Gordon Goudie hopes his five-wicket haul against Australia will help persuade Cricket Scotland to retain him on a central contract.
Scottish seamer hopes fivefor will help retain central contract
Scotland bowler Gordon Goudie is hoping that his five-wicket haul against Australia will help persuade Cricket Scotland to retain him on a central contract.
The 22-year-old seamer became just the second Scot to claim five wickets in an innings on Friday, taking five for 73 during his side's 189 run defeat in Edinburgh.
Handed a central contract last December, Goudie is one of just six professional players in the Scotland team.
But after injuring his shoulder in April during Scotland's unsuccessful World Cup qualification bid, he has spent much of that time in rehabilitation.
"I hope it does (help earn a contract)," he said in the aftermath of Friday's game. "Obviously it's a massive confidence booster for me to take five wickets today.
"I was just happy to be playing against Australia, so to get wickets as well was just a massive bonus.
"I hope that will also help me out in the contract side of things."
Punished
Goudie, who has made most of his Scotland appearances against ICC Associate nations, was playing in his fourth ODI and admitted the rise in class was apparent.
"It was a massive step up," he said. "The margin for error against these guys is so small. You get punished if you stray even a little bit."
He made an early breakthrough, however claiming the prize scalp of stand-in skipper and Test vice-captain Michael Clarke, who misread the slower ball only to see it clatter his stumps.
"I tried to change my pace, but at the same time I still tried to surprise the batsman with my slower ball," he continued.
"It was pretty good to get that wicket [Clarke's] in the five."
Goudie said he would now focus on upping his fitness for the World Twenty20 qualifiers.
"I'll be doing a lot of strength training now to make sure the injury doesn't happen again," he promised.
"I want to be fully ready for the qualifiers."
