Cricket: Watts is well healed and hungry to hit the runs

Even when hampered by an injury which manifested itself in the form of stiffness around the joint, though, Watts was still able to top score with 28 when opening Scotland's second innings against the Afghans and those runs have helped take him to the brink of becoming the third highest Scottish run-maker in history tomorrow.

He requires 27 or more against opponents who have already beaten the Saltires in London as well as posting competition victories against Hampshire and Leicestershire this month.

Currently Watts stands on 4014 runs compared with Bruce Patterson's 4040.

"It has to be acknowledged that Bruce played fewer games than me (124) but it is still good to be making a contribution," says Watts who must have wondered when the call to arms would come again.

Innings of 89 and 31 to start the season in a winning Carlton team who also provide Gordon Drummond and Preston Mommsen to the national cause tomorrow have obviously helped but those were dark days latterly in Watts' international career.

"It was frustrating to an extent knowing I was being hampered by an injury which first surfaced in 2007. Initially I thought I had damaged my groin but it turned out my hip bones were colliding or clanking against each other - whatever the medical term might be.

"Consequently my muscles which had grown in an attempt to protect the joint were leading to stiffness but although the situation was being managed with the help of the Scottish team management I knew mobility was an issue and felt a bit sluggish around the field last year.

"Now I feel much more flexible and the way the surgery was timed has meant missing only four Saltires games."

So, was it effectively a 4014 run "service" leaving him ready to make an assault on the figures of the two others ahead of him in the run charts - Ryan Watson's 4962 and Iain Philip's 4831?

"I'd certainly like to think so," says Watts, a member of Lloyds Bank of Scotland business support unit based in Tollcross, before quickly adding: "For the moment, though, it is all about trying to help Saltires get off the mark for the season at the fifth attempt. This will be our first home outing and it is always difficult at the start of any season playing the English county full-timers who inevitably have had more match practice never mind the fact we've been away for all four matches during which Durham and Warwickshire were run close - which offers some encouragement.

"Home advantage can hopefully edge us closer to a breakthrough but we will have to be at our best against opponents who are capable of putting out some star names."

Best known amongst the Surrey contingent will be Ashes hero Kevin Pietersen and former England Test batsmen Mark Ramprakash whose exploits latterly in television dance contests have tended to obscure the fact that as well as Test status he is among an elite who have a century of first class hundreds to his name. Steven Davies is also an international-class wicketkeeper.

Understandably, for Watts the focus lies elsewhere.

"As a batsman I tend to home in on opposition bowling attacks and Surrey have one of the best including (England's) Chris Tremlett, former Scotland bowler Yasir Arafat (ex-Clydesdale) and Jade Dernbach."

Dernbach was called into England's World Cup squad last winter but whoever lines up Watts has no doubt he prefers to be in the front line opening the innings.

"Obviously I'll go in wherever I'm asked to but I'm probably happiest opening and certainly feeling hungry after being forced to sit out the start of the competition," says Watts who will also overtake Dougie Lockhart tomorrow to become Scotland's outright fourth most capped player.