Daily Times

BULAWAYO: Scotland took on United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 12th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 and emerged victorious by a comprehensive margin of 111 runs on Friday. Asked to bat first, Scotland got off to a shaky start and lost three of their batters with just 25 runs on the board. However, Richie Berrington bailed Scotland out of danger and played a brilliant knock of 127 runs off 136 deliveries. Berrington hammered nine fours and three sixes in his innings. He was well supported by Mark Watt, who contributed a quickfire 44 runs off just 31 balls and provided Scotland stability. Although UAE bowler Junaid Siddique managed to pick up three wickets and finished with figures of 3-49, Scotland managed to post a competitive total of 282-8 in their allotted 50 overs. In reply, UAE started their innings on a terrible note and lost a few early wickets. Muhammad Waseem and Basil Hameed then stepped in and showed some resistance with their respective scores of 36 and 30, but the rest of the batting lineup failed to make substantial contributions, and UAE eventually bowled out for 171 runs in 35.3 overs. For Scotland, Safyaan Sharif proved to be the wrecker-in-chief as he claimed four wickets and gave away just 20 runs in the 6.3 overs that he bowled. Chris Sole bagged three wickets for Scotland as well. With this win, Scotland boosted their chances of progressing further in the tournament, while UAE faced a setback in their campaign. Berrington was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his exceptional century knock.