Scotland’s wait for their first win at the ICC Cricket World Cup must go on for a little longer. Despite posting their highest score against any Test-playing nation, the plucky Associate nation were out-gunned by a spirited run chase from Bangladesh in Nelson.
Put in, Scotland made 316-8, a score that was chased down in 48.1 overs for a 6 wicket win.
Kyle Coetzer delivered Scotland’s first century in a World Cup tournament and went on to make 156, getting his runs from 134 balls, with 17 fours and 4 sixes.
The Northants’ opener reached his hundred in the 38th over but then accelerated spectacularly, scoring his final 56 runs from only 31 deliveries.
He was helped in a stand of 141 for the fourth wicket with his captain, Preston Mommsen, who scored 39 from 38 balls. Matt Machan added 35 and Richie Berrington and Matt Cross ended the innings with a flourish, adding 39 from 24 balls.
Cross took a leg side catch to remove Soumya Sarkar, off Josh Davey’s bowling, as Bangladesh began their chase but it was the other opener, Tamim Iqbal who quickly took the momentum away from the Scots.
Tamim, who played T20 cricket for Notts in 2012, made 95 and shared in a second wicket stand of 139 with Mahmudullah, who scored 62.
Even when both players had departed the impetus stayed with the Bangladeshi Tigers as Mushfiqur Rahim plundered 60, allowing Shakib al Hasan to reach his own half century as he hit the winning runs.
All in all, it was a disappointing outcome for Scotland and particularly Coetzer, whose brilliant 156 earned him the Player of the Match award.
“That’s not the way we’d have liked to end the game,” he said,
“We just weren’t able to create enough pressure to pick up a few wickets”
Coetzer did feel that Scotland’s score was competitive though.
“I think we’d have taken that score at the start of the day but we just needed to create that little bit of pressure and we didn’t get many opportunities to pick up those wickets. There were a couple of run out chances maybe but other than that I thought they batted really well.”
Mommsen, Scotland’s captain, was equally downbeat
“We did a lot of things right today but unfortunately we couldn’t put the full package together.
“We always knew it was a good wicket so we still needed to go out there and bowl well, put the ball in good areas and create chances. Unfortunately we couldn’t create enough chances to get ten wickets out there.”
Scotland’s fourth consecutive defeat leaves them at the foot of Pool A, still without a point. Their next opponents are Sri Lanka, who they face in Hobart next Wednesday.
Bangladesh are now on 5 points from 4 matches and face a crucial match with England in Adelaide on Monday.
With New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka seemingly on course to qualify for the knock-out stages, it is beginning to look as if that match will be pivotal in deciding whether it’s England or Bangladesh who take the one remaining qualifying place.