BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC

Scotland believe they have merited their place in the Cricket World Cup and are dreaming of toppling one of the 'bigger' opponents and advancing to the second round of the tournament.

"We have a dream and we believe we can defeat one of the major teams and gain a place in the second phase of the World Cup," manager Euan McIntyre said yesterday after the team arrived here for their campaign.

"In World Cup events there are always upsets and shocks and we believe we can spring one.

"We are under no illusions. We know it will not be easy, but we plan to fight hard, really hard and give it our best shot."

The Scots will play a series of official CWC warm-up matches when they face Sri Lanka on Monday and Bangladesh next Thursday here at the Three Ws Oval.

They will play alongside Australia, South Africa and The Netherlands in Group A of the World Cup at the Warner Park in St. Kitts.

Scotland are one of six Associates teams in the World Cup and McIntyre said they were there on merit.

"I believe if you don't give the lower teams a chance we will never see the game grow across the globe," McIntyre contended.

"When we play in the Cricket World Cup we have something to look forward to. It gives us a chance to lift our game and we will see a rise of the game in Scotland."