Watson eyes crucial win

Scotland batsman Ryan Watson acknowledges victory over the Netherlands on Friday would put his side in pole position in the ICC World Cricket League Division 1.

The Scots have triumphed over Ireland and Canada in their opening two matches in Nairobi, and Watson knows a third success would put them firmly on course for a spot in the final of the six-team tournament - and earn them a place at the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa later this year.

"If we win it puts us in a strong position for the rest of the other days," he said.

"There'd be a couple of teams that have had two losses so it would put us in pole position so it's massively important."

Watson is hoping the Scots can continue their recent impressive record against the Dutch at Jaffery Sports Club.

"The last couple of games we've done pretty well against them - we're three from three in the last three games," he said. "We know a lot about them and have done well in the past." Peter Drinnen's team will have to manage, however, without the services of Glenn Rogers, who is flying home on Friday after picking up typhoid in Mombasa.

Watson said: "He's one of our leading spinners so on the wickets here that will crack and produce some spin it's a big blow for us."

Other than that, the Scots have a clean bill of health.

"We had a bout of illness in Mombasa but everyone's over that," added Watson, who scored the third fastest century of all-time when he hit 100 off 43 balls against Somerset in National League in 2003.

Netherlands opener Bas Zuiderent is hoping his side can bounce back from Wednesday's defeat to Kenya on Friday.

The Dutch trounced Canada by eight wickets in their opener on Monday but then went down by seven wickets to hosts Kenya at Gymkhana 48 hours later.

Zuiderent, who scored 76 and was named man-of-the-match against the Canadians, is familiar with Friday's opponents but insists that will not change the Dutch team's approach to the game. He said: "We've played Scotland a lot over the years, and we know what their strengths and weaknesses are.

"We'll just try to target them like we try to target every team - just play our game to the best of our ability and play for a positive result."

Defeat to Kenya was a big blow for the Netherlands after such a promising start to the competition, and Zuiderent believes losing the toss was a key factor in the outcome. "We were hoping to beat Kenya, but they played really good cricket," he admitted.

"I think it was crucial that we unfortunately lost the toss because the wicket was very good for bowling in the morning - it was a bit damp and the ball was doing quite a lot. It dried out nicely in the afternoon and batting became easier.

"That really shouldn't be a reason why we lost the game, but I think it played a crucial part.

"Other than that, we've just got to look ahead to the next game."

Zuiderent, who scored a crucial 116 not out against United Arab Emirates in the ICC Trophy 2005 to secure the Netherlands' place in the Caribbean, is relishing the prospect of another ICC Cricket World Cup.

He and Tim de Leede are the only players to have featured in all 11 previous ICC Cricket World Cup matches for the Dutch.

"Everything's sweet," he added. "The guys are preparing well. We are really looking forward to it.

"It's the biggest event you can participate in, it's just the icing on the cake for all the hard work we've done... the guys have got jobs, we're amateurs.

"There's a couple of guys that play professional cricket but the rest are all guys that have got to take time off work to play cricket so I think to be able to participate in a World Cup really is the icing on the cake."