Blue and white flags of Scotland hung proudly on the surrounds of picturesque Melville Park today as loyal supporters of the Scottish Under-19 team celebrated their lads’ comprehensive victory over Canada in their ICC Under-19 World Cup Plate match
By Chris Rosie30-Jan-2002Blue and white flags of Scotland hung proudly on the surrounds of picturesque Melville Park today as loyal supporters of the Scottish Under-19 team celebrated their lads’ comprehensive victory over Canada in their ICC Under-19 World Cup Plate match.However, the Scotland team did make some effort to extend the day’s cricket.It did not seem that would be the case early on. The Scottish medium-pacers repaid their captain’s faith in asking Canada to bat on a pitch that gave plenty of bounce. After assisting John Gray (two for 27 off seven) in having Canada reeling at 51/6, Harmanjit Singh (three for 20 from nine) and Christopher West (two for 33 off nine) returned to clean up the tail.However, in between times the Scots failed to contend with a couple of bogeys. One was the Canadian No 7, Jason Sandher, who with Ajay Minhas (14) and Soham Anjaria (20) demonstrated the pitch had no terrors.Sandher and Minhas added 39 carefully for the seventh wicket to take the score to 89. Then Anjaria joined in, initially happy to let his senior partner accumulate before adding a few adventurous shots of his own. Fortune favoured the brave – edges were most productive.Their 66-run collaboration for the eight wicket took Canada past 150, in the process turning the Scottish team’s continual chorus of enthusiastic vocal support for each other into occasional plaintiff solo exhortations.Justice was not done. Sandher remained stranded on 49 as Singh removed the last two batsmen with the last balls of the 48th over, Canada finally succumbing for 157.The other Scotland bogey was of their own making. They contributed 39 extras to the Canadian total, 35 of them from wides, as the wayward bowlers provided a bonus in runs and overs that the Canadians gratefully accepted.However, bonus or not, it proved little barrier to Scotland’s target of an extra point.They came out firing in the form of their captain, Robert More, and his opening partner, Brendan McKerchar. From lofted shots to quick singles and some superb back-foot drives by More, they kept the score bouncing along at just under four an over until McKerchar departed for 35 with the score 77 in the 22nd.A couple of wickets at 111 and 113, including More for 40, gave the Canadians a glimmer of hope and returned some bounce to the fieldsmen. But it was glimmer soon snuffed out – and brutally. Steven Gilmour, coming off a century against Namibia, smashed an unbeaten 40 from 31 balls and Scotland raced to their bonus point with room for comfort, finishing on 161/3 in the 37th over.The Canadian pace bowlers, keeping to a fuller length, failed to extract the life their Scotland counterparts had managed. The left-armer Umar Bhatti was economical in his first seven, conceding just 15 runs, but he came back for one last over and probably wished he had not – going for 10 in the bonus hunt.For variety, the Canadians offered an interesting line-up of spinners. But, while the leg spinner Minhas (whose action might have come out of the Shane Warne mould even if his slimmer shape didn’t) and Anjaria picked up a wicket each to add to their batting efforts, this was not to be their day.To add to their difficulties, the Canadians like the Scots were wayward, giving up 15 wides, making the bonus-point chase that much easier.Singh took the man-of-the-match award and he and his Scotland mates now go into Friday’s match against Nepal looking for a place in the Plate semi-finals.