New-look Scots ready to battle on all fronts, insists Steindl

FROM Afghanistan and Bangladesh to Warwickshire and Zimbabwe, Scotland's opponents this season span the cricketing alphabet. From 40-over flurry to four-day contest, the formats of the national team's matches run the gamut of the modern game.

It is a demanding fixture list by any standards, one in which the squad, in addition to playing in one-day matches, will fight on three main fronts: the new Clydesdale Bank 40 competition, the Intercontinental Cup and the World Cricket League. It will be especially onerous, however, for some of the more inexperienced members of coach Peter Steindl's squad.

The Australian, about to begin his third season at the helm, has selected 14 men for the Saltires' first three matches in the 40-over tournament, which begins tomorrow with a game against Leicestershire at Grace Road. The richly experienced Gavin Hamilton remains captain, but two of the 14, Freddie Coleman and Neil Laidlaw, are uncapped, and the squad as a whole is less seasoned than at some times in the recent past. Nonetheless, Steindl appears confident they will give a good account of themselves.

"I think we're at the stage where we have brought some new players into the squad and are trying to rebuild and become competitive in all the competitions we are playing in," he said yesterday. "You develop out on the park and it's important the players are given that chance to develop.

"Until then you don't know exactly what they can do, but we do know they have the right attributes – the ones we are trying to encourage in the squad. They're all hard workers, for a start. The one thing which has been prevalent over the last couple of years is a strong work ethic. It's a case of picking players on merit. We've selected players on form rather than just picking young players per se. There are some squad members in their mid-20s, too, who are improving as cricketers. The competition for places is hotting up and the young guys in the squad haven't been plucked from nowhere."

The Saltires will have five outings in the Clydesdale Bank 40 between now and the end of the month, including a double-header at home next weekend. Scotland then visit the Netherlands to play the Dutch both in the Intercontinental Cup and a one-day match, before one of the focal points of the season, the one-dayer against England.

July sees the team back in the Netherlands for Division 1 of the World Cricket League before they return home to take on Bangladesh, and then in August they welcome Afghanistan for another Intercontinental Cup contest as well as two one-day matches. It is, then, a very busy season, and for it to be a success Steindl is in no doubt of the quality his players will have to display above all others.

"The big one is consistency – in how we prepare for games and in how the team performs. Over the past couple of years we have performed well on certain days, but we have struggled to maintain that level consistently.

"When you go up against a county team or against countries like England or Bangladesh you are underdogs, there's no doubt about that. But you have to ensure you get to the ground in the right state mentally and physically to give yourself the best chance against teams like those.

"We have seven contracted players, three year-long and four on summer contracts. But we also maintain year-round contact with all the members of the squad."

In other words, Steindl will demand that all his players perform professionally, no matter whether they are full-time cricketers or just semi-pros. How they fare against the English county teams in the Clydesdale Bank 40 may be the best gauge of progress, but for many supporters the highlights of the season will be the visits by England, Bangladesh and perhaps especially Afghanistan, who are expected to bring a large travelling support to Ayrshire for their three fixtures. "The big, marquee games are against England and Bangladesh," Steindl continued. "They're always a great opportunity for the public to see some of the best players in the world and for us to pit ourselves against them.

"Then there's the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition, which is obviously a shorter, more attacking game. That will be an opportunity to see some good cricket as well.

"Then the four-day Afghanistan match is massive for us too. Afghanistan are riding high in the I-Cup and have beaten pretty much every team they've played. But we've been doing well in the competition and we'd like to be part of the finals.

"Expectations are incredibly high, and so are the demands on the squad in terms of how much cricket we are playing. But it's a great challenge for me, for the coaching team and for the players."

The first step in that great challenge, the game at Grace Road against Leicestershire, will be televised live tomorrow. The last, if Scotland reach the final of the I-Cup, will be just a month shy of Christmas.