NEW DELHI: Former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers has been a maverick with the bat, and his antics have won him admiration from every corner of the world. Scotland all-rounder Richie Berrington is no different as he likes to pick every bit of knowledge just by watching Mr.360 go about his business.
Scotland is placed in Group B of the Qualifying Stages for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup alongside Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and hosts Oman. The top two sides from the group will qualify for the Super 12 Stages.
“Probably AB de Villiers. I have watched his batting a lot, trying to pick up any sort of knowledge you can. He has done the job in all formats of the game, I like seeing him bat,” Berrington told ANI in an interaction organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
When asked about the best all-rounder in the world at the moment, the fast-bowling all-rounder said: “I mean there are quite a few, it is hard to pick one standout at the moment, there have been a couple of guys who have been at the top of the list for a while. I think Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Nabi, there are quite a few, it is hard to pinpoint one particular player.”
“You need to have different variations so that you stay one step ahead of the batters. Obviously being a batter, you know what you are looking for so it does help when you have the ball in your hand. Yeah, variations are quite important,” he added.
The Kyle Coetzer-led side will also have the services of former England batter Jonathan Trott who has been roped in as batting consultant for the showpiece event.
“Yeah, he (Jonathon Trott) is a good addition to our squad. He brings a huge amount of experience and knowledge about the game. Obviously, he was a world-class batter and it has been great. It will be about tapping into his brain and some of the experiences he has had in these conditions as well,” said Berrington.
Scotland will face Bangladesh in their first match of the tournament on October 17 at Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman. The side will then take on Papua New Guinea and Oman on October 19 and 21.
“I do not think that it makes a huge difference (on playing Bangladesh in Oman rather than UAE). I think as I said before, we have to be ready to adapt to any sort of pitch we end up playing on. That is the strength of any good team, we are looking forward to the challenge and we just need to assess things as quickly as we can. It is good that we have some experience of playing over there,” said the 34-year-old.
“I think every game is going to bring a different challenge. We know Oman and PNG are very good teams. We just need to focus on the first game against Bangladesh, it will be an exciting opportunity for us,” he added.
Scotland squad: Kyle Coetzer (c), Richard Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace (wk), Mark Watt, Brad Wheal. (ANI)
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