Paceman Sharif out to bag that first win
Fired-up Safyaan Sharif will today attempt to fill a glaring gap in a glittering cap career – by winning a match at a global finals.
As the man who took the clinching wicket in Scotland’s historic ODI victory over England
in 2018, Sharif’s place in tartan cricketing folklore is guaranteed.
The 30 year-old is also the country’s leading wicket-taker in T20s and is regarded as one of the best death bowlers around.
But Sharif is hungry to rack-up more landmarks – starting with a win against Bangladesh in today’s T20 World Cup opener in Oman.
Victory would be only Scotland’s second at a global tournament and it irks the fast bowler that he didn’t take part in the first when they beat Hong Kong in the last edition of the tournament in India five years ago. Sharif said: “I’ve done a fair bit in my career and am one of the more-experienced players now but winning a match at a World Cup is definitely one box that still has to be ticked.
“I played in our first two games at the 2016 competition but squad rotation meant I wasn’t picked for the Hong Kong game. It was fantastic for Scotland to finally win at a World Cup but obviously it was a major disappointment for me not to play.
“Hopefully I’ll get the chance this time and we can get the wins we need to get us into the next phase.”
In addition to Group B favourites Bangladesh, the Scots face Papua New Guinea and Oman and need a toptwo finish to progress to the glamour Super 12 stage.
Sharif added: “Bangladesh will be a tough challenge, they have been playing good cricket recently especially in T20. But all the games are going to be hard and it looks like a group where any team can beat any other.
“I don’t feel any extra pressure because I’ve got more wickets than anyone else in the team in this format. I’m just genuinely excited about having the opportunity to help the team progress in the tournament.
“Hopefully I can use my experience and keep doing what I do.” Meanwhile, coach Shane Burger (inset) believes his side are ready to rise to the challenge.
He said: “Bangladesh are a very good team but we’ve looked into a lot of their strengths and weaknesses and we have a game-plan that we’re going to throw at them that we believe will work.”