Scotland qualify for next summer’s T20 World Cup in Australia
Scotland secured an emphatic 90-run ICC T20 World Cup qualifier win over hosts United Arab Emirates in their play-off in Dubai on 30th of October.
This was Scotland’s second biggest T20 victory as UAE slumped to 108 all out chasing down Scotland’s 198-6.
Opener George Munsey with a top score of 65 confessed that it had been, “nice to find my form in a decider.”
Erratic Scottish progress through theT20 World Cup qualifier
The Scots certainly didn’t have it all their own way as top seeds, going through a spell of unsteady performances, including shock defeats to Singapore and Namibia earlier in the month.
Just 24 hours after that shock defeat to Singapore, what a different a day makes in T20I cricket, on the 19th of October, the Scots posted 170 for 6 from their 20 overs ultimately securing a comfortable 31-run win against Kenya.
Two days later on the 21st, Papua New Guinea proved to be no pushover. The match went to the wire, and it was down to Scotland’s Josh Davey to snap up two wickets in the final over to scrape his side past PNG by the slimmest four-run margin. Chasing 147, PNG needed just nine runs off the last over, Davey’s first two dazzling deliveries removed Jason Kila for 10 and the dangerous Norman Vanua on 33 and that was that.
What proved to be a routine 46-run victory over Bermuda was just what the doctor ordered for the Scots following the 14-run defeat by Namibia in their previous outing on 23rd of October.
On the day after the Namibian defeat, Scotland held their nerve to keep their ICC T20 World Cup qualification on track, led by Calum MacLeod’s superb knock of 74 from a minimal 37 balls, setting Bermuda a tough target of 205 to win.
MacLeod’s total included nine fours and two sixes before he was eventually caught by George O’Brien off Kamau Leverock. This, his career-best T20 knock saw him pass 1,000 runs for Scotland in the short-format as well as reach his seventh T20 half century in 27 balls. George Munsey produced a very capable support act, scoring 51 from 41 balls as the Scots put Bermuda’s attack under constant pressure.
Bermuda could only manage 158 for 8 In reply but put up a spirited fight-back, headed by Delray Rawlins, who struck an aggressive 46, while Leverock stayed unbeaten on 43. Nonetheless, despite this resistance, Scotland’s bowlers Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif and Hamza Tahir all took two wickets.
Following the Bermuda match, the Scottish team had won three and lost two of their matches, while their opponents Bermuda had lost all four of their qualifiers thus far.
As a result, Scotland only had to beat the Netherlands in their next game on 27th of October, to guarantee their place in the knockout phase. They failed to secure the desired result on this particular mission going down by 4 wickets falling to a low scoring total of 130 for 8 in their 20 overs.
And so while the Scots had left their qualification to the last minute, in terms of excitement based on unpredictability; it became a highly strung finale. Potentially better from the neutral cricket fan’s perspective as opposed to team and coach. A final count of six teams from two groups will progress.
