New Scotland coach Shane Burger relishing the job ahead

Shane Burger during his playing days. Pic: Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty

Shane Burger is fully aware that he is inheriting a side who almost 12 months ago recorded their greatest victory ever, but is not put off by that and recognises that behind the glittering surface of that historic day at The Grange, when Scotland beat England at cricket for the first time ever, there is lots to achieve and for him to get his teeth into.

That momentous day, when Scotland piled on a remarkable  371-5 before restricting the world  No 1 England side to a mere 365 on  a sun-kissed Sunday of calypso cricket in Stockbridge last June, rang around the world and Burger wants to harness the spirit of that day.

The ambitious 36-year-old from Johannesburg was head-hunted by Cricket Scotland after the departure of Kiwi Grant Bradburn to become an assistant coach with Pakistan. Burger was renowned as one of South Africa’s most promising young coaches with KwaZulu-Natal Inland and is delighted to get the chance to move into the international scene at this stage of his burgeoning career.

“That win over England last year went way beyond cricket, you just have to be a lover of sport in general to appreciate the scenes at that game and how much it meant to the Scottish people,” said Burger as he looks ahead to this week’s one-day internationals against Afghanistan, who are currently ranked tenth in the world, at the same Edinburgh ground that history was made last June.

“I think the biggest thing about that game was how we won, not just that we won. The brand of cricket that was played, almost taking England on at their own game.”

After Afghanistan, who they also face on Friday, Scotland will meet former world champions Sri Lanka twice next month, after which Burger will have a much better feel for the job ahead, with qualifying for the 2020 Twenty20 World Cup coming later in the year and then the push to reach the 2023 ODI World Cup in India following the disappointment of failing to reach this summer’s tournament in England.

Being the coach of a national team comes with responsibilities that go beyond the purely sporting and Burger has had an early introduction to that as he speaks to us just after attending the funeral of former Scotland player Con de Lange, who tragically died of a brain tumour at the age of just 38.

“It was so sad that he went at such a young age but we’ll definitely use it as motivation to play well,” said Burger, who was among the mourners with the rest of the squad on Friday.

As well as Natal, where he enjoyed a solid first-class career as an all-rounder in South Africa, Burger has also played and coached at the famed Radlett Cricket Club in Hertfordshire. He admits that it was Scotland who approached him to replace Bradburn and he is determined to make the most of the opportunity. “I didn’t apply for the job but it’s something that happened at the right time in my career. It’s the challenge I needed and I’m embracing it,” he said. “Seeing where cricket in Scotland has gone in the last couple of years and where it can go, for me it’s exciting.”

Burger is loving settling into his new home and revealed that he had visited Edinburgh with his mother a few years back during his time with Radlett and travelled around the country which, little did he know, would soon have its future as a serious player in cricket, possibly even a push to Test-playing status at some point, in his hands.

“I’ve certainly been thrown straight into it in terms of the quality of opposition. For a team that wants to be at the top level and be considered world class we couldn’t have asked for two better opposition straight up. Afghanistan are very much an in-form team in world cricket and have some exciting players.

“Sri Lanka have a great pedigree in white-ball cricket. They’ve won a World Cup. They’ve always produced good one-day players. It’s a great chance for us to see where we are. Whatever the results in these four games it will be a good marker of where we sit and what we need to be doing.”

Burger is understandably keen to play down expectations of the kind of scenes witnessed with the win over England but believes spectators are in for some entertainment on Scottish soil in the coming weeks. “The Grange is always going to be a good ground and provide lots of runs,” he said. “But there will be some bounce there for our seam bowlers. Our guys know it well and enjoy the conditions and for teams like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, hopefully it will be a little bit foreign to them.”