Date-stamped : 13 Jul97 - 06:18 Scotland gear up for World Cup By Geoffrey Dean Match abandoned THIS was not such a bad day for Scottish cricket. George Salmond`s side did well to restrict Australia to 278 from their 50 overs after the tourists had begun at a frantic pace. The Scots may have struggled with the bat before rain caused the game to be abandoned, but the Australians bowled with aggression and purpose on a pitch with some life in it. Best of all, nearly 7,000 crammed into the picturesque Grange club, where Scotland will play their two home matches in the 1999 World Cup, against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Bordered by a horse-shoe of oak, sycamore, birch and horse chestnut trees and with a lovely old pavilion built in 1856, it is a splendid setting Indeed, this should be a time to proclaim from the rooftops that cricket north of the border has never been in a health- ier state. The country is buzzing at the prospect of competing for the first time in a World Cup. Even the voluble Glasgow taxi drivers are talking about it after years of nothing else but Rangers and Celtic foot- ball. There are some useful players in this Scottish side, hopefully to be reinforced for the World Cup campaign by the inclusion of two county pros, Dougie Brown of Warwickshire and Yorkshire`s Gavin Hamilton. Both were invited to represent Scotland in the ICC Trophy in Malaysia this spring but understandably refused on the grounds that, if they accepted, they would have to spend four years re- qualifying for England, thereby missing out on a possible A tour for which Brown is a definite candidate. Scottish Cricket Union chairman John Everett is optimistic that the ICC will relax their rules so the likes of Brown can play for Scotland until England pick them. With or without them, Scotland have several handy bowlers such as Ian Stanger, once of Leicestershire. Their fielding, which played such an important part in securing third place in the ICC Trophy, was again impressive yesterday. Some outstanding catches were held, the main reason why Aus- tralia managed only 50 from their last 10 overs. Left-arm spinner Keith Sheridan picked up four wickets in eight balls at the death to finish with five for 65. Off-spinner Ian Beven was, nevertheless, the bowler who most im- pressed. Born and raised in Tasmania, he represented the is- land in the Sheffield Shield before a coaching assignment brought him to Scotland. He married a Scottish lass and has lived in Edinburgh for the last 10 years, working as an antiques restorer. Beven also took over as coach to the side yesterday in the absence of former Yorkshire bats- man, Jim Love, who is away in Bermuda with the under-19s. Their victory over Holland on Friday has guaranteed them a berth in the World Youth Cup in South Africa this winter, adding to the feeling that Scottish cricket is on the rise. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)