SALTIRES CRASH BACK TO EARTH
SCOTTISH optimism that they could compete with the world’s best at the Twenty20 World Cup all but evaporated in Sharjah last night as they were thrashed by Afghanistan by 130 runs.
Shane Burger and his players had entered the Super 12 phase bursting with confidence after winning all three of their first-round matches, including an impressive victory over Bangladesh, a team ranked sixth in the world.
Having lost the toss here, however, Scotland failed to contain the Afghanistan batters, who raced away to 190 from their 20 overs, their highest-ever T20I tally, smashing every one of the six Scottish bowlers for at least one maximum. Brad Wheal was taken over the ropes three times.
That gave a platform for their wily spinners to do their thing and they made the Scottish batters look increasingly foolish with deliveries that either drew them into poor shots or deceived them entirely.
Only George Munsey, with 25, made anything approaching a respectable score, as the Saltires were skittled out for just 60 runs — their lowest-ever T20I total — just two balls into the 11th over.
It was a night for unwanted records. When Calum MacLeod, Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross and then Michael Leask departed in quick succession, it was the first time anywhere in a T20 international that the batters from numbers three to six had not managed a single run between them. MacLeod, Cross and later Wheal all went first ball, unable to pick the flight or spin of the delivery.
Luck wasn’t on Scotland’s side either. On three occasions they chose to review an LBW decision only for the outcome to be an ‘umpire’s call’ each time meaning it stayed with the on-field decision, but only just.
When Chris Greaves chose not to contest the loss of his wicket, technology later proved the decision would have been overturned had he done so. Maybe the hero of that Bangladesh win was just relieved to get out of there as quickly as he could.
Scotland have now played Afghanistan on seven occasions in T20 and lost them all. The star man on this occasion was a newcomer, Mujeeb Ur Rahman taking five wickets to introduce himself on the World Cup stage with a bang.
Three of those came in the space of five balls, with Berrington grateful to survive a hat-trick ball. Scotland’s most prolific T20I run-getter, however, fell just two deliveries later.
There was a late cameo, too, from the great Rashid Khan, who kept his powder dry until the seventh over then came on to mop up the tail, finishing with figures of four wickets for just nine runs. Although the end was painful, perhaps the writing was on the wall from the moment captain Kyle Coetzer lost the toss and Afghanistan chose to bat.
They did not waste the opportunity. By the end of the fourth over, Scotland had deployed four different bowlers and their opponents were already at 30 for no loss, setting a tempo that they managed to maintain until the end of their innings.
Coetzer decided to experiment with spin in just the second over of the powerplay, handing the ball to Leask.
It backfired with the Aberdonian all-rounder taken for 18 runs and Afghanistan tails were up as they sensed a big total was possible.
Mark Watt (right) was typically economical — Coetzer later described his performance as ‘brilliant’ — but he was the only one. Nobody else was spared by this Afghan attack who did not stint in playing their shots. By the end, they had accumulated 11 maximums and 13 other boundaries, the ball whacked all over the ground.
Najib Zadran top scored with 59 after racing to his halfcentury in 30 balls before being caught on the final ball of the innings, while principle run support came from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (46) and Hazratullah Zazai (44). The Afghanistan 100 came up after just 13 overs, the 150 reached via another massive six. There was no respite for Scotland under the Sharjah night sky. Their
total of 190 was a new national record and left Scotland having to surpass their previous highest successful run chase of 181 if they were to take two points to start the Super 12 phase.
Despite the eventual outcome, the mood at the halfway stage was actually one of optimism.
‘We watched the game the other night and Sri Lanka chased 170 on that wicket,’ said Burger. ‘Par could have been 170 again on that wicket.
‘It did grip a little bit and slow down. If you bowled really good lengths and took pace off when required and got a bit of momentum going your way, par could have been less than that.
‘Either way we were confident of chasing that target. the lads were coming into the hut saying “that’s chaseable”. the mindset was good, just the execution at times wasn’t quite there.’
that is quite the understatement. there is little time, however, for Scotland to sit and lick their wounds. Recovery must be quick with Namibia next in line tomorrow. Burger and his players will surely be privately relieved it is the world No 19 next up and not one of New Zealand, India or Pakistan who all lie in wait next week.
Scotland caught the world’s eye with a brilliant performance against Bangladesh. this time they found themselves back under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.