ALL-ROUNDER Ryan Watson has warned England to underestimate Scotland at their peril ahead of their World Twenty20 warm-up match with the Auld Enemy at Trent Bridge this evening.
Unlike England, the Saltires' World Cup campaign began last week when they played three unofficial warm-up games against the West Indies, Bangladesh and the PCA Masters behind closed doors in Buckinghamshire.
Gavin Hamilton's troops faltered again
st the established nations at the Wormsley Cricket Ground, slumping by 14 runs to the West Indies and by six wickets to Bangladesh, before a timely 12 run win against the PCA select XI. The Scots' early Twenty20 failures follow a Friends Provident Trophy campaign which saw them pick up just one win from their eight group matches.
But Watson – who turned out for the PCA XI instead of the Scots and notched just ten off 13 balls – insists Scotland are well prepared to capitalise on any English mistakes if and when they arise in Nottingham.
"Anything can happen in Twenty20 cricket and that is the beauty of the game. Being the underdog can really boost your chances because the game is so short and things happen so quickly," said Watson.
"Obviously it is hard in the longer form because there is a lot more cricket to play but the nature of Twenty20 means it is a lot harder to predict what is going to happen.
"The warm-up matches have been excellent practice and excellent preparation for everyone involved. We have played two Test teams and it was good to get us in the mood for things to come.
"A win would be fantastic and we aren't not going to go out and try to do our best to get one. We just want to keep building towards the tournament and making sure our performances are up to scratch."
The Scottish camp has been rocked by the shock exit of pace bowler John Blain on the eve of the clash with England at Trent Bridge.
Blain is believed to have exchanged words with skipper Hamilton following their warm-up match against Bangladesh on Friday and played no part in the final game a day later.
Zimbabwean-born Watson himself is recovering from a torrid time with the bat that resulted in him relinquishing the captaincy after Scotland's Friends Provident Trophy opener against Middlesex.
The 32-year-old struck just seven runs against the West Indies and Bangladesh but still sticks by his decision to leave his post as Scottish skipper.
"From a Scottish point of view everyone loves to play against England – the nature of the occasion means there is a real buzz about the place and everyone is really excited," he added.
"And I am no different – I am enjoying my cricket and I really want to perform in every game I play in.
"The captaincy issue has been and gone, I am just looking forward to what lies ahead.
"We have been together as a team for a while now and we have been doing a lot of fun things – now we just want to go out there and continue our preparations for the main tournament."
The full article contains 532 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
