IT will be about 20 degrees cooler and there will be a lot less on the line but Scotland’s desire to win remains the same as they prepare for a reunion with Australia this week.
Back in St Lucia in June it was a place in the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup that was at stake as Doug Watson’s side came within two balls of causing a seismic shock before the favourites squeezed over the line to send a relieved England through to the next stage at Scotland’s expense.
Memories of that battle will be fresh in the mind at the Grange this morning when Australia provide the opposition for a heavily anticipated three-game T20I series, with further duels lined up for Friday and Saturday.
The agonising nature of that World Cup exit could have soured the experience but those who pushed the 2021 champions all the way prefer to view it the other way, taking confidence from coming a whisker away from landing a famous win.
And with a bumper home crowd expected to back them all the way this week, Brad Wheal insists Scotland will be going all out to win, just as they set out to do on that eventful day in the West Indies three months ago.
“That memory [of the World Cup loss] doesn’t send a shiver down my spine at all, if anything it gives us confidence coming into these games,” says the fast bowler who claimed David Warner’s wicket in just the second over last time around.
“We know we were in a position to win that game and beat a very good Australian team at a World Cup. That gives us belief ahead of these games, knowing that we’ve got into a winning position before and now it’s just making sure we get over the line. It’s a great opportunity now for guys to show we can do it this week against this Australia team. We look to win every game we go into and this week will be no different.”
That World Cup contest was a mixed bag for Wheal on a personal level. After Scotland had posted 180/5, their highest ever total at a T20 World Cup, the Hampshire bowler started brilliantly by taking Warner’s wicket with just his second delivery to give his team further hope.
From a difficult start to their innings, however, Australia gradually grew into the game thanks to some big hitting from Marcus Stoinis, Travis Head and latterly Tim David who clouted the winning runs off Wheal’s bowling in the final over.
“It was still an amazing experience,” adds the South African-born quick. “Any time you’re playing a top team in a World Cup it’s something you have to enjoy. There was a lot that we learned from that evening in St Lucia. The guys will be hungry this week to put their best foot forward as there were a few positive glimpses in that game; we batted really well and started well with the ball but couldn’t quite finish it off. But we weren’t far away from beating this Australian team.”
This is Australia’s first trip to Scotland since 2013, while England haven’t been in town since 2018 while it was 2007 the last time India toured north of the border. That’s a disappointing state of affairs both for Scottish cricket fans but also for the players.
“It can be frustrating at times as we don’t always get the opportunities we feel we deserve [to play the bigger nations] as a Scotland team,” admits Wheal. “That’s just the nature of things. But we showed the world what we can do against Australia and also against England in the World Cup. It was an exciting time and hopefully in the next couple of years we’ll start to get more chances to play against the elite nations.
“I believe we’ve helped to show that the gap between the associate nations and the full member nations isn’t necessarily as big as people might think. And the more chances we get to play against them, then the better we’re going to get as players.
“There’s been a bit more exposure with lads getting picked up in leagues around the world which is going to benefit Scotland too as guys are going away and learning from the best of the best. They then bring that back into the national team environment and share that with others.
“Weeks like this don’t then come around too often but it’s an amazing opportunity having Australia in our back yard. It will be brilliant for the fans who don’t get to see teams of that calibre playing in Scotland too often. I’m really looking forward to it.”
