Scotland well beaten by United Arab Emirates in Cricket World Cup League 2
The Scots have proved to be quite a handful for a number of top ODI teams, among their most heroic contests was the 6-run win against England where batting first they amassed a total of 371 for 5 (Calum MacLeod 140 not out in 93 balls).
More recently on 14th of December they also beat the United States, top of the points table in a Tri-Nation series played as part of Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament; both teams now advance directly to the 2022 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
UAE secure a seven-wicket win over Scotland in Tri-Nation series
Therefore it took a magnificent performance by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to beat Scotland by 7 wickets in the same Tri-Nation series with balls to spare one day later.
Scotland began extremely well, Matthew Cross hit a tremendous 53 from 78 balls at the top of the order, but it was fellow opener Kyle Coetzer who laid the platform with a sizzling 104-ball ninety five. However, with Macleod stifled by pinpoint bowling from Rohan Mustafa soon back in the pavilion on 17, only Dylan Budge (23) carried any kind of threat from then on in. Budge’s run out arrested momentum and three ducks, 1, 2 and a modest 11 from Michael Jones were hardly going to bolster the chance of setting up a truly challenging chase for the UAE. Junaid Siddique 3 – 49 and Rohan Mustafa 3 – 35 bowled extraordinarily well, as did Karthik Meiyappan for his brace of key wickets.
Scotland 220 all out in 48 overs
UAE were certainly fired up for the chase, opener Chirag Suri kicked off proceedings with a feisty knock of 67 runs off 73 balls including five smart fours and a lofty six. Fellow opener Viirtya Aravind went for 17 caught by Cross off the bowling of Hamza Tahir. JF John then went for 23 caught by Davey off the bowling of irrepressible Scots all-rounder Budge. Then we witnessed pure pedigree top order batting from young Basil Hameed, with a sparkling boundary-sprinkled innings unbeaten on 63 that pushed the UAE closer and closer to the Scots total. Yet it was Mohammed Usman’s quickfire 36 in 43 balls, with five fours and a six, that not only ably supported Hameed but took the Dubai-based series hosts across the line in style.
United Arab Emirates 224 for 3 in 43.5 overs. UAE won by 7 wickets
Stand-out performers for the Emirates: Karthik Meiyappan, a 19-year-old leg-spinner and mercurial fielder, had Scotland’s middle-order powerhouse Richie Berrington caught at slip. Another youngster Basil Hameed innings was undoubtedly the matchwinner, and Jonathan Figy revealed himself as a clearly outstanding player. Vriitya Aravind courageously whacking sixes off the following ball after being struck on the head showed true betting grit. Then Darius D’Silva normally selected as a batter suddenly morphed into one of the team’s best seam bowlers.
Captain Ahmed Raza, has recently returned to take charge of a much changed side following a major upheaval at the beginning of the year, now chock full of debutants, including three members of the Emirates Under 19 squad. He told media he was thriving on leading a team with an average age of just over 25:
“Having youth in your squad is a great luxury. They are the future. You never know in cricket how long you can push for.
“Three of them are going to be going to the World Cup, and they can bring that experience back to the national set up. They are great kids.”
Next steps for the teams and 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The defeat saw Scotland end the tri-series in Cricket World Cup League 2 with three points after two losses, a no-result and a victory against the United States.
League 2, running between 2019 and 2022, forms an integral component of the International Cricket Council (ICC) pathway via which associate sides have a chance to qualify for the 2023 World Cup.
In this case, the UAE will move forward to the inaugural edition of the 2022 ICC World Cup Play-off along with Nepal and Papua New Guinea.
The bottom four teams from the 2019-22 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 along with the top teams in Group A and B of the 2019-21 ICC Cricket World Challenge League will participate in the play-off competition. The top two teams emerging from this tournament will be promoted to play in the 2022 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
