Scotland coach Grant Bradburn was clearly delighted as his Scottish charges shook off the winter cobwebs with a convincing win over Hong Kong in their Desert T20 opener.

The New Zealander spoke after the win and felt the squad strength and depth was improving all the time.

"The squad depth is something we are very proud off. We have a strong performance squad which gives them experience of rubbing shoulders with the senior guys and it is not so much a daunting experience when they came in and it also keeps the experienced guys moving on.

"It was a tough selection despite losing someone like Preston but we have worked hard strategically to make sure players are coming through and today was no different. We left two very good guys on the sidelines today but the team performed very well and coming out of a winter I couldn’t be happier with the performance.

"We didn’t look like we were coming out of a winter, which is a huge compliment to the players who have worked hard in Scotland. Five players have been away playing cricket but Hong Kong is a team we have huge respect for and know it was going to be tough so we knew we needed to turn up.

"We were never going to use lack of preparation as an excuse but I think we will be better for the run. I thought we were tentative in some parts in the top six with the bat but these lads are so skilful we don’t know how good we can be yet and are just looking to improve day by day."

New Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer made a successful start, as he and George Munsey put on 61 for the first wicket, but was quick to pay tribute to Calum MacLeod and Richie Berrington whose record stand paved the way for the impressive win.

"Our opening stand was a small part of it - Calum (and Richie) did the hard work,"said Coetzer. "We have our targets and we weren’t far off. It was only our second game all winter so pretty happy with that

"Hong Kong have got dangerous players throughout their line-up but our bowlers stuck to their task, clear with their plans and clever with the wind. Mark Watt did an excellent job, all from the tougher end.

"With Con De Lange they are creating a strong spin partnership, I know always can turn to them and they have a good person to lean on with Grant here and all the spin he has bowled."

Calum MacLeod has now been involved in four century stands in T20 cricket with Richie Berrington who he clarly relishes batting with.

"It's always good batting with Richie, as he's good to talk to and calms me down when I get ideas in my head, he kept us on track," said MacLeod.

MacLeod unveiled a string of unorthodox reverse sweeps and switch hits which unsettled the Hong Kong attack as he and Berrington added 127 (a T20I record) in just 12 overs.

"The normal reverse sweep is a good option for me but the switch hit at the end was the first time I played that in a couple of years and that was purely down to the bounce. Thought there was more value in it than taking on the long boundary.

"More and more batsmen are playing the reverse sweep it has become a T20 shot you need in your armoury and it’s just a case of picking the best percentage."

The win puts Scotland in control of Group B and a win against The Netherlands on Tuesday would ensure a semi-final berth.