Scotland cricket team pin Twenty20 hopes on Goudie

There were times when the inside of the gymnasium felt like a prison, Gordon Goudie admits, with his regular physio sessions providing the equivalent of mandatory therapy to secure his early release.

• Gordon Goudie in action against New Zealand in 2008

It was definitely a frustrating spell," recalls the Scotland seamer of the elongated stint he spent on the injured list last year while nursing his shoulder back to health. "This year, I'm looking to hopefully have an injury-free season."

The tear, sustained in South Africa ten months ago, meant an early flight home from the World Cup qualifiers and partial insulation from the disappointment that the team's subsequent failure incurred.

Whether coincidental or not that the Saltires form improved upon his return at the tail end of last summer, it's indisputable that the 22-year-old goes into next week's qualification tournament for the World Twenty20 as the side's established new ball threat.

So much hope placed on one so young would normally bring cause for alarm but the Aberdonian holds no fears over his role. Having had extended spells in England with first, the MCC, and then Middlesex, he came close to securing a county career.

Instead, he is now entering his second campaign as a full-time professional with Scotland. Among the line-up that coasted to an eight-wicket win over Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup last week, Goudie is no longer the coming man.

"The younger guys have come and fitted in really well," he said. "But there's still a lot of experience there. Guys like myself, even though we're younger, we've played a lot of cricket between us. It's an exciting time.

"Having been around for a while now, I'd like to have that extra responsibility. The likes of John Blain and Craig Wright aren't playing now so Nelly (Dewald Nel) and myself are the senior bowlers in the team.

And I'm looking forward to having that role and helping the younger guys along the way."

Following a substantial changing of the guard, Scotland will be reinforced by several veteran performers – including captain Gavin Hamilton – for this week's Twenty20 triangular in Nairobi.

The round-robin event, an acclimatisation event for the 20-over duels to follow in Dubai, begins today with the Saltires facing Uganda before a re-match with the Kenyans tomorrow.

Goudie has been re-built in preparation for such tests. The team's computerised analysis detected a minor defect in his action that he, and coach Pete Steindl, sought to correct during his recovery.

"I've been focused on putting that into practice so I don't even have to think about it and it comes naturally," he explained. "There was a little bit of alignment at the crease when I was bowling. It was something quite simple.

But I've had the time to work on that throughout rehab and over the winter. Now it feels comfortable." "At the start, with any slight change, it felt weird and different. It takes time to get the muscle memory in place. I wasn't chucking it all over the place. But just changing the movement of my feet at the crease makes a difference."

Having put in the time, both men will hope for rewards when the qualifiers begin in nine days time. After missing last year's World Twenty20 in England, Goudie knows that there are few opportunities to earn encounters with cricket's giants. Once the Scots depart Nairobi on Friday, there will be no get out of jail card to play.

"We're all taking a bit of form now," he argues. "Whereas last year, we had to look for it during the tournament which isn't ideal. And we've got the games with Uganda and Kenya to get used to Twenty20."

SCOTLAND'S TWENTY20 TRIANGULAR DATES IN NAIROBI

Sun 31 Jan: v Uganda

Mon 1 Feb: v Kenya

Wed 3 Feb: v Uganda

Thurs 4 Feb: v Kenya