ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

November 4, 2021

Kyle Coetzer

Dubai International Stadium

Scotland

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. The excitement's got to be building towards a game like this. For a lot of boys on the team, it's maybe one of the biggest games of their careers?

KYLE COETZER: Of course the excitement's there. It's been there for every game in this tournament. I think coming up against a side like India and maybe just throw things into a new level perhaps.

Yeah, the boys are really looking forward to it. The fixture is one that's sort of been highlighted a while ago, but we also knew that every one of these games was going to be important. So, yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. Is there kind of a real sense of excitement? Given how well you performed yesterday against New Zealand, have you shown what you're capable of against these full member nations?

KYLE COETZER: Yeah, of course. We said it right from the start. Everyone in these Super 12 games is going to be a challenge. It doesn't matter which team you come up against, and the opportunity to try to test yourself against some of the best players in the world is a really important time for us, a phase in the cricket Scotland journey, I guess, in terms of how we show and what we do and show what we're capable of.

We realize we have to play really, really well to give ourselves the best chance. There was opportunities yesterday, in yesterday's game that, if we look back now, moments in that game could have changed the outcome of the final result, but we have to be better and keep raising our bar to be capable and be willing to take those opportunities when they come around.

Q. How's Josh Davey looking? Is he likely to be available for tomorrow?

KYLE COETZER: Josh is still being assessed today. It's hard to give a final result on that. That's down to the medical staff and the support staff to make that decision. Yeah, he does have a bit of a niggle, but we'll see how he is.

Q. What are the plans considering how India bounced back in the last game?

KYLE COETZER: I think you asked what are our plans against India. Is that right?

Q. Yes, do you have to change your plans considering how India bounced back?

KYLE COETZER: I'll just speak about obviously it's a formidable challenge coming up against a very strong Indian team full of exciting players. We've got to try to push that to one side, to be honest, and just try and take on the challenges that we face in front of us on the day.

It might sound a bit of a cliche, but we have to focus on what we're really good at and what's going to give us the best chance of winning the game of cricket. We'll do our homework on India, as any team will do, and we know the skills they've got within their camp. When we go into that game, we can't fear the players, but we've got to respect them. We'll go in trying to give it everything we've got.

Q. Are you still involved with ICC Cricket Committee?

KYLE COETZER: Yes, I am.

Q. So have you had kind of dealings with Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid in particular, and what have you taken from both of those gentlemen?

KYLE COETZER: Yes, they're two fantastic people. I guess icons and people who are fully respected amongst the game. Yeah, being able to spend a bit of time with them over the last couple of years in and out of meetings has been pretty special, surreal in many ways actually. It's been a real honor to be sat next to them.

Although the last two years there haven't been many meetings going on with the whole pandemic and all that, but listening to their views on the game is really special to get their insights and where they think the game needs to go, et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, two good people to bounce ideas off.

Q. Does Rahul ever speak about his time with Scotland, or is that a period that you remember?

KYLE COETZER: Yeah, it is actually. I did remind him that my first ever game, one of my first ever county games for Scotland, we were involved in a run out, and I was the person who was run out and he wasn't. I think that was fair enough considering that he was the mainstay of the Scotland team then and making sure that he performed well and scored runs.

So I remember the day pretty clearly. I got a clear no and got sent back.

Q. Who was that against?

KYLE COETZER: That was against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. I remember that day.

He's a very humbling person, someone who's so very respectful and speaks so highly and so well to all the players. He's a fine individual.

Q. Finally from me, were there any particular ending battles or captains that you looked up to when you were younger?

KYLE COETZER: I think pretty much all of them, to be honest. Like anyone who takes on the reins of an Indian side is going to be facing a whole heap of pressure, and there's a lot of hype and media around that team. So you've got to be a pretty special individual to be able to handle that pressure and the enormity of the games that are played. So I think there's a whole lot of respect for all those captains, if I'm being honest.

Q. Just wanted to ask you, considering the way the Indian batters went last night, how important is it going to be for your batters, beginning with you, to start really well? And when you're batting first, how important is it going to be to score heavily?

KYLE COETZER: I think one of the challenges in this tournament has been setting a total has actually been quite tricky. There's been wickets that have gone down early in a number of the innings. Although you look at the Indian scorecard yesterday, and that clearly wasn't the case. So there's a big partnership and a big total put on the board.

We know that setting a total has certainly been a challenge in this tournament. So I think, as a battle unit, if we can sort of obviously look to play positively but try to keep wickets in hand at the same time, that's the balance you've got to try and find. Often sides have found themselves two, three wickets down coming out of the powerplay, which is less than ideal.

So, yeah, find that balance, but importantly it's about assessing the pitch, first of all, and trying to make the right choices on that.