A SENSE of déjà vu accompanies Scotland’s return to the international arena this weekend. Both the venue, the United Arab Emirates, and the opposition, Oman and Papua New Guinea, bring a comforting sense of familiarity at the outset of what is shaping up to be a packed year of cricketing commitments.

Scotland were in this part of the world just five months ago in the latter stages of a T20 World Cup campaign that began with unbridled positivity before fizzling out somewhat disappointingly in the Super 12 phase when the sport’s elite bared their teeth to consign the Saltires to five successive defeats.

There was no real shame in that but the aim now for Scotland as an ICC associate member is to try to utilise those experiences to bridge the gap between them and the leading full-member nations.

The bigger picture for Cricket Scotland is currently clouded by the recent departure of former chief executive Gus Mackay amid a raft of bullying allegations and the ongoing independent review into accusations of institutional racism.

On the field, however, the outlook is more optimistic. These four World Cricket League 2 matches in Dubai over the coming week are a continuation of an extended process that will lead, hopefully, to next year’s 50-over World Cup in India.

Kyle Coetzer captains a 15-man squad that includes newcomer Chris McBride at the start of a summer season that also includes a trip to the USA and a home series against New Zealand.

“It’s been a bit of an extended break since our last game against Pakistan in November so all the boys are ready to get going again,” he said.

“It does feel like we’re forever playing Oman and PNG in that part of the world but given all the disruptions of the past few years it’s just great to have regular games again.

“It’s two sides that we know well although the downside for us is they’ve been playing a fair bit of cricket recently and we’ve not. That’s the downside of a Scottish winter.

“But we have to step up now, make the most of this opportunity and try to get as many points as we can. We have a backlog of series to play this year so there’s a lot of cricket coming up this summer which is exciting.

“We hope we’ll be able to fulfil all our fixtures but with the pandemic lingering in places there’s no certainty of that so you just have to make sure you’re ready to make the most of the games that do go ahead.”

As was the case last year, Scotland’s primary target this year is a T20 World Cup, held this time in Australia in October and November. Reaching the Super 12 phase of the previous edition booked their place without having to pre-qualify and Coetzer admitted the tournament is in their thoughts already.

“Australia will be at the back of a few people’s heads as it’s going to be hugely important for us once it comes around,” he added. “But we have to nail all the cricket we’ve got before then to make sure we’re heading to the World Cup in good form.

“We also still want to try to qualify for the 50-over World Cup and so winning games like this week are also hugely significant in that front.

“We’ve got the three games against New Zealand in July that will also give us an indication of how we’re fixed in both formats a few months out from going back to the T20 World Cup.

“And it’s just nice to be able to bring a team that consistently makes semi-finals and finals to Scotland to play some big games at home again.”

Scotland are without Shane Burger for this trip, the head coach back in his native South Africa tending to personal issues. In his absence his assistant Craig Wright will lead the team.

“It feels relatively comfortable for me having worked with all these players before,” said Wright, the former Scotland captain and all-rounder. “I’ve done the interim head coach role before so hopefully that brings a fair degree of continuity to things.

“We’ve had a good couple of months of training and have travelled over here with, by and large, an experienced squad who have played together a long time and know each other well.

“We’re also familiar with the opposition and the conditions so we should hopefully be able to click straight back into gear.

“The World Cup clearly didn’t finish as we would have liked but prior to that we had picked up some important wins both in this competition and then in the World Cup itself. We’d love to take this group back to a 50-over World Cup and these are the matches we need to win if we’re going to do that.”