It's exciting to think what Scotland can do: Bradburn

There's a nippy breeze blowing across Dunedin's University Oval as Grant Bradburn, the former New Zealand offspinner and Northern Districts coach, talks of Scotland's chances at the World Cup two days ahead of their first game against New Zealand. Adjusting his cap, the 48-year-old coach of the Scotland team smiles. "We're fine with the conditions, this works just perfectly for us," he says. "Adjusting hasn't been a problem; it's focussing on what we've been doing well on the park and in training and then making sure we take it to the next level come Tuesday that is the important part."

This will be Scotland's third appearance at a World Cup following winless tournaments in 1999 and 2007. Having secured qualification for the 2015 World Cup, they are aiming to put in a better performance. Four months ago in Lincoln, they ended up losing by one run to a New Zealand XI featuring Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Daniel Vettori, Mitchell McClenaghan and Kyle Mills. Three days ago in Sydney, Scotland came close to beating a full-strength West Indies in a World Cup warm-up, falling three runs short of chasing 314. Reflecting on those two matches, the 48-year-old Bradburn feels there is a lot to take from them.

"We should have got over the line in Lincoln and we should have got over the line at the SCG," he tells Cricbuzz. "But we've taken a lot of confidence out of both games. Having said that, were well aware that that was an early camp for New Zealand and know that they've grown as a unit since then, playing some outstanding cricket. We've worked hard to try and beat some of the other Associate members. I talk to our guys a lot about that. We've set some goals that are equivalent to beating top ten nations, equivalent to being in the top ten one-day teams. Now we've got to start doing and thinking that; everything that we do has to be equivalent to that. We're starting to think beyond Afghanistan and Ireland and Associate teams, so that is pleasing. For us to take games deep against quality nations is a really good sign."

At the SCG, Scotland bowled 20 extras against West Indies. Stacked up against the final result, that was a big disappointment but knowing that his players did outdo the opposition in key facets was a boost. "Getting Chris Gayle for nothing much was a huge plus, but it's not every day that you out-field the West Indies," says the former international who played seven Tests and 11 ODIs for New Zealand between 1999 and 2001. "It's not often that you get more singles than them and hit more boundaries than them. The guys take a lot of heart out of the small things that we did at the SCG, and we'd love nothing more than to win and get results. I think we're taking games deep, and if we get wins it will escalate this team."

The refrain from many players over the last week, including New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews and his team-mates Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, has been about winning the clutch moments. Scotland too would know a bit about that, having run the New Zealand XI close at Bert Sutcliffe Oval a few months ago and this week at the SCG, when they dismissed Gayle for 1 and Marlon Samuels for 0 and then had West Indies at 135 for 4 before slipping.

"It's interesting you talk about battles," says Bradburn. "When I got introduced to this team, we started to try and work out how to to win the battles against top teams, but also to win the battles within the battles. That is the critical part. We know that if we win the majority of those, we can win games. It was significant that one of those battles against the West Indies was our extras. We didn't win that battle and that's probably why we didn't win the game. But we know that we're footing it with top nations and we take a lot of confidence away from that match. We're keeping our feet on the ground. We know this is a huge challenge in front of us. We've never won a World Cup game before and we haven't beaten a top ten nation before, so we're not getting ahead of ourselves. We're just preparing daily. We're improving daily and its exciting to think of what this team could do."

The struggles of Associate-level teams is well documented. Funding remains a challenge, but what several players have spoken of is the limited opportunities to play matches against big international teams. In the last five years, Scotland have played a Full Member team seven times; their other 30 ODIs came against Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Afghanistan, and UAE. Of these 37 matches, they won 16: Netherlands (3), Canada (3), Kenya (4), Afghanistan (3), Ireland (2) and UAE (one). And while they quailed for the 2015 World Cup, Scotland were unable to grab one of six qualifying spots for last year's ICC World Twenty20. The lack of ODI matches against top teams is a hindrance, agrees Bradburn.

"It's understandable that people are continuously comparing us to others in Associate cricket, but it's difficult when you only play one or two games a year, to gain that experience," he says. "We talk about experience and tournaments like this are just enormous for us, what we can gain from being here playing against big teams. Look at the teams that are here - playing West Indies, playing New Zealand, that's huge for our guys. Daniel Vettori has played more games himself than our whole team. We can't hope to get that experience anytime soon, but we're here to compete and put up a good show of ourselves. This side is very, very proud to represent Scotland and they're out here to show their skills on a global platform. I'm here to help them get the belief that they can do it out on the park. It's an exciting time to be here."

Here, of course, is Bradburn's home country. A Hamilton native, after playing 115 first-class and 125 one-day matches for Northern Districts, he coached the side for five years during which they won the Plunket Shield (2009-10 and 2011-12) and the one-day title (2008-09 and 2009-10). Being a native, Bradburn hopes he can give the Scotland team added insights into the conditions. "I know the conditions well and I think Ive been able to pass on that knowledge," he says. "We know who we're playing and two days here in Dunedin have been spent getting acclimatised to the conditions, we've spent a fair bit of time now. It's a privilege to be back here in New Zealand and to be facing the host nation. As coach of Scotland in game one, it's a great feeling."

Tuesday's fixture pits the hosts, who beat Sri Lanka by 98 runs in the World Cup opener in Christchurch, against Bradburn's Scotland. A case of mixed loyalties, perhaps? "I think New Zealand are in better shape than ever before," he says. "They've got a lot of depth now more than ever, and have some real selection dilemmas. Thats a good sign for New Zealand. They're a formidable team with formidable individuals, but come Tuesday, we start as equals."The belief is unmistakable. Now it's time to see what Scotland can produce on the biggest stage.