 Strauss and Kieswetter added 117 for the first wicket |
Wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter felt England could be satisfied after warming up for the one-day series against Australia by beating Scotland. The opener hit a rapid 69 as England won by seven wickets in Edinburgh. "It's nice to keep the winning habit going - we played some good cricket but the Scots did too," he told BBC Sport. "They were pretty aggressive with the bat early doors with Kyle Coetzer and Gavin Hamilton, and picked up a few wickets at the end as well." Hamilton, who made 48 but announced after the game that he was set to retire from international cricket, added 86 with Coetzer (51) for the second wicket after Ryan Watson fell in the first over, although the Scots were eventually dismissed for 211. Playing only his fourth one-day international, Kieswetter - who shared a stand of 117 with captain Andrew Strauss (61) for the first wicket in England's reply - explained: "Fortunately for us, we were able to get some wickets and claw ourselves back into the game.  | 606: DEBATE |
"We applied some pressure - maybe they let too many dot balls get to them in the middle session. "But we batted pretty nicely - they had the keeper up and ring fields, which made it tough to score, but the wicket was a belter and Straussy and I dovetailed quite well." Scotland may be only an associate nation in the eyes of the International Cricket Council, but Somerset's Kieswetter, who was born in South Africa but has a Scottish mother, insisted they had not underestimated their opponents. "We trained pretty hard," he said. "A one-day international's a one-day international, regardless of who you're playing, we knew the Scots would come out fighting so it was about respecting the opposition and the game - the management are really big on that." Looking ahead to the five-match ODI series with Australia, which begins at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday, Kieswetter added: "It was nice to get some runs - I'm sure it will give us confidence going into the series against Australia. "We beat them in the World Twenty20 final but I'm sure they'll come out just as aggressive as they usually are, and we're really excited about Tuesday. "I felt I've made some good strides in the last six months, but there are still areas I can work on."
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