Scotland aim to bring giant-killing form to Cricket World Cup Qualifier

Scotland have stunned more fancied opponents in recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cups but are still chasing a first-ever triumph in an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

While Scotland might already have one eye on a breakthrough Cricket World Cup victory in India later this year, they must first get there through the Qualifier in Zimbabwe where they can test their giant-killing mettle against the likes of Sri Lanka.

George Munsey is comfortable playing the role of dark horses as Scotland look to secure one of the two Cricket World Cup spots up for grabs at the Qualifier.

“We are the slight underdogs but I know for a fact that these other teams are not taking us lightly,” Munsey told the ICC.

“That is something that we have learnt from playing these bigger teams and beating these bigger teams on the world stage.

“It is something we are all very excited about. Just look at the World Cup itself, it is only 10 teams, so we are fighting with the best of the best and that is something to be proud of.

“We went to South Africa on this pre-camp and one of the players spoke of this ‘pinch yourself’ moment.

“We have a great opportunity in our group, it is very competitive and obviously each team will be looking to get through the group.

“There are no easy games, that is for sure, but I am confident in the guys that we brought over to get the job done and there are some exciting fixtures to look forward to as well, which is always nice.“

Scotland have been grouped together with the 1996 champions Sri Lanka, along with Ireland, Oman and United Arab Emirates in Group B of the CWC Qualifier that starts on June 18.

The warm-up fixtures will be crucial for an outfit that has not formally played together since the last League 2 ODI in February, when Scotland was playing for pride as much as anything with a spot in the Qualifier secured well before.

Munsey has previously shown that he can thrive as the stakes rise, including with an unbeaten 66 in the stirring 42-run victory over West Indies in the T20 World Cup 2022.

The opener also finished the League 2 campaign in superb form with a solid 60 against Nepal in the last ODI after smashing 103* from 61 balls against Namibia the game before to rank among the top-10 run-scorers in the competition.

“It is a special memory to score a hundred, that is for sure,” he said.

“You probably don’t really recognise what you are doing at the time because it is our job to go out there and score the runs or take the wickets for your country.

“Of course, you are just getting the job done and putting all that hard work you have put into training into practice in matches, but it was a pretty cool feeling and a decent crowd.

“It is something you can look back on a few years later and think ‘that is pretty cool’, so the feeling is still there.

“I would like to do that again, hit the qualifying stage and be a big part of this campaign.”

CWC Qualifier fixtures

Path to Qualifier: League 2 top spot

Scotland topped the pile in the 2019-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 with 24 wins from their 36 games to end six points ahead of second-place Oman and now have a shot at securing a spot in the main event through the Qualifier.

Schedule

Ireland, June 21 - Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
UAE, June 23 - Bulawayo Athletic Club
Oman, June 25 - Bulawayo Athletic Club
Sri Lanka, June 27 - Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo

CWC Qualifier: All you need to know

World Cup record

Scotland have featured at three of the 13 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups, making their debut in 1999. They also competed in the 2007 and 2015 editions but have never advanced beyond the group stages.

They are yet to register a win at a World Cup but will hope to keep up their run of qualifying for a World Cup every eight years since their debut.

All the squads - CWC Qualifier 2023

Key player: Mark Watt

Mark Watt ended fourth in the standings for most wickets in League 2 between 2019 and 2023, with 54 scalps from 31 matches, including a best return of five for 33 against the UAE.

The left-arm finger spinner was catapulted to global recognition after producing figures of three for 12 to bowl out the West Indies for 118 in last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as Scotland pulled off an historic victory.

Squad

Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Jack Jarvis, Michael Leask, Tom Mackintosh, Chris McBride, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Mark Watt