STUART Whittingham may be playing catch-up when he joins his Scotland team-mates on their tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea but the Sussex pace bowler is ready to make up for lost time.
The majority of Grant Bradburn’s squad are already Down Under where they launch their short trip with a friendly match against Auckland on the Gold Coast today. That encounter and a further one against the same opponents on Tuesday will prepare Grant Bradburn’s men for the competitive action in the form of a four-day Intercontinental Cup clash and two World Cricket League fixtures against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby.
It is in the crucial WCL matches that Whittingham is likely to enter the fray, continuing a fledgling international career which began with a starring three-wicket performance in Scotland’s historic win over Sri Lanka in May.
The 23-year-old, who qualifies through his Scottish mother, carries promising form into the tour, having recently claimed career-best figures of 5-80 against Derbyshire before helping Sussex to a County Championship victory over Durham with 3-26 on Friday.
He will play in the county’s final match of the season before flying to Port Moresby where two ODI wins would be enough to see Scotland leapfrog their hosts into second place in the eight-team table from which the top four will go into a qualifying tournament for the 2019 World Cup in England.
That is an enticing prospect for the Derby-born Whittingham.
“Obviously playing in a World Cup would be a massive thrill and that is the goal for everyone connected with Scotland,” he said.
“It was an unbelievable experience to make my debut against Sri Lanka and even better that it was the first time we had beaten one of the big cricketing nations though I know from talking to the guys that it had been coming for a while.
“I have been really impressed with the set-up in the short time I’ve been involved. I’m really proud to be involved and I just want to play and help make Scottish cricket as big as it can be. From what I’ve seen it feels as if we could be at the start of something quite special.”
Whittingham knows, though, that his Scotland-based team-mates must overcome a significant and oft-quoted obstacle in realising their dream – namely the lack of high quality competitive cricket they play.
“I couldn’t believe how little cricket the contracted Scotland lads get to play. That’s why the trip to the Gold Coast is so important for them before such important games against Papua New Guinea.
“I’ve been playing virtually day-in, day-out since March and the rest of the boys deserve something similar. They are crying out for more big games and the result against Sri Lanka suggests to me that they deserve it. It’s the only way to close the gap.”
Reaching the World Cup qualifier would be a step in the right direction and Scotland’s latest fast bowling star said: “I can’t wait to get out there and hopefully help the team get two important wins. The guys know what’s at stake.”
Meanwhile, coach Bradburn is promising a continuation of the attacking brand of cricket which has seen his side record some notable victories in recent times.
He said: “The guys now know their roles in the team and we pride ourselves on performing in an exciting and fearless way. What we want to add is a bit more consistency and we are working on that.”
A decision will be taken early this week on whether Somerset’s Josh Davey is fit to join the tour.
Tour squad: K Coetzer c, C de Lange, R Berrington, M Cross, J Davey (subject to fitness), A Evans, M Leask, C MacLeod, G Munsey, S Sharif, C Sole, C Wallace, M Watt, S Whittingham.
Today, warm-up: v Auckland
Tuesday, warm-up v Auckland
October 1-4: Intercontinental Cup v Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby
October 6: World Cricket League v Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby
October 8: World Cricket League v Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby
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