If Scotland’s cricketers were looking for inspiration ahead of today’s clash with England in Edinburgh, then they only had to look across the field at their final practice session to see the figure of Hugo Southwell watching everything they did. After all, beating the Auld Enemy is nothing new to the Scotland rugby full back, who played in both this year’s and the 2006 Calcutta Cup wins at Murrayfield.

Better still, one day he hopes to be able to take that experience out to wicket, revealing yesterday that one day he hopes to add cricket caps to the 42 he has already won in rugby, a feat that has not been achieved for 20 years when Andy Ker completed the double. And no less a person than Peter Moores, the England head coach, believes the player has every chance of making it.

For Moores, who was Southwell’s coach when he was on the books at Sussex as a student, the player’s enthusiasm and determination can take him a long way. Asked about Southwell’s ambition, his reply was unambiguous: “I would not put it past him,” Moores said. “He was a good cricket player until he gave it up for rugby.”

As for Southwell, he makes it clear that this is a long-term ambition. “Not until after I have finished playing rugby,” Southwell said. “I have no intention of trying to do both at once but I still turn my arm over in the nets from time to time and when the rugby comes to an end, assuming my body can still take it, I fully intend to try. It won’t just happen, it will take a while to get back into the swing of things but if I can give myself a couple of years to get back to where I was as a youngster, then I don’t see why not.

“It is a just a dream at the moment, but to get the chance to play at international level at two different sports, that would be fantastic. I’m sure it can be done.”

In the meantime, he is planning to rush down from club training at Murrayfield today to catch as much of today’s international as he can, shouting on the Scots while maybe later catching up with the likes of Matt Prior, the England wicketkeeper, who was in the same county squad when they were both trying to break into the big time.