent weeks. One day more, and one could deign it a Test.

“No-one is saying that we have to go out and play England tomorrow,” Steindl , left, declares. “But we might want to play a Test against Ireland. Or maybe the likes of Bangladesh. It’s about opportunity. There’s no reason we couldn’t play a five-day game.”

Steindl’s immediate priority is a win over the UAE, which would establish the right tone for 2012. The World Twenty20 qualifiers in Dubai bookend the tour, while a short one-day international series against the hosts forms part of the route map towards the 2015 World Cup.

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