Photo Credit: Cricket Scotland
Scotland will aim to make another slice of history at the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
They reached the Super 12 stage of the tournament for the first time in 2021 with landmark victories over Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and Oman.
It was a major breakthrough on their fourth appearance on the biggest stage of them all and they will aim to keep the ball rolling in Australia.
2022 prospects
Scotland have only played two T20 internationals since the last staging of the Men’s T20 World Cup.
Their bowling attack was flayed to all parts of the Grange in Edinburgh by New Zealand as they fell short of towering run-chases of 254 and 225.
Shane Burger’s side have excelled with five wins in their last six matches in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, building valuable momentum albeit in the 50-over format.
They will aim to make the most of warm-up matches against Netherlands and UAE to avoid being undercooked in the shortest form of the game.
Unlike in Oman, the first-round draw has not been overly kind to Scotland with West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe providing formidable opposition.
T20 World Cup history
Scotland had only won one Men’s T20 World Cup match before a trio of triumphs last year.
That came in the group stage of the 2016 tournament as they beat Hong Kong by eight wickets under the Duckworth Lewis Method.
They were part of the first two editions of the showpiece in 2007 and 2009, dealt two defeats on both occasions.
Best batters
Much will rest on the experience and expertise of captain Richie Berrington at number four.
The 35-year-old hasn’t missed a T20 international since February 2010, an unbroken run of 72 consecutive appearances which is an all-time world record. Berrington hit two half-centuries in 2021 and scored 177 runs.
Ebullient opener George Munsey, who strikes at 144 in T20 international cricket, is well-equipped to get the Scots off to fast starts.
Best bowlers
Quicks Brad Wheal and Josh Davey were absent for the home series against the Black Caps and their return to the squad will be most welcome.
Awkward left-arm spinner Mark Watt, a frontline bowler for Derbyshire in English county cricket, will be Berrington’s best option for taking key wickets in the middle overs.
Fixtures
The Bellerive Oval in Hobart is home for all of Scotland’s Group B games in the First Round, starting against two-time West Indies on October 17.
Next up are Ireland on October 19 followed by Zimbabwe on October 21.
Name of Author: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for cricket, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. Renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, it became the ICC in 1987. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the ICC has 108 member nations.
