Matthew Cross knows all about the fine margins when it comes to World Cup qualifiers. The wicketkeeper was part of the Scotland squad that battled through to the 2015 tournament in Australia but also tasted the other side of it when the Saltires were squeezed out of the 2019 edition due to a combination of bad weather, poor officiating and insufficient technology.
The road to India 2023 begins in earnest today when Scotland take on the Netherlands in South Africa, the first of two warm-up games before they cross the border into Zimbabwe for the qualifier itself.
Just like four years ago, there is little room for error with only two of the 10 competing teams making it to a World Cup that has again been restricted to just 10 countries.
Up against full members Sri Lanka and Ireland in the group stage, and with the West Indies and the hosts potentially waiting in the Super Six phase, Scotland will again be underdogs but that has done little to undermine the determination and focus among the group to again upset the odds.
“We’re there to win every game and qualify, we make no bones about it,” said Cross, almost defiantly. “We know it’s going to be tough but we’ve got the experience and the players to win games so it’s just a case of performing when we get to the crunch games.
“It is pretty brutal in terms of only two teams going through and we’ve been on the heart-breaking end of that five years ago. But we’re used to playing a lot of this kind of cricket where everything is on the line and we have to draw on that experience, whereas some of these other teams play a lot of cricket where there’s not as much on the line.
“Playing at a 50-over World Cup is something I was lucky enough to experience once and I’d love to do it again, even more so now that it’s only 10 teams. It would be really well earned. And I’d hope a lot of other guys get to experience that at some point too.
“This would be a cool one to come through and it would be a big statement for cricket in Scotland if we could get through to another World Cup.”
Scotland have never beaten Sri Lanka in an official one-day international but did get the better of them in a 50-over match in Kent in 2017, a memorable day in particular for Cross who made 106 not out as Scotland won by seven wickets.
“That was a good day,” he adds. “I just remember standing at the other end and watching Kyle [Coetzer, who made 118] smash it everywhere! I just tried to knock it around and do my bit. But we’ve played against all of these teams we’re going to be facing before and beaten them all in the past five or six years. So there’s plenty of confidence we can take from that.”
Ireland are first up for Scotland in Zimbabwe, adding a derby flavour to events. The teams have always been fairly well matched although the Irish are now reaping the benefits of becoming full members of the ICC a few years back.
“There’s a strong feeling that Ireland have done really well but we believe we’re as good, if not a better team than them,” adds Cross. “Maybe the disappointment of what happened in Australia [losing to them in last year’s T20 World Cup] will spur us on to take them down in that first game.”
Coetzer and Callum MacLeod have since departed the scene, making Cross, aged 30, now one of the senior figures in the squad. The vice-captain is happy to take on the responsibility of helping the new faces adapt to the demands of international cricket.
“Other people in the squad will tell you that I’ve always enjoyed being in a leadership role and it’s been good so far,” he confirms. “It’s part and parcel of the game players moving on but the level we need to aspire to be at doesn’t change.
“There’s some really good young players coming through. Brandon McMullen has started his international career incredibly well and there’s good talent there with guys like Jack Jarvis and Tom Mackintosh coming through. They’re exciting cricketers and it’s the start of the next cycle with players to watch out for.”
