SCOTLAND coaching consultant Adi Birrell last night insisted the country's cricketing fortunes will be turned around by batsmen living up to expectations.
Birrell, who will assist new coach Peter Steindl after his appointment last week, has a detailed knowledge of all the Scottish players from his time in charge of Ireland and figures it is the Saltires batsmen who have under-achieved in recent times.
"Lots of Scottish players have impressed me while I've been looking on from an Irish perspective," said South African Birrell.
"In particular they have a quartet of seam bowlers who are always a threat. You know it's always going to be difficult to score against Scotland because they have such a disciplined attack."
Birrell also admires skipper Ryan Watson whom he played against when the pair were rivals in South African domestic cricket.
He added: "Ryan is obviously a standout and has had fantastic natural ability since he was a kid.
"I remember being impressed when I played for Eastern Province and came up against him in a match against Transvaal.
"Scotland have more in the batting department than just Ryan. But, considering the talent they have, they maybe haven't produced the runs they are capable of. That's something that hopefully I can help with by getting them to maximise on scoring opportunities."
Despite his greater coaching experience, Birrell insists he will play second fiddle to the rookie Steindl. The national squad will have their first practice session under the new regime on 6 January.
But Birrell insisted: "Pete is the man in charge and will lead all sessions. I am there to help out in whatever way he wants."
The full article contains 282 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
