Moles believes WTC has shown Scotland's players the way forward
Scotland coach Andy Moles believes the ICC's Winter Training Camp (WTC) has helped show his players what it takes to succeed at the highest level
Brian Murgatroyd
06-Dec-2005
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"I think they have all come to understand what I want and what is needed at international level," said Moles, reflecting on the work he has done with eight of his squad during the 11-week residential camp in Pretoria.
The coach was openly critical of his players at the end of the 2005 season and accused them of being "unfit...both physically and mentally" after their season tailed off badly following victory at the ICC Trophy in Ireland in July.*
But after working on a daily basis with a core of promising players over the past two months he is now talking in more optimistic terms about the way ahead.
"They may have existed in a comfort zone before but now they have realized they have to go to the next level if they are going to produce their best for themselves and for Scotland," Moles said of his players at the camp.
"If these players can do that and encourage the players back home to do the same then that should ensure Scotland remain near the top of the Associate pile at the very least," he added.
The WTC, which has involved 23 players from the six Associate countries that have qualified for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, was born out of a plan by Moles to take a core of his players to South Africa for skills and fitness training.
With the cooperation of Cricket Scotland the concept was expanded to include the other Associate qualifiers and the camp, which began in mid-October and will run until late December, was the result.
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"Andy Moles was made available on secondment and without this kind of support the initiative would have been significantly more difficult to implement.
"Scotland's cooperation was recognized when we offered them eight places at the WTC, the number they originally intended to send away, and with some fine talents among those that traveled, they will all have hopefully benefited from the experience," he added.
So, in what ways have all the players and, in this instance, those from Scotland, benefited?
"Well, we had another fitness test of the players last week and the improvement in all of them was remarkable," said Moles.
"It means that rather than having to play to get fit they are now fit to play and that means they can now concentrate on their skills work."
Moles brought a core of young players with him with four of them - Kasim Farid, Richard Berrington, Gordon Goudie and Sean Weeraratna - set to take part in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka next February.
"It has been a wonderful chance for them to get ready for that tournament and I hope this work will mean they will really excel," he said.
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"Those players not here have also been working on their fitness and will be tested shortly and when I get back after Christmas it will be interesting to see the results of those tests."
For Moles, that fitness work will be a vital base for what should be a busy 2006 for his players.
In addition to a program of ICC Intercontinental Cup matches and participation in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Cup against English county sides, Moles has also lined up a pre-season tour to the West Indies in March.
"The idea is to give the players the chance to acclimatize to conditions in the Caribbean a year ahead of the World Cup," he said.
Although there is still almost three weeks to go before the WTC winds up, Moles was able to give us his assessment of how each of his Scotland players has performed.
Richard Berrington - A young all-rounder who has improved, Richard now needs to put what he has learned into practice in match situations, something he will get the chance to do at the U/19 World Cup.
We have changed his bowling action, getting him to use his front arm a bit higher, he is now bowling with a bit more pace and his fitness is excellent. He was the player who led the bleep test when those tests were conducted.
With his batting, we have changed his grip a little as he was struggling to hit the ball through the off-side. Now he is able to play with equal freedom on both sides of the wicket.
He has got the tools and now it is a case of him going out and using them.
Kasim Farid - When Kasim arrived he was a bit meek and mild and said very little and one of the things we have tried to do is to ensure he projects himself a bit more so that he is heard in the group. That is something he has done and his cricketing outlook is more positive as a result.
He is a tidy leg-spinner and with his bowling we have been working on ensuring he stands up and is stronger in his action and bowls a little bit quicker.
His batting has been solid, he is an outstanding fielder and he has captained our second team during the camp, which has helped his cricketing awareness. It should also serve him well when he captains Scotland in the U/19 World Cup next year.
Gordon Goudie - Gordon is one of only two full-time professionals at the camp, along with Eoin Morgan of Ireland, but despite that he was a bit quiet when he got here.
What we asked of him was to stand up and take some more responsibility on the field and he has done that. He has worked hard with his bowling with Bob Cottam (WTC bowling coach) and is swinging the ball consistently, which is a good sign.
His batting has also improved and although he finds some strange ways of getting out he is a clean striker of the ball who is likely to be used as a pinch hitter in the U/19 World Cup.
I see his batting as having real potential and I hope he may develop into a fully fledged all-rounder in time.
Dewald Nel - Dewald has worked really hard on his fitness and has bowled increasingly well in practice and in the nets.
Now he needs to carry that form into game situations and that is something he is getting better at doing, slowly but surely. The important thing for me as a coach is not to lose patience in him because I can see he has the tools but it just a case of him getting it right.
In terms of his bowling, we have worked on him hitting the pitch hard rather than floating the ball up on a full length in an attempt to get it to swing. If he can combine that swing and aggression, like (England bowler) Andrew Caddick does when he is at his best, then we will have an effective bowler.
Dewald has also worked hard on his batting. When he arrived he was a number 10 or 11 but on the evidence of what I have seen here, he has the ability to move up to eight or nine in the order.
I am not saying he is a fully-fledged all-rounder but he has embraced the idea that all the team, from one to 11, may have a job to do with the bat in order to win us a match.
Qasim Sheikh - A question mark I had about Qasim before the WTC was whether he would be able to take responsibility in match situations and the other day I got my answer.
He scored an unbeaten 60 to see us to victory in a match and during that innings he showed a level of maturity I had not seen from him before. That was especially pleasing.
When Qasim played for the Scottish Saltires in the English National Cricket League last summer he had the tendency to get out lbw as he over-balanced with his head falling over to the off-side. We have worked with him to cure that and he seems to have managed that successfully.
Fraser Watts - Fraser was the most experienced of the players we brought here and he has really worked hard to improve his game.
We have remodeled his stance because he was struggling to hit the ball through mid-off and now he is playing with a lot more confidence because he is scoring all around the wicket.
He has taken on the role of senior professional to the young players, mentoring them, and that is good to see, and in match situations he is excellent, running hard between the wickets, keeping the scoreboard ticking over and hitting the bad ball.
He bowls some off-spin and I would like to see him develop that more if he can to add a string to his bow and also give the team an extra option in the field.
Sean Weeraratna - Sean has been the bad luck story of the camp for Scotland.
He developed sore shins at the beginning of our time here, recovered and then suffered a freak ankle injury which meant he has returned home. He was bowling on concrete netting, followed through, changed momentum when the ball was struck back at him and twisted his ankle very painfully.
The good news is that he has recovered quickly and although he is now back home he is already batting in the indoor nets and will be bowling again in a couple of weeks, plenty of time ahead of the U/19 World Cup in February.
Sean is a forceful cricketer, he likes to attack in everything he does, with every ball, but what we have been telling him is that he must have a plan.
With the bat he needs to recognize situations, that there are times when you can force the pace but also times to work the ball around with minimal risk. When he is bowling Sean has to see that sometimes looking to take a wicket every ball is not the best approach and that it can pay to set a batsman up over the course of a few deliveries instead.
Ross Lyons - Ross has really blossomed and if some English county sides saw what we have seen here in South Africa I am sure they would look to snap him up because there are not too many left-arm spinners of his quality on the county circuit.
He has relished the hard work and while he has been here we have worked with him to get higher in his action so that he comes over his front leg and looks to spin the ball rather than slide it out.
He has also learned how to bowl over the wicket and has taken to it like a duck to water while, as a batsman, he has the ability to fill a role as a pinch-hitter at the top of the order but does so playing proper cricket shots. Ross has had an outstanding camp so far.
Players attending the WTC
Bermuda - Jekon Edness, Jim West, Stephen Outerbridge & Azeem Pitcher
Canada - Qaiser Ali, Umar Bhatti, Kenneth Carto & Henry Osinde (plus John Davison, who is filling a coaching role)
Ireland - Trevor Britton, Kenneth Carroll & Eoin Morgan
Kenya - Nehemiah Ngoche, Alfred Luseno & Kalpesh Patel
Netherlands - Tom de Grooth
Scotland - Richard Berrington, Kasim Farid, Gordon Goudie, Ross Lyons, Dewald Nel, Qasim Sheikh, Fraser Watts & Sean Weeraratna