West Indies crash out of ICC World Cup race: Stats
Scotland outclassed a clueless West Indies in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 in Harare. With this defeat, WI are now out of the reckoning for the ICC World Cup in India later this year. Scotland bundled WI out for only 181 and then claimed a seven-wicket win. Brandon McMullen and Matthew Cross played crucial knocks, helping Scotland cross the line. Here's more.
WI to miss 2023 World Cup event in India
Former ICC World Cup champions West Indies won't feature in the main round this time around. They went on to play every World Cup event (50 and 20 over formats). However, they have now been eliminated and this is a new low for the Windies, who faded as the tournament progressed. Credit should go to Scotland for eliminating the Windies.
How did the match pan out?
Scotland won the toss and decided to field first. McMullen did the trick with the new ball as he removed the WI top order. The other bowlers also came into the fray as WI kept losing wickets. Only Jason Holder (45) gave some fight as they folded for 181. In reply, McMullen and Cross smashed fifties as they crossed the line in 43.3 overs.
A splendid three-fer for McMullen
Scottish all-rounder McMullen was the tormentor for WI as he finished with figures of 3/32 from his nine overs. McMullen was excellent with the new ball as he rattled the WI top order. He dismissed both the openers, Brandon King and Johnson Charles and also removed Sharmarh Brooks. In 13 ODIs, he has raced to 21 wickets at a stellar economy rate of 3.96.
Sole, Watt, Greaves and Sharif were also brilliant
Chris Sole, Mark Watt, and Chris Greaves also bowled really well to bundle WI for only 181. The trio claimed two wickets apiece. Meanwhile, Safyaan Sharif was very economical as he picked up the all-important wicket of Shai Hope. He gave away only 16 runs from his six overs. Greaves is the joint second-highest wicket-taker with 12 scalps in the competition.
An assuring knock from McMullen's blade
Scottish all-rounder McMullen also delivered with the bat in hand as he slammed his second ODI fifty. McMullen smashed a 106-ball 69 which provided Scotland some stability in their run chase. Courtesy of his knock, he has raced to 400 runs in 13 ODIs at an average of 50. He stitched a 125-run partnership with Matthew Cross for the second wicket.
A match-winning hand from Cross
Cross played a superb knock against WI (74*) as he clocked his 10th ODI fifty. Despite losing his opening partner Christopher McBride early, he kept his composure and steadied the ship with a 125-run stand with McMullen. Cross then added 37 runs with George Munsey and 23* runs with Richie Berrington. The opener is Scotland's fourth-highest run-scorer in ODIs (1,903).
Scotland rise to the third spot in Super Six
Scotland opened their Super Six account with a win over WI. They are now in the third spot with four points and are only behind Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Scotland keep their hopes alive as they will meet Zimbabwe in their next match.
