Scotland's John Blain on cricket north of Hadrian's Wall

For Scotland opening bowler and Northamptonshire professional, John Blain, any straight drives he will duck will be mild compared to the flak he took as a youngster for choosing the English game of cricket.

"Up there it was regarded as fourth rate. Football, of course was the main sport, and still is. Yeah, I copped a bit but I loved the game and preferred it to football and stuck with it," Blain said.

He began playing cricket after noticing through the hole of his back fence, this strange game being played on the ground behind his then Pennybush home. Blain said it is not inconceivable that Scotland will one day reach Test status.

"Kevin Curran, who is also at Northants and played for Zimbabwe in their first World Cup team, said Scotland is now at the stage where Zimbabwe was when it made its World Cup debut. And they rose to Test status."

Blain said the way forward was simple: "Just keep playing at the highest level. We have been playing the Australia and South Africa A sides and we just need to keep on playing that sort of opposition," he added.

Blain said he understood Gavin Hamilton's dilemma. "It's a professional decision. Although maybe Dougie Brown should have done the same (as Hamilton)." Brown declined to play for Scotland to avoid risking qualification for England.