'Any game against England is going to be a special day' – Kyle Coetzer

Kyle Coetzer, the Scotland captain, is looking forward to giving the No.1 one-day international side in the world a good fight when England visit for a one-off match on Sunday, 10 June.

"It's going to be an unreal occasion for our guys and everyone who's involved," Coetzer, who will be playing his 50th ODI, told BBC Radio Scotland.

"Any game, whether it be football, rugby or cricket or any other sport, an occasion against England is going to be a pretty special day."

The fixture starts a busy few weeks of cricket for Scotland. They take on Pakistan for two Twenty20 Internationals on June 12 and 13, before travelling to the Netherlands for a T20I tri-series with the hosts and Ireland.

It’s an important period for them as they try to shake off the disappointment of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 in Zimbabwe earlier this year, when they came so close to making it to the main event in England before being thwarted by rain.

“We've really shown what we can do, especially coming off the back off of Zimbabwe,” pointed out Coetzer. “The guys are in a good place and we're looking forward to it.”

Last year, Scotland did well when Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka came visiting, and they’re hoping for more of the same against England, whom they last met at the Cricket World Cup 2015.

Speaking to The Independent, Coetzer added, “As players we want to play against the best in the world, people you’re watching on the TV all the time.

“There’s no reason why Scotland can’t be one of those nations. We’re full of exciting cricketers, full of quality and skilful players and we are in a position to challenge as well as we ever have done against some of these top nations.

“Look at us beating Zimbabwe last year, then beating Sri Lanka in an unofficial game quite convincingly. These are signs of huge progress.”

One of the players likely to make his international debut on Sunday is Dylan Budge. The 22-year-old grew up in England, but is eligible to play for Scotland because of his Edinburgh-born father.

Budge has been in great form with the bat in the two weeks leading up to the fixture, with three hundreds and three fifties across tournaments and teams.

“I have been in and around the extended squad for a while, but to now be working towards taking on England is quite surreal, but very exciting,” he told the Cricket Scotland website.

“The Scotland guys were very disappointed with the way the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe ended up back in March, but training has been great in recent weeks and everyone is buzzing.

“To have the chance to take on England and then Pakistan twice in the same week does not come around often and we want to make the most of it.”