Interview: Fraser Watts, cricketer

SALTIRES must be bolder in the short game, Fraser Watts tells Mark Woods

NO EXCUSES, no get-out clauses, no extenuating circumstances, Fraser Watts declares. Scotland return home today from the World Twenty20 qualifiers without the onward ticket to the Caribbean they so badly desired. "As a squad of 14, we haven't been good enough," Watts underlines. "We haven't been committed enough in our shots. We haven't stuck to game plans. And we got what we deserved."

Sitting in the team's Dubai hotel yesterday, the Scots' vice-captain displayed an air of weariness, not from the rigours of this tour of duty but from the deteriorating fortunes of the national side. It was not so much that their exit occurred in the opening phase via losses last week to Afghanistan, Ireland, and – quite improbably – the USA. It was that all three defeats were concocted by abject displays. Scotland show no love for 20-over cricket. That feeling is entirely mutual.

"We haven't backed ourselves enough," acknowledges Watts. "If you look at the teams who have done well, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, they play with no fear. We've been worried about getting out or playing unorthodox shots. And we've paid the price. Some of the bowlers have played pretty well but some of the senior players haven't. And I'm one of the biggest culprits. We've let a lot of people down."

Like the swathes of mothballed construction sites that proliferate the financially-stricken Emirate, Gavin Hamilton's side remains in building mode but there is no firm timescale for completion. Further changes are in the offing. The dice will be rolled on youth. Former captain Ryan Watson, who looks visibly fatigued with the sport, is understood to be contemplating a hiatus. Others, like the disengaged Nav Poonia, are on notice. "We need to figure out why we're crap," Watts confirms.

Such brutal honesty has become one of Scotland's trademarks within their dressing room since Hamilton took over the captaincy last summer in the wake of the team's failure to qualify for the 2011 World Cup. In the past, the buck has too often been passed and fall guys sought. "There's no hiding now," Watts affirms. "Over the winter, we've had a few blow-ups and fights but that's good for the environment because you know when you go on the pitch, everyone's prepared."

No fingers have been pointed at coach Pete Steindl. The Australian shares his players' frustrations but not their culpability. "We're not doing the job and I feel very sorry for him," Watts acknowledges. The handful of positives that have come out of Scotland's tours of Kenya and the UAE include the emergence of Richie Berrington and the dependability of Gordon Drummond. Of greater value, however, is the unity that has filled in the schisms that split the squad just 12 months ago. Win together. Or, as here, lose together.

"We're certainly tighter since we've been losing," Watts says. "It hurts like nothing on earth."

Meanwhile, Ireland and Afghanistan were celebrating last night after they booked their places in the West Indies. The Afghans beat the UAE by four wickets to reach their first-ever major tournament while Ireland crushed the Netherlands by 65.