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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Graeme Macpherson

Scotland survive brief scare in T20 World Cup qualifier win over Germany

Scotland opened their T20 World Cup qualifying campaign with a comprehensive win over Germany but were handed a brief scare by the Edinburgh rain.

The Saltires were put into bat by their visitors at Goldenacre and racked up a thumping total of 234 for five from their 20 overs.

The recalled Oli Hairs top scored with 73 from just 36 balls while captain Richie Berrington also claimed a half-century (60) and Michael Leask chipped in with a handy 38 not out.

For a while, though, it looked as if the Scottish weather was going to put a dampener on things at the start of the German innings. The bowlers had to get through at least five overs to qualify for the Duckworth-Lewis scoring system and for a while that looked in danger as the rain clouds got ever nearer and darker.

With Scotland, bafflingly, persisting with pace bowlers rather than rushing through their overs with spin, they only just made it before the showers started, with play suspended three balls into the sixth over.

After an hour’s delay, play resumed with Germany given a revised total of 138 from their remaining five-and-a-half overs.

The Germans got through their total of 11 overs to finish on 65 for seven, with Mark Watt, Gavin Main and Safyaan Sharif all taking two wickets apiece and Leask claiming the other.

That handed Scotland a 72-run victory on the DLS count to get them off to a winning start.

Earlier, co-favourites to qualify Ireland were given a fright before scraping through in their opening match against Italy by just seven runs.

Curtis Campher was the Irish hero, putting on 61 runs with the bat before taking the wicket of Gian-Piero Meade with the ball.

In the opening game of the tournament, Jersey defeated Austria by eight wickets thanks largely to Nick Greenwood’s 50 not out.

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