The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Scotland cricket captain Preston Mommsen believes his side are ready to grasp life-changing opportunities in theWorld Twenty20 event
Saltires captain confident as team flies off to World Twenty20
Scotland skipper Preston Mommsen believes his team are ready to grasp the life-changing opportunities at stake at the World Twenty20.
The Salt ires were in confident mood as they jetted out for India ahead of the tournament opener on March 8.
They open their campaign in Nagpur against Afghanistan and also face Zimbabwe and Hong Kong in the preliminary round as they bid to battle through to the second phase, where among the big guns await England and South Africa.
And captain Mommsen knows a positive display could not only help see the Scots through, but potentially put their players on course for lucrative deals in county cricket and perhaps even money-rich competitions like the IPL.
The batsman – who has previously featured for Leicestershire – said: “It is a shop window for us. We are all one innings, one outstanding performance away from changing our lives.
“I know it’s a cliche but the sky is the limit for our guys. If we can put on a stand-out display it could open a whole host of opportunities up from country cricket to playing T20 in tournaments right around the world. Those are real opportunities for most of us.
“We’ve spoken about that as a group and it’s very exciting for us. Hopefully it inspires us to play even better cricket.”
Scotland have never won a match at T20 or 50-over World Cup but know three victories are likely required against their fellow minnow nations this time if they are to fight their way past round one.
Grant Brad burn’ steam hope to use the experience of playing at last year’s 50-overWorld Cup to their benefit in the sub-continent.
There they faced the likes of joint hosts New Zealand and Australia as well as the English – predictably suffering some comprehensive defeats.
But they also managed to let slip a precious win despite having the Afghans on the rack at 97-7, with Samiullah Shenwari’s 96 helping their rivals eventually snatch victory with just three balls remaining.
Scotland’s record at major tournaments reads: played 18, won none, lost 17, with one no result.
Head coach Bradburn, though, is confident his team can turn that run around. He said: “We’re a much more mature side since the World Cup. We feel the floodgates could open now.”