Scotland Cricket has been one of the consistent associate teams in the ICC Tournament. In ICC T20 World Cup 2021 edition, they impressed everyone by winning all of their qualifiers stage. The team however had a dismal show in the Super 12 stage where they were badly thrashed. Since the conclusion of the last edition, Scotland has played only 2 T20Is and lost both of them.
Squad: Richie Berrington (c), George Munsey, Michael Leask, Bradley Wheal, Chris Sole, Chris Greaves, Safyaan Sharif, Josh Davey, Matthew Cross, Calum MacLeod, Hamza Tahir, Mark Watt, Brendon McMullen, Michael Jones, Craig Wallace
Strengths
Richie Berrington, this time will have to lead the side from the front; as Kyle Coetzer has hung up his boots. Richie was the top performer for the team where he scored 177 runs where he smashed 2 half-centuries. Chris Greaves, the all-rounder would be quite vital at the back end of the innings to provide some lusty blows.
Weaknesses
Apart from Safyaan Sharif, the team doesn’t have fast bowlers who can generate express pace. In Australia, speed is going to play a massive role and trusting medium pacers all the time won’t be a feasible option. The bowlers have a very bad habit of bowling freebies at the death overs due to which the opposition easily gets an upper hand while defending the target.
Fixtures
17th October: Scotland vs West Indies at Hobart at 09:30 IST
19th October: Scotland vs Ireland at Hobart at 09:30 IST
21st October: Scotland vs Zimbabwe at 13:30 IST
Chances
Scotland is placed in a threatening group of West Indies, Ireland, and Zimbabwe. Lack of match practice can hurt them in a short tournament. Scotland’s biggest challenge would be West Indies, if they manage to pull that off then they have a strong chance.
Scotland knows how to handle the pressure of ICC tournaments. They should take a leaf out of the last edition and don’t try to complicate things. Scotland can’t afford to take Zimbabwe lightly as one defeat is enough for them to get knocked out of the tournament.
Also Read: Flamboyant Ireland Need To Peak