RUBBING SALTIRE IN THE WOUND

Fates conspire to rob Scotland of historic victory over Windies ..and a place in the World Cup finals

IT could only happen to Scotland – agonisingly close to glory before a diabolical umpiring decision, rain, Duckworth-lewis and, inevitably, heartbreak.

As the fates conspired to deny the Saltires a place at next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup in England, the manner of their elimination was as Scottish as the Tartan Army’s catalogue of near misses with qualification for football tournaments.

Chasing 199 to beat the West Indies and eliminate the twotime World Cup winners at the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe, Scotland were 125-5, needing another 74 off 88 balls, when heavy rain turned the Harare Sports Club outfield into a lake.

On the dreaded Vera Duckworth-lewis cribsheet, Kyle Coetzer’s side were five runs behind the asking rate.

But as skipper Coetzer observed ruefully, a key decision proved “costly” when top scorer Richie Berrington (33) was adjudged leg-before to a sharplyturning delivery from Windies spinner Ashley Nurse.

Replays suggested Nurse’s offbreak might have hit another set of stumps, but with no Decision Review System in operation there was no chance of Berrington being reprieved.

Had Scotland remained four wickets down, they would have finished the right side of the Duckworth-lewis calculation. But 38 minutes after the heavens opened and the result was determined by log charts, Coetzer (left) was telling the greatest hardluck story north of the border since referee Craig Joubert’s last-gasp penalty howler robbed Scotland of a famous win against Australia at the 2015 rugby World Cup.

In their previous game, the Scots were convinced they had trapped Ireland batsman Andrew Balbirnie lbw – but he was given the benefit of negligible doubt and went on to score a matchwinning hundred.

Now Scotland, who qualified for the 2015 tournament in Australia and New Zealand but went home after the first round, rejoin cricket’s underdogs in the long grass.

Coetzer appeared to take a swipe at the International Cricket Council after his side’s cruel fate, saying: “It would have been nice to have a wicket in hand from that decision.

“But in a competition like this – [where was] DRS? You’re playing with people’s livelihoods and there’s a lot of money at stake and it proved costly today.”

Scotland made a sensational start, Safyaan Sharif dismissing Chris Gayle with the first ball of the match then removing Shai Hope for a duck in his next over.

Jason Holder’s men were still on the brink when some very Scottish weather saved them from becoming the first

Windies team not to reach the

World Cup – after Clive

Lloyd led them to triumph at

Lord’s in both

1975 and 1979.

AGONY FOR SCOTS Richie Berrington top scored with 33 before his dubious lbw decision helped the Windies (left) to victory