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Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Calum MacLeod’s seventh ODI century powered Scotland to their record score © Getty
Scotland sent a gentle reminder to the International Cricket Council with a dominant performance with the bat in the one-off ODI against world number one England in Edinburgh. With the ICC’s decision to stick to ten teams for the World Cup next year coming under criticism, Scotland, who missed out on qualification, showcased their skills in front of a packed home crowd at the Grange Cricket Club to post 371/5, their highest-ever ODI score, led by Calum MacLeod’s unbeaten 140.
The hosts saw each of their batsmen in the top five contribute to their record total with the openers setting up the platform initially. Skipper Kyle Coetzer and wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Cross took on the new ball attack of Mark Wood and David Willey to post 70 in the powerplay. They continued to play with flair as the skipper reached his half-century with a six over long-off. Another six off Adil Rashid in the following over brought up the century stand but the legspinner broke the partnership in the same over by getting rid of Coetzer, much to the relief of the visitors.
England did appear to fight back as they also got rid of Cross in the very next over but their woes were far from over. After sending down four quiet overs, England continued to leak runs again with Richie Berrington and MacLeod taking over. The pair added 93 before Liam Plunkett struck for the second time but MacLeod, who had already reached his half-century off 36 balls by then, looked in ominous touch. Almost every over saw a boundary being scored with George Munsey also joining the party.
Munsey and MacLeod took only 79 balls to add 100 before the former fell for 55. MacLeod, at the other end, went onto register his first century against England and seventh overall as he reached three figures off just 70 deliveries. The 29-year-old continued his assault as he hammered the England seamers all over the park to help his side go past the 350-run mark and eventually post their highest total in the format.
If England manage to chase down the total, it will be their highest ever-chase. If not, it will be Scotland’s first win over their neighbours.
Brief scores: Scotland 371/5 in 50 overs (Calum MacLeod 140*, Kyle Coetzer 58, George Munsey 55; Adil Rashid 2-72) vs England
