Scotland well prepared for qualifiers: Collingwood

NEW DELHI: Paul Collingwood's Scotland takes on Hong Kong on Monday and the former England all-rounder said his side had prepared well for the 20-day tournament in which the finalists qualify for the ICC's flagship event, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
"The team is ready and excited. I don't think the preparation could have been any better, and we've got confidence from the three wins (in practice games)", said Collingwood, adding: "We've nailed down an approach that we want to use throughout the tournament, and the guys have performed well in the middle."
Collingwood represented England in three ICC Cricket World Cups (2003, 2007 and 2011), led England to the ICC World T20 West Indies 2010 title and played 68 Tests, 197 ODIs and 35 T20Is from 2001 to 2011, and he has prepared Scotland.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's player-coach Mark Wright is confident that his side will continue its recent run of good form into the tournament.
"The result in the UAE at the ICC WT20Q was great for Hong Kong cricket, and Hong Kong. We want to go about our business here in New Zealand in as positive a way as possible and really carry forward with the good results from that tournament. It's a different format, and it's one that will test us more over time," Wright was quoted as saying in ICC press release.
"We also have a slightly different squad to that of the ICC WT20Q. New faces bring new energy. We've got a fairly young side, and it's a side that wants to learn, so I am confident with the squad we have here," he added.
"The two practice matches we've had have been invaluable in many ways. In particular, we've been able to experience the conditions. It was more about that experience than the results. Obviously, the conditions are foreign to us, being from Hong Kong, so any chance to spend time in foreign conditions is great," Wright concluded.