After six months of anticipation, Scotland’s hopes of getting their T20 World Cup campaign off to a flier were undone not by England but by the British-style weather in Barbados.
A contest expected to be played to the backdrop of unrelenting Caribbean sunshine instead unfolded in rather wetter and windier conditions, with the start of the game held up due to heavy showers that returned in more emphatic fashion to disrupt a promising start that had Scotland eyeing up a shock after reaching 51 for the loss of no wicket.
With both openers, George Munsey and Michael Jones, looking strong, an extended break was the last thing Scotland needed in their Group B opener but, with no sign of the torrent abating, there was little anyone could do beyond sit around and wait for it to pass.
When it finally did, it meant a rain-reduced 10-over shoot-out. The delay could have knocked the Scots off their stride but they went on to clock up 90 without loss, posting a challenging, DLS-revised total of 109 for England to chase.
Alas, the rain came back again and the covers duly followed and this time there would be no respite. The match was abandoned, with Scotland left to wonder about what might have been given how impressively they had batted.
The no-result does at least mean Doug Watson’s side chalk up a point to their tally ahead of their next match at the same venue against Namibia on Thursday. Fingers crossed the sun has returned by then.
“The chaps played really well,” said Watson, the Scotland head coach. “Munsey was excellent as was Jonesy up front. We’ve got a point but it could have been two. It’s disappointing not to have been able to play this game. This was the one the boys had been really keen to perform in and were really up for. I would have loved to have seen them out there giving it a good go.
“I thought the openers paced their innings brilliantly. Both of them were outstanding, playing all around the wicket. The way they ended up was perfect. There certainly would have been a bit of pressure on England but they're a world-class team and we would have had to have bowled really well. The key thing now is to keep that energy up and make sure we prepare well for Namibia.”
Scotland had won the toss and elected to bat but were then made to wait impatiently before they could start their innings as a persistent drizzle delayed the start of play.
When the covers were then whipped off, a substantial damp spot was uncovered on the wicket underneath, holding up proceedings for a further 25 minutes as groundstaff dabbed at it with a sponge and tried, ambitiously, to dry it out with leaf blowers. The irony of British conditions impinging on an otherwise idyllic West Indian setting was not lost on many. Sadly, this would not be the weather’s last intervention of the day.
Scotland had been bullish in the build-up about their prospects and came out to bat like they meant it, Munsey and Jones taking them to 51-0 just beyond the power-play when the next major rain delay arrived to stall their momentum.
Munsey had enjoyed a lifeline by that point, caught by Jos Buttler close to the boundary after a misplayed swipe at a Mark Wood delivery. England celebrations, though, were cut short due to a no ball call, much to Scotland’s relief.
Munsey was sweeping nicely but it was Jones who feasted on Chris Jordan’s arrival into the match, launching one imperious maximum off the bowler that clattered off the solar panels on the stadium roof and then fizzing the next two deliveries for four, one to either side of the wicket. England looked uncertain but the rain returned to save them just as Scotland seemed to be getting into their rhythm.
The outlook for the match soon became as gloomy as the overhead conditions as the cut-off time drew ever closer. Mercifully, the rain abated, briefly, and the contest was reduced to 10 overs per side, challenging Scotland to bash as many runs possible from their remaining 22 balls to try to post a total that would challenge England.
With Wood and Jofra Archer both out of the attack having bowled two overs apiece already, Munsey and Jones simply recommenced where they had left off. Adil Rashid took some considerable punishment in his first over, the leg spinner conceding a maximum to Jones from his first ball before Munsey reverse slog-swept him for a four and then a colossal six.
Rashid recovered in his second over – the last one of the innings – but both openers were still there at the end, with Jones on 45 and Munsey on 41, leaving England to chase, in theory, a revised target of 109. The weather, however, would ultimately have the final say on a disappointing day.
