Brad Currie feels Scotland ‘owe Italy one’ when the sides meet again in the group phase of the T20 World Cup in Kolkata on Monday morning.
The Scots failed initially to qualify for the tournament after losing to the Italians and Jersey in last summer’s qualifying event in the Netherlands.
Bangladesh’s decision, though, to withdraw due to safety concerns over playing in India offered Scotland a last-minute emergency lifeline.
Owen Dawkins’ side lost their opening group match to the West Indies on Saturday but now have a chance to kickstart their campaign with this match-up with fellow ICC Associate member, Italy, who are playing at their first World Cup.
And pace bowler Currie admits memories of last summer’s disappointment will motivate the Scots ahead of the match that gets underway at 5.30am in the UK on Monday morning.
He said: ‘I feel like we owe them one (for what happened last summer). But that’s not to say that we’ve got a divine right to beat them because we all realise the talent they’ve got in their squad.
Scotland’s Brad Currie bowls during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup against West Indies
Batsman Finlay McCreath prepares for Scotland’s match against Italy
‘And that’s only been bolstered from their European qualifiers to now with the addition of Wayne Madsen and JJ Smuts so you know they’re a really good team. So, I think it’ll be a really good game and I’m looking forward to it.
‘We’re not going to get the coverage that playing one of the big boys will give us but equally I’d still encourage everyone to tune in because I think it’s going to be a high quality game on show tomorrow regardless of the outcome. Hopefully we come out on top but it’ll be a good game.’
Scotland ran the West Indies close for a while in their reply on Saturday’s opener as they looked to chase down a target of 182 set by the Caribbean side.
A strong partnership of 78 between captain Richie Berrington and former New Zealand international Tom Bruce looked to have the Scots in a strong position to achieve it only for a late collapse – that saw them lose four wickets in just five balls – saw them fall 35 runs short.
Even after their late call-up to the World Cup, Currie insisted nobody is just happy to be there as the squad reflected on their opening-day defeat.
The Sussex left-armer said: ‘It was pretty cool to be a part of that, I can’t lie. It had the feeling of a final just because the stakes are so high.
Richie Berrington bats during Scotland’s narrow defeat to West Indies
‘I think with the standard of opposition, you naturally feel that intensity increase. I think it probably made a few of our dreams come true.
‘Playing at Eden Gardens, playing in India, playing in a World Cup. I felt a little bit of revenge after getting injured at the last World Cup. I’m glad I managed to get out on the park this time. It was a pretty cool day.
‘Berro and Brucie were going really well at one stage. We had to work so hard to just get an opportunity to try and win this game. We did that and we were in the contest until six or seven overs out from the end.
‘Then from the moment that you get that opportunity, you almost have to be perfect again to get over the line. It seems that the West Indies are used to those sorts of games and they’ve got match winners in their team from one to eleven. It’s not to say that we don’t, but we’re probably less experienced than them in these situations.
‘It’s a shame, but like I said, I think you do have to be perfect from the moment that you do get that opportunity to win the game. It’s a tough school.
Scotland bowler Zainullah Ihsan limbers up for the T20 match with Italy
‘But absolutely, I’m disappointed. I think one of the things I’ve learned, especially in the last few years playing with Scotland and Sussex, is that I’ve had enough of playing the underdog and the attitude of ‘we’re unlucky to lose that game’ or feeling like it’s just good enough to compete.
‘And my mindset now is, “Na, screw that” and actually I don’t care who I’m playing against, I just want to win. I still think we’re good enough to try and take these boys on.’
Scotland will likely need to defeat Italy to have any chance of progressing to the Super 8 phase and Currie believes there’s everything to play for with matches against England and Nepal to follow.
‘Maybe Italy can beat the West Indies or Nepal can beat the West Indies and suddenly maybe four points with a good net run rate can still qualify,’ he added.
‘I think that’s obviously the larger picture but at the moment the sole focus for tomorrow will just be getting that game won and then seeing where we are.
‘Obviously if we win all three games then that will pretty much guarantee us qualification so there’s no need to be downbeat or anything. We just need to go into every game trying to win it regardless of the situation really.’
