Gaelic speaker Calum is Scotland cricket hero
Scotland batsman Calum MacLeod described Scotland’s thrilling six-run oneday international win over England at the Grange cricket ground in Edinburgh as ‘a great day in Scottish cricket history’.
MacLeod was born in Glasgow but is a fluent Gaelic speaker who attended Hillpark Secondary School, the Glasgow Gaelic School at the time. His family originally came from South Uist.
MacLeod’s superb 140 not out paved the way for this historic win over the ‘auld enemy’. Scotland made the magnificnet total of 371 for five. Scotland then held off a charge from England’s batsmen in reply to secure the biggest win in their history. England fell six runs short being bowled out for 365.
‘It’s certainly one of the best games of cricket I’ve been involved in.’
Scotland have been improving steadily since the 2015 World Cup and were only denied a place in the 2019 tournament when rain stopped their match against West Indies in the qualifying tournament in March.
MacLeod says the International Cricket Council’s decision to cut the World Cup to only 10 teams makes the win over England all the more important.
After his impressive display MacLeod has signed for the Derbyshire T20 Blast squad. He joins compatriot Safyaan Sharif and Scotland head coach Grant Bradbury, who is in Derbyshire’s T20 backroom team.
MacLeod who has scored 2,342 runs for Scotland in 85 games has also played for Warwickshire and Durham