Fleeting hopes, but a sorry finish
Afghanistan, 295 for eight, defeated Scotland, 206 all out, by 89 runs at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, in the 5th/6th final of the WCQ09 tournament.
This was an official ICC One-Day International - Afghanistan’s first - and deserved a more competitive game, as there were points at stake in the new Associate level table. Otherwise, nothing much hung on the result for Scotland; no funding issues, just the chance to gain revenge for the defeat by Pakistan in the Super Eights four days earlier.
But the tone was set when Dewald Nel joined Craig Wright and Navdeep Poonia on the injured list, having pulled a hamstrong during the warm-up. Afghanistan’s openers got them off to a veritable flyer. On a completely flat pitch, with no morning dew issues, Karim Sadiq and Noor Ali were merciless on anything short, of which there were far too many offerings. The 50 came up in the seventh over, by which time Jan Stander had replaced John Blain, though at the other end Calum MacLeod had started economically.
In the same over, however, Stander trapped Karim in front, and he got Noor Ali, too, six overs later, the latter having scored 45 from 28 balls.
At this point, Scotland might have been expected to make inroads into the Afghan batting order. But a couple of dropped/missed catches told a different story. And, although the run rate was successfully pegged back, Mohammed Nabi was intent on further plundering of the Scottish bowling, now consisting of Gordon Drummond (his first game, after being flown out as a replacement for the injured Gordon Goudie a week earlier) and Majid Haq.
Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal was brilliantly run out in the 24th over by MacLeod’s jet-propelled throw to Colin Smith, after scoring 32 from 47 balls, and Nabi followed when Gavin Hamilton took an excellent catch of Moneed Iqbal’s bowling. Indeed, Iqbal got his second wicket two balls later, with a googly that went straight on to the pad.
At 176 for five in the 31st over, it was always going to be a large score, but the Afghan middle order took full advantage of some weary-looking bowling during the power play at the end of the innings - though Blain snatched three wickets out of thin air in his final two overs, including that of Rais Ahmadzai, who had raced to 39 from 43 balls, and Mohammed Sami, whose 52 came off 57 balls.
The final total was 295 for eight, effectively six an over.
Hamilton’s opening partner on this occasion was Haq. By the fourth over, both were back in the hutch, Hamilton caught and Haq lbw. This brought Kyle Coetzer and Neil McCallum together, and their determination was a joy to watch as it developed. They brought up the 50 partnership in seven overs, having scored from 15 strokes, 12 of them boundaries.
It was typical of Scotland’s misfortunes that McCallum got out to the worst ball of the entire tournament. On the worn, cracking pitch, the ball landed but shot straight along the ground to his foot, giving the umpire no option but to give him out lbw. He had scored 25 from 33 deliveries.
Coetzer was joined by his captain, but the pattern established at the start of the event continued, Watson clipping the ball straight to a fielder having scored six. But Coetzer continued to flourish until in the 20th over, he squared the ball like a bullet, but straight to point; he was four short of what would have been an outstanding half-century, and had faced only 46 balls.
This was the signal for a baffling collapse, with Smith clean bowled charging the bowler, and Stander, having been greeted with a series of bouncers, being cleaned up for a duck, the score 119 for seven.
As the Afghanis began mentally gathering their belongings for a quick departure, John Blain joined Moneeb Iqbal to confound their expectations for the next six overs - until Iqbal took one risk too many and was run out for 15 (off 25 balls).
MacLeod came and went for zilch at 143 for nine in the 30th over, and even the media by this time were packing their bags. But Blain and Gordon Drummond, the last remaining pair, had other ideas. Amid a flurry of frustrated overthrows by the by-now sloppy fielders, the unlikely partnership bloomed, reaching 50 in the 38th over and giving fans of never-say-die derring-do fleeting hopes of a heroic finish.
But, with ten overs still in hand, Blain was finally bowled for 41, having shared a 63-run partnership with Drummond, who was left undefeated on 25.
It was all over; but it was not a satisfying way for the Scots to exit from a highly disappointing under-performance as a team. There were plenty of highlights along the way, but the lowlights were just as frequent, including the finish, in sixth place of the six ICC High Performance nations.
Report by Mike Stanger
Pictures by Ian Jacobs
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