Interview: Ryan Flannigan, Scotland cricketer

RYAN Flannigan has been looking forward to today’s opening Clydesdale Bank Pro40 contest against Surrey at the Grange. Scotland’s young batsman can see himself playing a few cover drives and other lusty blows. But he has also been concerned about the weather. Not for today’s game, it’s a game in a couple of weeks he’s worried about.

Saturday, 19 May has thrown up a scheduling conflict for the 23-year-old. Grange, his club, have a planned engagement in the domestic league. However, there is the small matter of only the second appearance Hibernian have made in football’s Scottish Cup final in his lifetime.

“I do have a ticket and I’ll either be selling it or attending at the last minute,” Kelso-born Flannigan admits.

His preference is unsurprising. “I’m hoping it will rain early doors,” he grins.

Such conflicting demands come with the territory now that he is a contracted professional with the Saltires. Time is no longer his own.

One of a still-youthful homespun crop that includes Matty Parker, Preston Mommsen and Craig Wallace, this is effectively a second season for the group brought through by coach Pete Steindl with eyes trained firmly on the 2015 World Cup.

There have been lessons learnt and dished out. Last summer, the Scots took what has been a familiar place at the foot of the Pro40 standings, over-matched and underwhelming.

“In the winter, it was a shock for us that we didn’t compete as well as we expected in the World Twenty20 qualifiers,” Flannigan acknowledges.

But Steindl counters: “They’re still really inexperienced.”

And, as a collective, there is an internal support network available.

“As a unit, we feel really close,” Flannigan says. “Us young guys, Matty, Preston, Chubby [Euan Chalmers], if one of us was struggling in the past, we might have got on them a little bit. But now there’s encouragement. It’s really enjoyable to be on this team. If you look around at the faces, it’s a completely different side to what it was three or four years ago. It’s exciting times.”

It was the former Scotland captain Craig Wright who diverted Flannigan towards wholly pursuing a path with bat and ball. Growing up in the Borders, rugby quite naturally tried to lay claim to him.

“I was told I could be a good scrum-half,” he confirms. There was never truly a contest. His father Iain was a good enough cricketer to play for Scotland’s B team. His uncle, Jack Ker, was a full internationalist and is now the governing body’s president. They were both mentors, says Flannigan. Currently Michael Powell, the former Warwickshire opener who is cricket master at Loretto School in Musselburgh, has his ear. Flannigan’s technique has pass marks but it is his mental strength that has been called into question. “I’ve been working closely with Michael and I’ve learnt a lot from him, how to concentrate and bat for longer periods of time,” he reveals. “I went out to Namibia and got my maiden first-class hundred for Scotland which is one of the prouder days of my career. To do that just proved that I can bat at this level.”

Or in the county game, he hopes. That is the next target, to join Northants’ Kyle Coetzer and Warwickshire’s Freddie Coleman as the Scots down south. To land the same break as Richie Berrington, who will feature for the Saltires against the defending Pro40 champions despite agreeing what is effectively a one-month trial with Leicestershire. Or to emulate Ali Evans, who earned a deal with Derbyshire following an impressive stint last summer.

“If you can play cricket, what else would you want to do?” declares Flannigan. “It’s better than working nine to five, playing professional sport. I’m sure Ali’s enjoying it down there but hopefully he’ll come up and bowl well for us.”

With Nottinghamshire arriving in Edinburgh tomorrow, Scotland could hardly have wished for a tougher opener. Steindl’s squad will be boosted by South African all-rounder Jean Symes. Otherwise, gains will come from within, plucked from an extra year of coping with the demands. Forget the excuses, last year was a disappointment, Flannigan maintains.

“We feel we could have won more. We didn’t get across the line at Warwickshire. We could have made things happen at Durham and we got well beaten by Leicestershire but it’s tight margins against good teams.”