‘Excited’ Scots determined to prove they deserve T20 WC call-up

Scotland spinner Mark Watt said on Friday they were confident of proving they belong at the T20 World Cup, despite only being an 11th-hour replacement for Bangladesh.

The Scots failed originally to qualify for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka, but their late call-up will see them face two-time winners the West Indies in Kolkata after having only a few days to prepare.

Bangladesh refused to play in India, citing security concerns, and were kicked out by the International Cricket Council with Scotland being named as replacement less than two weeks ago.

After a frantic dash to India they will also face England, Italy and Nepal in Group C.

And the Richie Berrington-captained team are determined to make the most of the opportunity.

“I mean, firstly, we’re very sympathetic towards Bangladeshi players, but we still massively believe that we should be here.” veteran left-armer Watt told reporters.

“We believe that we can beat teams higher ranked than us. So there’s no second guess in our invite into this tournament. We’re all ready to go.”

Scotland will make their fifth consecutive appearance at the T20 World Cup with their best showing in 2021 when they reached the Super 12 stage.

The Scots stunned the West Indies in the 2022 edition and Watt said they can do it again at Eden Gardens.

“We’re definitely going out there to win the game,” the 29-year-old said.

“We’ve beaten them twice very recently, so I don’t see why we can’t do it again. We’re all very confident.” Watt said they had received huge support after being parachuted into the tournament.

“To be honest, if I had to wrap it all up in one word, it’d just be excitement,” he said of the mood in the team camp.

“I mean, how more excited could they be?

“They were sitting in their house doing nothing 10 days ago and now they’re in India at a World Cup.”

Watt added that being fresh and rested could work in Scotland’s favour.

“You know, we’ve had a great week here in India and sometimes actually having a break from the game is a good thing,” said Watt.

“Sometimes you can overthink too much about, oh, we’re playing against England, we’re playing against West Indies.”

Berrington said it had been a whirlwind couple of weeks. “Obviously it has been unique circumstances,” Berrington told reporters at the captains’ press conference in Mumbai on Thursday.

“There has been a quick turnaround for us. Our preparations probably looked slightly different to some of the other teams.”

“But I think we have been presented with a great opportunity.”

West Indies have placed their faith in Shai Hope to take charge for the T20 World Cup. Hope, who took over the T20I captaincy from Rovman Powell last year, has made big strides in the format.

The 32-year-old has been tasked with leading a Windies side that features a mix of fresh faces as well as experienced campaigners. Hope returns to lead the team having missed out the recent T20I series against Afghanistan.

West Indies’ past successes in this tournament have all been about mercurial leadership that has helped foster a strong bond within the squad and Hope will be eyeing to do the same if this group of young guns are to replicate that.

West Indies have packed the squad with all-rounders that allow them to bat deeper while also retaining variety in their bowling attack. The likes of Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde provide the two-time champions with a lot of flexibility and variety.

Agencies