MCCREATH HOPES SCOTS PUT BEST FOOT FORWARD IN NAMIBIA
Scotland Men return to ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 action in Namibia this week, opening up against Oman on Thursday 2 April, and Finlay McCreath is targeting four wins from four for the Scots.
Scotland were last in ODI action in September 2025 in Canada, where they went undefeated - with attention at the start of this year then shifting to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India.
This series in Namibia is the first of three important rounds of CWCL2 fixtures in five months this summer to conclude the current cycle, and McCreath believes Scotland are well placed to enjoy success.
"We've had some good sessions getting back out on the grass in Namibia with a real good focus, and we've made the most of our time out here so far," said McCreath. "It was disappointing to have our warm-up matches cancelled due to the weather, so we've had to be flexible about the way we've worked.
"A lot of the work so far has been on ourselves and how we can be best prepared for the series, and as we get closer to the start we’ll talk more in detail about the opposition.
"There’s a been a lot of chat around the shift back to 50-over cricket, but some things stay the same such as the intensity and intent with which we play, but the focus is just on making he sure we do those things and executive our skills for longer periods.
"We just want to focus on playing our best cricket, and if we can do that across all four games, the outcome will take care of itself. It's a new ground for all of us, and with the weather that's been around, and the early starts, it will be important that we adapt to the conditions as quickly as possible.
"If we play our best cricket, and if we do that for long periods, it will stand us in good stead for the four matches, and the overall goal is to win four from four, which I don’t think we’ve had for a while."
The FNB Namibia Cricket Ground will be a very different environment to Scotland's last outing at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against Nepal, but the last month has provided the Scots the opportunity to reflect on that World Cup experience, and get to work with their new coaching staff.
"It was nice to have a bit of a break after a pretty intense few weeks," continued McCreath.
"It was a great opportunity to reflect and learn from the experiences out there, personally and as a team, and then we’ve had a good four week training block where we could put these learnings into practice.
"It’s been good to spend some time working with Dawks (Owen Dawkins) and Drummo (Gordon Drummond), who was my coach in the Under 19s.
"Dawks has been great to work with from a batting point of view, and he is very detailed and has some great ideas which we've been able to work on closely. Both of them provide a lot of detail in our sessions, and there is real clarity with our squad roles."
Scotland open their series against Oman on Thursday 2 April, with the action broadcast live and free on icc.tv.