"If I get too emotional or too hyper, Gary will just clip me round the ears" - Cameron Menzies to keep emotions in check ahead of World Cup debut

Cameron Menzies is set to break new ground and represent Scotland at the World Cup of Darts. He will partner Gary Anderson after usurping Peter Wright in the Scottish team. Before the event, he explained how much calmer he is on stage while the effect Anderson will have on him in the tournament.

For the time being, 'Cammy' was feeling quite good about himself. "Quite fine at the moment, which is quite surprising," he told Online Darts. "I'm a bit nervous, but it's more because I'm excited to finally get to put the Scotland shirt on. I've been busy this week and I don't fly out until Friday, so I think the nerves will start kicking in when I'm travelling over. Right now I'm fine, but it'll slowly creep up on me."

It is always a daunting task to fill the shoes of a two-time world champion, especially someone as highly esteemed as Wright. He won two World Cup titles with Scotland in 2019 and 2021, but poor form has saw him slip down the rankings with Menzies capitalising.

He was excited by the prospect of replacing him. "Yes. At least I don't need to do the hair like him," he joked. "I'm looking forward to it. They're definitely big shoes to fill. The four players who have represented Scotland before me are all legends of the game in Scotland, so hopefully one day I can be mentioned in the same breath as them. Hopefully I can go there, do well, and get my name alongside theirs."

He will partner Anderson with the pair already spending some time together. "We spoke at the table last week during the photoshoot. We all sat together and behaved quite nicely the night before! It's been a good laugh. Gary's quite calm about it all as well. Everything's been good so far."

Menzies described Anderson as the 'perfect player to play with' ahead of stepping on stage with his icon. "He's a hero of mine. Even Peter would have been a privilege, but Gary is someone I've always looked up to. Hopefully I don't let him down."

There was an uncertainly surrounding Menzies when asked what his expectations were. He was confident in both players game but was unsure around the doubles aspect.

"I don't know. I just feel like doubles can be unpredictable," he admitted. "If Gary plays the way he usually does and I find my A-game, I think we'll be hard to beat if we start playing well together. We're both big scorers and, if we're clinical in the doubles, we could be a dangerous team. I'm not saying we'll definitely make a run, but I believe we could."

Scotland have won this before without their strongest team. John Henderson stepped up and partnered Wright with brilliant results, conquering the world in 2021. "You need two players playing well because it's a team event," Menzies explained.

"Some people prefer playing on their own, while others raise their game in doubles. Peter and John were brilliant when they won it. They weren't among the top favourites, but they got the job done. You always see a few surprise teams making deep runs. Sometimes two players just click, and that's how it goes."

The talk surrounding Scotland is whether Menzies can keep his cool on stage. Noted numerous times for emotional outbursts or losing his head, he cannot afford to do this alongside Anderson in Frankfurt which could prove to be detrimental to the team.

"Yeah. I figure if I get too emotional or too hyper, Gary will just clip me round the ears and tell me to calm down," he said.

"Gary is pretty much the exact opposite of me as a player, and I think that's why it might work. Gary will just throw his darts. If I make a mistake, he'll stay calm. If I play well, he'll stay calm. If I play badly, he'll stay calm. I don't think I'll get any different reaction from him. Having that calming influence beside me could be really good. If I was paired with somebody who's as emotional as I am, we might bounce off each other in the wrong way. Gary's calmness might help keep me settled when I miss a dart or make a mistake."

The team comradery has to be on point. As Wright once referred to, it does not matter if the best players in the world are playing together if the chemistry is not there. "Last year was a great example. Luke Humphries and Luke Littler were the two best players in the world and things didn't quite work out for them," Menzies highlighted.

"This year they're probably still the two best players in the world and, on paper, they're massive favourites. But doubles is different. I think me and Gary will be fine. We do a lot of exhibitions together and get on well. We're both fairly quick players, so the chemistry should be there."

Menzies admitted that it has been a tough few months. "The last three or four weeks haven't been great results-wise, although there have been a few better performances and better runs. In the last four ProTours I didn't win a game, but I actually played okay," he stated.

"Before that I was struggling with my hand and with the mental side of things. I've done some hypnotherapy and it's helped me a lot. My darts are improving and my life is becoming more settled, which is a massive thing. I'm definitely feeling a lot better now than I did three or four months ago."

His hand was damaged after punching the underside of the table at Ally Pally in the PDC World Darts Championship after losing an enthralling contest against Charlie Manby. He was in a lot of pain and needed treatment, but it is getting there.

"I wouldn't say it's fully healed, and I don't think it ever will be, but it's much better than it was. It's still a little numb, but not to the point where it affects me. The main issue now is the cold, but most of the arenas are warm enough. The doctors said it could take around six months to heal and we're about six months on now, so we're right on schedule.

Doubts crept in after the incident with the possibility of quitting a real though in the Scot's mind. "The hand injury was difficult mentally because sometimes I struggled to hold the dart and it would slip. You start thinking, 'Is this it for me?' I was even considering going back to plumbing. But now I'm basically back to full fitness and I'm in a much better place mentally and physically."

While the thoughts of calling it a day were there, Menzies has reversed this opinion. "At the time I wasn't playing well. I'd even updated my CV and had it on Indeed. That's how bad it was. I applied for a few full-time jobs and my old supervisor even offered me my old job back if I wanted it. The options were there, but over the last couple of months I've made progress. Nobody likes losing, but I've been improving recently and that's been encouraging."

Hypnotherapy was a huge help to this. "Not just with darts, but with life in general," he commented. "I used to really struggle with flying and get very anxious. I'm still not a fan of it, but I don't get nearly as worked up now. It also helps me deal with things one step at a time instead of trying to solve everything at once. It's something I never would have tried before all this happened, but I'm really glad I did."

This has helped him fell calmer on stage, most of the time. "There are still moments when I get caught up in things, but I feel calmer because I'm enjoying it more. For a while I was scared I wouldn't be able to perform anymore. Now I'm trying to enjoy the moments because I know how quickly it can all disappear."

With a player of the capabilities of Menzies, qualifying for the World Matchplay should be a walk in the park. Inconsistent form and early exits have blighted his progress, but a late upturn in form has seen him climb back into the top 16 in the ProTour Order of Merit with a £5,000 buffer to Sebastian Bialecki behind.

"If I qualify, yes," Menzies said, knowing that there is still work to be done before he can look forward to competing in Blackpool. I'm currently in the qualifying places, but it's very tight and there are still a few tournaments left. Hopefully I get there. I feel like if I qualify this year I'll do better than I did last year—and hopefully I won't make any counting mistakes this time."

Menzies was battered in his debut campaign last year against Danny Noppert 10-2. He has fond memories of Blackpool and will be hoping to make a return sooner rather than later.

"Blackpool has always been a special place for me because my family used to go there every September. I took my daughter there last year as well. It was a quick visit because of the tournament, but I still enjoyed it. I'd love another chance to play there and perform better than I did last year. That's the aim: qualify again, enjoy it more, and hopefully have a better run. There are still a lot of players chasing those final qualification spots, so there could be plenty of changes before the cut-off. Hopefully I'm one of the lucky ones."