Image source, Getty Images
- Author, George O’Neill
- Role, BBC Sport Scotland
T20 World Cup, Group B, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Scotland 180-5 (20 overs): McMullen 60 (34), Berrington 42 (31); Maxwell 2-44
Australia 186-5 (19.4 overs): Head 68 (49), Stoinis 59 (29); Watt 2-34
Australia won by five wickets
England are through to the T20 World Cup Super 8s after Australia battled past an excellent Scotland side in St Lucia.
England’s rain-interrupted win over Namibia earlier on Saturday meant Scotland needed a win to progress, while Australia were already through to the next stage.
Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis both made half-centuries as Mitchell Marsh’s side chased down their target of 181 with two balls to spare.
Scotland have impressed throughout this tournament and flourished again here, unfazed by their big-name opponents.
It looked like they might struggle when Michael Jones was dismissed for two, but Brandon McMullen led the way with a superb 60 from 34 balls as the Scots posted the highest total made against Australia by an associate team.
McMullen and George Munsey (35) added 89 for the second wicket, before captain Richie Berrington made 42 from 31 balls to help set a competitive total.
In reply, David Warner, Marsh and Glenn Maxwell all fell cheaply and Scotland looked well placed to pull off a seismic shock.
However, Head timed his innings to perfection and alongside the powerful Stoinis, he wrestled back the momentum.
Tim David finished the job with a mighty six to break Scottish hearts and keep England’s World Cup defence alive.
Scots make case for more opportunities after impressive campaign
The presence of more of the International Cricket Council’s associate members has unquestionably added to this World Cup, and Scotland have typified that throughout their campaign in the Caribbean.
They had a real shot of an upset against England in their tournament opener before the rain arrived, and then cruised past both Namibia and Oman in impressive run chases.
In McMullen, they have a special talent at number three. The South Africa-born right-hander relished the challenge of facing some of the game’s leading bowlers, and cleared the boundary almost at will, scoring all around the ground.
One imagines a franchise deal or a county gig will follow for the 24-year-old in the not-too-distant future.
Scotland rarely play against the ICC’s full members but when they do, they consistently show they can compete at the top level.
They welcome Australia to Edinburgh for three T20s in September, and will hope recent performances lead to more opportunities against cricket’s big hitters.
What they said
Scotland captain Richie Berrington: “We were in a pretty good position. It was obviously a good wicket tonight, the guys gave us a great platform in the first 10-12 overs. We didn’t manage to capitalise on it in the back end.
“It was a really good start. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to execute for long enough. They have great ball strikers all the way through the team and a few big overs in the back end got them back into the game and made it hard to pull back.
“The guys can hold their heads high in terms of how they’ve played their cricket throughout this tournament. It was a fantastic knock from Travis Head, and Stoinis played a few good shots.
“It’s great learning for us, great experience for the guys. We’re disappointed because we were in a position where we could win.”
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh: “Scotland are a really good outfit, they’ve improved a hell of a lot over the last few years. We’ve got a lot of respect for them, they took it down to the wire and it was a good chase in the end.
“We spoke as a group around staying really consistent with how we want to play. Tonight, there was less pressure on us as a team but whenever we’ve been challenged, it brings the best out of us. We were pushed right to the end there and a bit of experience came through.
“The World Cup starts again now. We’ve got a lot of trust in our group that we can keep winning games of cricket. T20 is a hard format, you can be slightly off and lose to anyone – as we almost saw today.”