First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has offered Scotland's cricket team her full support as they embark upon their 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) campaign. The team shared some top cricketing tips and tactics with the First Minister at the Scottish Parliament today (Thursday 29 January) as she chatted to them about the upcoming tournament.

The Scotland team fly out to Australia on Sunday 1 February, with their first match taking place against New Zealand in Dunedin on 17 February.

Scotland qualified for the CWC in January 2014 with an impressive seven consecutive wins in a row at qualifying stages, securing them a space on the international stage for what is the second most-watched single-sport world cup tournament after its football counterpart.

The team will face New Zealand, England, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia in the first round of the tournament.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Cricket is increasing in popularity in Scotland and the national team qualifying for the 2015 World Cup is not only a fantastic achievement for the side, but also an opportunity to inspire more people to pick up a bat and get into the sport. 2014 was a tremendous year for Scottish sport and we want to build on that.

“I'm sure Grant Bradburn and his team will savour the opportunity to represent Scotland on the international stage and although they find themselves in an extremely difficult group, I'm confident they will do Scotland, and Scottish sport, proud.”

Scotland Coach, Grant Bradburn said: “We're thrilled to have the support of the First Minister and the Scottish Government for our World Cup campaign. It has been an intensive period of preparation for the squad, and we are going out there with the knowledge that we have the opportunity to create history.”