4. Will Scotland overcome their tournament voodoo?
Scotland have made six previous appearances at ICC global events, three ODI World Cups and three World T20s. However, across 21 matches at these tournaments, Scotland have won only one. It was their most recent effort, a win against Hong Kong in a dead rubber at the 2016 World T20.
Since then, Scotland have transformed their game and have picked up ODI wins against Sri Lanka and England. Although they narrowly missed out on the 2019 World Cup, successes against teams at all levels have positioned Scotland as one of the top associate nations.
Scotland arrive at the tournament with a well-rounded squad boasting some of associate cricket’s top players. ICC Associate Men’s Player of the Decade Kyle Coetzer leads the squad, and with the likes of George Munsey, Richie Berrington and Mark Watt among the ranks, Scotland approach this tournament among the favourites to make the Super 12s.
However, tournament pressure can do funny things and Scotland’s poor record hangs over them yet. They qualified for this tournament the hard way – at the qualifying tournament two years ago, Scotland lost three out of six group games to finish 4th. They were left to face UAE in an eliminator playoff to qualify for the final tournament, in which they succeeded.
Can Scotland overcome their historic record and the tournament pressure to reach the second round?
