SCOTLAND EARN THEIR SHOT AT THE BIG TIME...
Saltires make it look easy to seal their place in Super 12
SHANE Burger’s jubilant Saltires swept aside fears this was going to be a nervy night as they booked their place in the Super 12 stage of the Twenty20 World Cup with relative ease.
The head coach and his players had already won over an army of new admirers with victories over Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea but still needed to beat Oman or risk the next flight home.
It’s the sort of banana skin that has seen plenty of Scottish sports sides slip up in the past.
Not this team, thankfully, as they skittled the hosts for 122 and then raced to that target with just two wickets down and 18 balls to spare.
Their reward is five massive games in the UAE against some of the giants of the game including New Zealand, India and Pakistan. They start with Afghanistan on
Monday, and if Ireland make it through from their group this evening, a Celtic derby will also be on the cards.
Almost lost amid the euphoria was the fact that yesterday’s victory also means Scotland will be present at next year’s tournament in Australia, avoiding the rigamarole of qualifying.
That was clearly a matter for another day as the Scotland camp celebrated under the Muscat night sky after making it out of the group phase of a World Cup for the first time in their history.
This was another team effort with heroes all across the park but three in particular stood out.
Josh Davey’s three late wickets earned him the man-of-the-match award, while veteran batter Richie Berrington concluded the rout with his third thumping six of the game.
Special mention, too, should go to Kyle Coetzer, who put criticism of his form behind him to smash a vital 41 from 28 balls at the top of the order.
Fears that Scotland would be undercooked going into this tournament having barely played for two years have been completely unfounded and Burger couldn’t have been prouder of his players’ efforts.
‘I’m just incredibly happy for this group,’ he said. ‘To win this game in the fashion that we did is testament to all the hard work the boys have put in. This team has been nothing short of inspiring.
‘The ability to top a group like we have done I think sends a really strong message not only to the Scottish public, but also the cricketing world.
‘We’re incredibly happy and proud right now. We’ll just take a couple of days to let it settle in and just enjoy it because this is why we put all the hard work in, to experience times like this and the guys need to enjoy it because they deserve it.’
Scotland had lost the toss but that didn’t seem the worst outcome when they had Oman all out for 122 on the final ball of the innings.
A run out in the second ball left the hosts up against it early on and they never really got going, with only Aqib Ilyas and Zeeshan Maqsood putting up any kind of sustained resistance.
Ilyas had been dropped by Brad Wheal but respite was only temporary when he departed the following over for 37, caught expertly by George Munsey off the bowling of Michael Leask.
Maqsood also enjoyed some good fortune along the way to making 34. First, he looked to have been caught, only for a review to rule Chris Greaves’ high delivery was a no-ball.
The Oman captain was then dropped by Coetzer when Safyaan Sharif chose not to try to take a catch off his own bowling and left his skipper with too much ground to cover.
Maqsood’s luck, though, ran out in the final over as four wickets tumbled and the Scottish bowlers denied their opponents late runs.
He departed thanks to a brilliant Calum MacLeod catch as Davey took three wickets, while another crazy run out also signalled the end of Bilal Khan.
Sharif and Leask chipped in with two wickets apiece, with left-armer Mark Watt taking the other to remove Mohammad Nadeem on 25 thanks to an expert catch from Berrington. That presented the perfect platform for the batters to attack and Munsey (20), Coetzer, Berrington and Matthew Cross (26 not out) all played their part on a memorable night.
Scotland, in fact, could have been already through to the next stage before they took to the field had Papua New Guinea been able to beat Bangladesh earlier in the day.
When the islanders couldn’t lend a hand, it left Scotland to do it under their own steam. They rose to the challenge to again demonstrate they are now a force to be reckoned with.