Published: Feb 23, 2015, 02:37 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 23, 2015, 02:37 PM (IST)
Scotland failed to recreate the fight they showed against New Zealand, as they lost to England by 119 runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in what was perhaps the first one-sided match between full member nation and minnow. Rishad D’Souza looks at some of the highlights from the match.
Moeen Ali and Ian Bell’s record-breaking partnership: England’s opening pair had fared disastrously in the first two games of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. They finally came good against the Scottish bowling attack and put up a 172-run stand. In doing so, they broke the record for the biggest opening partnership for England in World Cup cricket history. Moeen was the aggressor in the partnership, contributing a fine 128, while Bell chipped in with 54.
Moeen’s boisterous hundred: Moeen was in no mood to play the waiting game and assaulted the Scottish bowlers from the onset. He excelled in putting the bad balls away and his weakness to short balls did not come into play as the Scotchmen lacked the pace to cause trouble with their short balls. His innings of 128 from 107 balls laid the foundation for a very big score for England. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
Scotland bowlers fight back: Moeen departed with England cruising at 201 for two in 34.3 overs and a score in excess of 350 looked like a serious possibility with power-hitters like Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler in the ranks. But the Scottish seamers came back into the game very well and bowled to their strengths instead of feeding batsmen with harmless short-balls. England finally managed to only scrape past the 300-run mark. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
Josh Davey four-for: Davey, who was very expensive early, thanks to poor line and length, started bowling very well. He got into the grove, bowled to a tight line with subtle movement off the pitch, and caused loads of problems for the batsmen. He picked the crucial wickets of Joe Root and Taylor to choke England’s run-flow and then bowled an exceptional final over taking the two wickets of Morgan and Chris Woakes, conceding just four runs.
England bowlers impose authority: England bowlers, who got taken to the cleaners in their previous matches, came back strongly and struck with regular wickets, never letting Scotland build on a partnership and finally got them bowled out for 184 runs, bowling England to a convincing and much-needed 119-run victory. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
Kyle Coetzer’s brave innings: Coetzer put up a brave face against the quality English attack. Though the bowlers were striking regularly at the other end, Coetzer went about his job in unfazed fashion. He negotiated through a tough initial phase and gradually got his fifty. He finally got out for 71, succumbing to run-rate pressure, ending as the second highest run-scorer in the match after Moeen.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RishadDsouza on Twitter)
