Scotland has lost their final pool stage match against Netherlands by four wickets to seal 4th place in Group A of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.
Losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Scotland – without Oli Hairs to injury and Tom Sole to illness – struggled with the bat and lost regular wickets throughout the innings to post 130/8 at Dubai International Stadium.
Cross, promoted to number three, hit 52 off 44 to provide the only notable knock for the boys in blue with experienced duo Kyle Coetzer (17) and Richie Berrington (16) the only other batsmen to contribute at the top and middle-order.
The loss of Hamza Tahir (also to illness) dealt a huge blow to Scotland’s bowling attack – opting for three seamers in Sharif, Davey and Evans and one frontline spinner in Mark Watt – as Netherlands knocked off the runs required in 17 overs with four wickets remaining.
Watt, taking five wickets in his last two games and conceding just 6.05 runs per over he has bowled in the UAE, starred with the ball to claim 3/18 but it was not enough to derail Netherlands’ innings and claim a fourth win of the tournament.
The result means Scotland has one final chance to progress to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup held in Australia a year from now.
Qualification will come down to a final match at Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday 30th October, against the loser of Netherlands vs. UAE which takes place on Tuesday 29th October at the same venue.
A win would see Scotland through to their fourth ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
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