SCOTLAND SLIDE TO DEFEAT AGAINST OMAN
Scotland Men slid to a 12-run defeat to Oman in a rain-shortened 20-over clash in Windhoek.
Torrential rain overnight meant Scotland experienced a third-consecutive weather-effected fixture in Namibia, but the work of the groundstaff ensured that on this occasion a completed match would be possible.
But it was not to be Scotland's day, who were set a target of 164 after inserting Oman - but ultimately fell short on 151-9 , as they failed to build any partnerships of note.
Scotland captain Richie Berrington said: "It that first innings they got off to a really good start with the partnership they had up top, but credit to our bowlers, towards the back end of that innings I thought we pulled it back nicely.
"I think coming off we knew we were going to have to bat well, because they've got some really skillful bowlers, but we were quite comfortable with the batting depth we've got to be chasing that score - we just didn't manage to get that partnership that they did within the top six."
The one substantial partnership on the day was that of Oman's openers - Jatinder Singh (51) and Ashish Odedara (43) adding 100 in 10 overs for the first wicket.
But Scotland fought back in the second-half of the Oman innings, as they added just 64 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the next 10 overs.
Michael Leask (2-18), Jack Jarvis (2-32) and Safyaan Sharif (2-37) were all impressive with the ball to restrict Oman to what seemed like a below-par total following their explosive start.
In reply, Scotland experienced a similarly strong start, despite losing George Munsey (12) and Finlay McCreath (10) early - as Brandon McMullen and Richie Berrington blasted their side to 62-2 after six overs.
But both fell in the space of four balls, McMullen (22) to Samay Shrivastava and Berrington (23) to Hassnain Shah as Oman began to wrest back control.
The pair's partnership of 44 would be the most significant of Scotland's innings, as wickets fell at regular intervals - despite some lower-order resistance from Matthew Cross (24) and Michael Leask (17).
When Cross fell in the 18th over, caught on the boundary looking to clear the ropes off Wasim Ali, Scotland's hopes were up, as the run rate spiralled out of control - the Scots eventually falling 12 runs short of Oman's total.