Scotland stun the English at Grange

SCOTLAND stunned the cricketing world by beating No 1-ranked England by six runs in a nervewracking one-day international in Edinburgh.

Having posted a massive 371 with the bat, Scotland held their nerve in the field and with the ball to clinch a thrilling game in dramatic fashion with just seven balls of the match remaining.

Safyaan Sharif was the man to clinch the victory, trapping Mark Wood leg before wicket in the penultimate over to spark wild celebrations and a pitch invasion from a tense crowd at the Grange.

After Jonny Bairstow’s earlier century, England looked like they were creeping towards victory thanks to a 71-run eighth-wicket partnership between Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett.

However, the hosts held their nerve to pick up the remaining three wickets and an emotional victory.

It is the first time Scotland have beaten England in international cricket, and it came in their first game since being cruelly denied a place in next year’s World Cup.

Scotland were out to prove a point after the decision was made to cut down the number of participating nations from 14 to 10, making it harder for associate nations to compete and grow the game – and they showed they can compete with the best by seeing off the world’s top 50-over side in stunning fashion.

It is an embarrassing defeat for England just a year before the World Cup they have clearly set their sights on winning – but they could have no complaints after conceding 371 to Scotland, the hosts’ highest score in ODI cricket.

“I’m lost for words, I don’t know what to say,” Sharif said.

“It’s an unbelievable effort from the lads. We’ve proven again we’re capable of playing this standard. We did really well, there was a tough spell but we managed to pull things back and finish the job.

“We’ve been waiting for this victory for so long and we’ve managed to do that with the positive attitude the lads brought into the game.”