Scotland revived their ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a comfortable five-wicket win over fellow underdogs Namibia at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown on Thursday (June 6) local time. (Scorecard | Full Coverage)
After enduring a rain-off in their opener against defending champions England at the same venue, Richie Berrington & Co. produced a clinical performance to subdue the Namibian spirits in Barbados.
Berrington did lose the toss, but a dream opening spell from Brad Wheal allowed the Scots to dictate the terms from the get-go -- one that witnessed the fall of Namibian opener JP Kotze in the third delivery of the match.
Wheal, the South African-born pacer, returned with figures of 3/33 from his four overs. And with fellow pacer Bradley Currie claiming two wickets (2/14), they managed to restrict Namibia to 155/9. For Namibia, skipper Gerhard Erasmus was the top scorer, 52 off 31.
The hero of the match, however, was Michael Leask. The batting all-rounder arrived in the middle when Scotland were at 73/4 in the 11th over. But he changed the course of the match with a whirlwind knock.
Leask hit four towering sixes for 35 off 17 and stitched a 74-run fifth-wicket stand with skipper Berrington, who remained unbeaten on 47 off 35. The 33-year-old from Aberdeen was eventually adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round show.
The win helped Scotland go top of Group B with three points from two matches. Australia are second with one win from one, while Namibia, who beat Oman in their opener, are third.
England have one point thanks to their no-result against the Scots and are fourth. Oman are rooted at the bottom of the table with two defeats in as many games. The top two teams after the end of the group stage will progress to Super 8s.
Scotland will start favourites when they meet Oman in their penultimate league match at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua on June 9. They will complete their group engagements with a clash against Australia at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia on June 15 (local time).
Namibia next face the Aussies on June 11 before their final league game against England on June 15, both at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
