Scotland Slays Zimbabwe in Super Six to move one step closer to securing a spot in the World Cup

After hammering the West Indies out of the ICC World Cup qualifiers, Richie Berrington’s Scotland ended Zimbabwe‘s campaign in the Super Six as they won against the hosts by 31 runs in match 6 of the qualifiers. Chris Sole and Michael Leask played the role of the protagonists in the Associate Team fairy tale.

Playing at the Queen’s Sports Club, the toss went in the favor of the hosts. Winning the coin toss, Zimbabwe decided to bowl first and their decision seemed justified because they have played a lot at the stadium in Bulawayo and they lost against Sri Lanka in their last match batting first. 

The Scottish opening of Christopher McBride and Matthew Cross gave the European side a slow but solid side in the crucial game. However, their strike rate was questionable as the Scots only scored 50 runs in the initial 15 overs against a troublesome Zimbabwe bowling line-up. Thus, when it seemed like McBride is trying to speed up the run rate, he was caught wide open on an in-swinger bowled by Tendai Chatara. 

With Brandon McMullen’s arrival, the run rate started catching pace but still, the Scottish Saltires were not playing any big shots, practising safe cricket. Nevertheless, Matthew Cross’ approach to triumph failed when Sean Williams’ in-line slower delivery got the better of him. 

After sending the second opener back, Williams pulled the lid of pressure on Scotland with the wicket of Brandon McMullen. Thus, as a result of the slow opening, after 28 overs, the Scottish Saltires were at only 106 on a loss of three.

George Munsey and skipper Richie Berrington had the responsibility of redeeming the last twenty overs in the best way possible. However, Berrington had a really small role to play as he became the third victim of the rampage named Sean Williams after mustering only 7 runs. 

Munsey was looking promising as he played a couple of decent shots which crossed the boundary line but he lacked support from compatriot Tomas Mackintosh. Consequently, following visible miscommunication, Mackintosh (13) also has to go back to the pavilion subsequent to a run out by Blessing Muzarabani.

However, Scotland’s hero, Michael Leask, who helped them triumph over arch-rivals Ireland arrived with a lot of pressure on his shoulders at Queen’s Sports Club and it’s fair to say that he delivered on the moment when it was needed. Wickets kept falling on the other side but Leask managed to stay compact and scored 48 runs off 34 deliveries, he was also the only Scottish player in the match to score a six.

In the last couple of overs, a few finishing touches were provided by Mark Watt, which eventually helped the European side cross 200 and affix a fighting total as the visitors. With decent batting by the lower order, Scotland challenged the Chevrons to score 235 in fifty overs in order to triumph. 

Walking towards the pitch to chase, Craig Ervine’s side looked confident, however, Chris Sole was too quick to draw the first blood for Scotland as vast silence was dispersed in the home crowd. Joylord Gumbie’s campaign took an ugly turn as he got out for a duck for the second consecutive time in the Super Six and at this juncture, it was a golden duck. After bullying Gumbie with his pace, Sole sent back the Chevron’s skipper with a brilliant in-swinging yorker that hammered the stumps. Interestingly, Sole’s yorker crossed the 150kph run mark leaving the captain bamboozled. 

However, the problems for the hosts were not coming to an end as Innocent Kaia (12) and Sean Williams (12) also went back for cheap bucks against the in-swingers by Chris Sole and Brandon McMullen. After eight overs, the Chevrons were at the score of 37 with a loss of four. Sole single-handedly broke the back of the Zimbabwean top order and all the remaining formalities were performed by McMullen. 

However, Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl tried their best to revive the hosts. However, Raza’s innings ended quite early as his mistimed shot found Tomas Mackintosh in the first over of Chris Greaves. Not giving up, Wesley Madhevere also gave his best by teaming up with Burl; they managed to have a 73-run partnership. Scoring 40 off 39 balls, Mark Watt dismissed the promising 22-year-old on a slower delivery resulting in LBW. 

Ryan Burl stood as the lone wolf against the fearsome Scottish bowling line-up

After 36 overs, the Chevrons were at 166 on a loss of six. The target was reachable, however, a solid partnership was required to fulfil the requirement. However, Richie Berrington displayed his tactical prowess at the right time by changing bowlers in quick succession. Chris Sole, Mark Watt, Brandon McMullen, and Michael Leask were testing the lower batting order of the Chevrons to their core. 

Thus, no other batter turned up to help Ryan Burl, and eventually, the hosts collapsed at the score of 203 in just the 41st over, failing to reach the target by 31 runs. As the last wicket was picked, contagious rejoicing was visible in the eyes of the Scots. A win against the Netherlands on Thursday will land them in the 2023 World Cup alongside Sri Lanka.

Consequently, Scottish seamer, Chris Sole was chosen as the player of the match following his match-winning figures (3/33). Moreover, the Scots, who ended West Indies’ hopes of qualifying for the ICC World Cup, also restricted the Chevrons from getting a ticket to India. Hence, an associate nation is going to qualify for the upcoming World Cup.