It was a mixed T20 World Cup for Scotland, who finally returned to ICC global competition action after a gap of six years. The tournament started promisingly, overpowering Bangladesh from a precarious position at 53/6, and then following that up with victories over Papua New Guinea and Oman. But having gained qualification to the Super 12 stage, they faltered, losing all five games, including one against fellow Associate Namibia.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, captain Kyle Coetzer expressed pride at Scotland’s achievements, and said that they will use the Super 12 games as a learning experience for the future. He highlighted three key areas of improvement; namely being more enterprising with the bat in the Powerplay, facing high-quality spin and being more courageous with bowling and fielding placements.
Player Ratings (1-10):
1. George Munsey – 5 (152 runs @ 19.00, 6 catches)
It was an indifferent tournament for the burly left hander, who routinely showed glimpses of his capabilities, through a nonchalantly flicked six off Jasprit Bumrah and the three consecutive reverse swept fours off Ravi Ashwin’s bowling. However, such moments of brilliance were extremely fleeting in nature and Munsey would have liked to convert on early starts.
2. Kyle Coetzer (c) – 3.5 (84 runs @ 12.00, 1 catch)
Associate Men’s Cricketer of the Decade, captain extraordinaire and Emerging Cricket ambassador Kyle Coetzer has been a key cog in the Scottish batting lineup for a long time. As captain, he led the side admirably through to the Super 12s stage but had a lean time with the bat. He looked a little rusty and down in confidence; scoring 84 runs in 7 games. With Scotland gaining automatic qualification to next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, Coetzer and Munsey, with some more cricket in the lead-up to next year’s tournament, need to fire to give their nation a fighting chance of claiming further Full Member scalps.
3. Matt Cross † – 5 (135 runs @ 19.28, 8 dismissals)
Wicketkeeper Cross was tidy behind the stumps, notching up 6 catches and 2 stumpings. Showing quality with the bat early, he was promoted, though fell a little short of expectations when given the chance. Cross’ 135 runs in the tournament came at a sedate strike rate of 80.3.
4. Richie Berrington (vc) – 6.5 (177 runs @ 29.50, 3 catches)
Vice captain Berrington was the best performer with the bat for the Saltires. He hit two half centuries (the only Scottish batter to cross 50) at the T20 World Cup. These included a whirlwind innings of 70 in 49 balls against Papua New Guinea and a brave lone hand against the might of Pakistan (54* of 37 balls). These were tempered with a trio of ducks against Afghanistan, Namibia and India, bringing down his overall rating.
5. Calum Macleod – 3 (43 runs @ 7.16, 8 catches)
A tournament to forget for batting stalwart Calum Macleod who struggled to find any form or fluency and was troubled by both pace and spin throughout. Macleod was dropped from the starting XI for the final Super 12 game against Pakistan.
6. Michael Leask – 8 (130 runs @ 21.66, 4 wickets @ 21.50, 1 catch)
One of the more unheralded members of the Scottish team, Michael Leask finished the World Cup with his reputation enhanced. Leask excelled with the bat with a couple of blistering innings against Namibia and New Zealand, as well as a handy cameo against India. He also delivered some tidy overs of off-spin claiming four wickets at an economy rate of less than eight. In Leask, Scotland have uncovered a reliable middle order batter who can up the run rate with big shots. The highlight was his brutal 42* (20) against New Zealand, where he delivered some serious punishment on the Kiwi bowlers with a flurry of clean hits.
7. Chris Greaves – 6 (97 runs @ 16.16, 6 wickets @ 31.16, 4 catches)
Individual heroics against Bangladesh aside (45 runs and 2 wickets), Greaves had a quiet tournament with both bat and ball. The leg spinning all-rounder also made a promising start with the ball against Pakistan with figures of 3-0-17-2, but bowling the 20th may have been a bridge too far. He was taken apart by Shoaib Malik for three sixes and a four, in an over which went for 26 runs and ruined his figures.
For players 8-16, click onto the next page to see their ratings
