‘A massive statement from Scottish cricket’ — Calum MacLeod

Calum MacLeod played an innings to remember to lead Scotland to a fantastic six-run win over England in their one-off one-day international on Sunday 10 June, and later called the result “a massive statement from Scottish cricket”.

MacLeod's swashbuckling 140 not out from 94 balls, which was studded with 16 boundaries and three sixes, powered Scotland to 371/5 — the highest total by an Associate team in ODIs.

England were coasting in their reply as long as Jonny Bairstow (105 in 59 balls) was in charge, but Kyle Coetzer’s men held their nerves to register their maiden victory over the opposition at Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh.

“It's certainly one of the best games of cricket I've been involved in,” MacLeod was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.“To have the No.1 team in the world here, and the energy from the crowd, to set a total like that ... what a game.”

MacLeod credited Grant Bradburn, the team coach, and Coetzer, his captain, saying, “This win has been coming for a couple of years since Grant and Kyle took over and pushed the aggressive cricket you saw. To take the step up to beat a full England side, No.1 ranked in the world, is a massive statement from Scottish cricket.”

Scotland failed to seal a spot in next year's ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after they were defeated by the Windies in a rain-affected game at the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2018 in Zimbabwe.

The disappointment is still very much there among the Scottish players, but MacLeod said the win over England will help put the team on the path to rebuilding.

“It does not take away what happened in the World Cup qualifiers and everyone’s feelings about the 10-team tournament. But this was a special day. It is up to us now to build on it,” he said.

“We want more games. That is the bigger shop window rather than the personal side. This should be a catalyst for more games. Anyone here or watching could see the energy from the crowd and what passion there is for cricket up here.”

Coetzer, who scored 58 in 49 balls and added 103 for the first wicket with Matt Cross, was pleased with the outcome, saying, “It means a lot to the guys. We've created an electric atmosphere and it's something we need to do more. It was an outstanding game and the guys did unbelievably well to knock over the No.1 side in the world.

“It was nice to see what this Scottish team can really provide. It would be nice to play a few more games like this. It's nice for us to take this opportunity.”

For England and Eoin Morgan, their captain, the game was important in more ways than one – on its own, of course, and as a preparatory fixture for the five-match ODI series against Australia. It didn’t go the way they would have wanted.

“We didn’t play anywhere near to our best,” said Morgan. “We were miles off where we expect to be and didn’t do enough to win. We might have scraped past them and won, but there were still quite a few mistakes made that we need to rectify and learn from ahead of the Australia series.

“It is huge for Scotland, too. I’m not hugely disappointed about it because it was a good competitive game and that is all we could have asked for.”

Scotland, on a high, will now play back-to-back Twenty20 Internationals against Pakistan on Tuesday and Wednesday, while England will play their first ODI against Australia on Wednesday.