England's aura adds special spice to clash

THERE is a planet of difference between world-class teams and world champions. Not since the 1950s, when all cricket was played over four innings and rankings did not exist, have England been able to lay a credible claim on being the very best in the business. But today's visitors possess more than what Gavin Hamilton described yesterday as an "aura" – they have a trophy.

• England's Luke Wright during the practice session at The Grange, Edinburgh

Overlook for a moment the differences in scale between Twenty20 and one-day international cricket, which is the format on show in Edinburgh as one of the ancient game's newest rivalries brings Scotland up against their neighbours for the third time (the first meeting was a no-result, and the second an unofficial tournament warm-up, so this tussle promises to be the first to go down in the records).

With no rain forecast for any part of the day and temperatures predicted to range between 11C and 14C, a true-looking Grange wicket has been prepared that will encourage any positive-minded captain to bat first.

England have unearthed players of serious calibre and moulded their contrasting personalities into a unit that functions. It functions so well that they ran through the knockout phases of the World Twenty20 in April and May, bodyswerving the usual banana skins and booby traps. The first England squad to win a global event remains largely intact as they revert to the longer limited-overs format, and Hamilton expects them to be just as fluent over 100 overs as 40.

"It's nice to actually see an England side performing and having an aura about them, looking like a team of athletes and looking like a proper international side that can beat anyone," said the Scotland captain, who played one forgettable Test for the Auld Enemy in 1999 before being axed, after catching the end of their training session at Citylets Grange yesterday.

"It does add to the aura about them, that they are world champions. I've played against them quite a few times and it's fantastic to see them top of the world, literally. I don't see why they won't be able to transfer the form over from Twenty20. The platform they've got, the way they play their cricket, they can transfer form to any form of the game, from Test match to Twenty20. Their preparation stands out.

"I've been watching England for a long time now and anyone who knows anything about cricket can see there is something special going on within the side."

There was nothing resembling knee-jerk platitudes about Hamilton's compliment. The clear inference was that Scotland fancied their chances against the Kevin Pietersen-led England who visited this ground for the first cross-border ODI in 2008 – the home captain scored a vintage 60 before the rain came – and against the unproven Twenty20 outfit they pushed close in last June's preparatory battle at Trent Bridge.

Even without Scotland's troubles in recent years – consecutive retirements, one or two fallouts and a slow generational handover have left them a force diminished from their 2005 peak – this would have been a truly arduous assignment. But the ability of newcomers such as Craig Kieswetter and Eoin Morgan to construct nerveless, cold and calculated innings in pressurised circumstances makes England's scalp all the more pricey, and the odds on an upset all the longer. The crowd will be a shade smaller than that which attended last year's showpiece against Australia, largely due to the downturn in hospitality business. With the match landing on a Saturday and the Edinburgh finance community tightening their belts, only 250 corporate packages were sold as opposed to 1,000 in 2008.

Many of Andrew Strauss's best performers, of course, are about as English as a battered haggis. So it follows that if Scotland are ever to make significant gains towards recognition as part of cricket's elite, they must compete on all fronts. In contention for one vacant top-order position today are Josh Davey, a 19-year-old born in Aberdeen who never thought of playing for Scotland until his boss at Middlesex, Angus Fraser, suggested it, and Preston Mommsen, who became naturalised in April after spending his final school year at Gordonstoun.

"Absolutely," said Hamilton when asked if scouring the nationality net was a survival necessity in the modern game. "It's no secret that we're miles behind the likes of Ireland and Holland when it comes to selection because of passport issues (EU states can offer second-generation Australians and South Africans an indirect route into international cricket, and there is no such entity as the Scottish passport].

"Let's be honest, if you are born in Scotland, you should be playing for Scotland. If you are a Scottish resident, you should be playing for Scotland.We would love to find a couple of guys in Australia who are Scottish, because we've got to be competing.

"As long as we're not talking seven, eight, nine players: I'm talking about two or three players who have to add value. Then we can build the team around Scottish cricketers."

Amid improving results, one very fine Scottish cricketer whose talents are bubbling to the surface is Richie Berrington. The 23-year-old all-rounder has struck five half-centuries in his last eight innings in all competitions, at an average of 44.25. Don't laugh, but Berrington was born in South Africa. But he had only played one match, for the local under-11s, before emigrating to Greenock.

If – and it is a big if – Berrington and Durham's Kyle Coetzer can succeed where so many predecessors have failed and make runs in the middle order today, Hamilton might be able to take what might be his final salvo with England to the wire.

For that to happen, Matthew Parker will have to bowl out of his skin if, as expected, he comes in for the injured Gordon Goudie. Majid Haq will have to be at his best and there will have to be a few misplaced shots by England's dauntingly talented top order. On what promises to be a warm day, cold logic says Scotland are not ready to win this one. It is another fixture to cherish, albeit the kind that tends to leave Scotland players wishing they did not have to wait another year or two years to play to the galleries again.