Scotland captain Gavin Hamilton admits his squad's preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 has been less than ideal.
Skipper wants side to use World Twenty20 as learning experience
Scotland captain Gavin Hamilton admits his squad's preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 has been less than ideal.
While the world's best players have been preparing for the global showpiece with stints in the IPL or county cricket, Scotland's 20-over experiences have been limited to Wednesday night club matches after work thus far.
Scotland, who face South Africa and New Zealand in Group D, have only one completed match against Test opposition behind them in the short format, and that defeat by Pakistan came 21 months ago.
"We always lack continuity as a side for obvious reasons, such as people working, which means we have probably learned more over the last two or three days than we have over a couple of years," said Hamilton.
"For us, it is literally getting some good fixtures against some good players at some good venues and exposing the non full-time players to these kind of games, which is absolutely crucial.
"At the moment, guys are going to work Monday to Friday, playing club cricket against 70-mile-per-hour bowlers on a Saturday, then turning up on a Sunday and playing against the world's best.
Exposure
"It is not ideal preparation and people tend to lose sight of what guys are up against when they're in the Scotland side. The more games we play the better we are going to be.
"The exposure is not quite there yet for us so this next week will be about that and bringing it to the country."
Veteran Hamilton's performances for Scotland in the 1999 World Cup were integral to him being handed a Test debut for England the following winter in South Africa.
Having been consigned to history as a one-cap wonder, however, he returned to his original colours in later years and now commutes from Yorkshire, where he plays for East Bierley in the Bradford League.
"Scotland is obviously my country of birth and playing for the two countries is a completely different thing," said Hamilton.
"I always aspired to be a professional cricketer in England but Scotland for me is a totally different kettle of fish. To me Scotland is a passion thing."
