Photo Credit: ICC
Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer insisted the sky is the limit for his side despite being knocked out of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2021 after a 16-run defeat to New Zealand.
Martin Guptill’s sensational 93 off 56 balls helped the Black Caps post 172 for five despite at one stage having been 52 for three after Safyaan Sharif took two wickets in the fifth over.
In reply, Scotland were always up against it and regular wickets hampered their progress as they fell short despite the best efforts of Michael Leask who blasted an unbeaten 42 off 20 balls late on.
The result was Scotland’s third straight defeat in Group 2 of the Super 12s after losses to Afghanistan and Namibia and means they cannot progress despite still having games against India and Pakistan to come.
Coetzer said: “I think if we were able to restrict Guptill earlier in the innings, that might have changed the game.
“But we know that they still have got strength and depth down their line-up. But for us to go out there and put on a bit of a show to show what we are capable of, that’s certainly something to take from today.
“This game is probably just giving us a bit more confidence again. I would say we were pretty unhappy with the two performances we put in prior to this game. So, this will certainly instil a bit of confidence.
“We just have to keep pushing and keep believing in our games. We are going to come up against two fantastic sides still in this competition, so what a great time to be a Scottish cricketer and what a great time to be a Scottish fan.
“The sky is the limit really but we have to be willing to go out and trust ourselves.”
Despite having started the tournament all the way back in the first round, Coetzer insists his side still have plenty to offer before they depart the UAE.
He added: “The point I made to our playing group and our staff a few days ago was as much as we want to win, I don’t really mind how the results end up panning out, it’s how we show ourselves on this stage and how we go and try and play our cricket.
“We have got a strong, powerful brand of cricket that we play, but we need to challenge ourselves at this level as often as we possibly can. That’s the only way we’ll keep improving, and I think today was an improvement again.
“We still have a little bit left in the tank. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.“
Player of the match Guptill shared a partnership of 105 with Glen Phillips and revealed it was great to spend time out in the middle with his teammate, apart from when he was making him scamper through for runs in the blistering Dubai heat.
He said: “I thought Scotland bowled very well up front, didn’t allow us to get away too quickly, and then to take three wickets in the first six overs, it’s always tough to come back from that.
“But then Glenn came out and we’ve played a lot of cricket together and know how each other bats. It was nice to get another big partnership with him and set our team up for a match-winning total.
“[Batting in the heat was difficult] especially when Glenn is trying to run two over every ball! It was warm.
“When you get down to the end of the innings, you try and get as many runs as you can and swing hard and get back to the twos, as well, it takes it out of you.
“So I had to come out halfway through their innings with a bit of cramp. It wasn’t ideal but we got there in the end.”
