Scots hope for good showing

Life is sweet for Bas Zuiderent and Holland © Getty Images

Scotland batsman Ryan Watson acknowledges victory over Holland would put his side in pole position in the ICC World Cricket League.

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 tomorrow 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.

Scotland logo © Getty Images

"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 the National League.

Holland opener Bas Zuiderent is hoping his side can bounce back from Wednesday's defeat to Kenya when they face Scotland.

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 tomorrow'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 Holland 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.

"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 2005 ICC Trophy to secure Holland's place in the Caribbean, is relishing the prospect of another World Cup.

He and Tim de Leede are the only players to have featured in all 11 previous 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."