WEST INDIES REACH WORLD CUP WITH CONTROVERSIAL WIN OVER SCOTLAND
The two-time World
Cup winners were bowled out for just 198 batting first, but rain forced an
early finish with the game in the balance and Scotland on 125-5 with 14.4 overs
remaining.
Jason Holder's
Windies claimed the penultimate place for the tournament in England and Wales,
with Scotland knocked out of contention.
"I'm extremely
pleased to get through to the World Cup. We've been through a lot in the last
two years," said captain Holder.
"We had to play
to expectation -- there was pressure in every game and the guys really put
their hands up. I'm really pleased to get over the line but my thoughts go out
to Scotland for how they've played in this tournament."
With no reserve days
in the crucial qualifying tournament, Scotland were left agonisingly short of a
massive upset.
Former Scotland
captains Craig Wright and Preston Mommsen lashed out at the ICC after the match
on Twitter, highlighting the decision to cut the World Cup to only 10 teams.
Gutted doesn’t come close, we played some fantastic cricket this tournament. Pleased to hear the @westindies celebrating dramatically after a game in the balance settled by rain beating us the associate!! I’m a proud of @CricketScotland lads!Thanks for the support!!— George Munsey (@GeorgeMunsey) March 21, 2018
Feel absolutely sick for everyone @CricketScotland , players, support staff, administration & supporters. It's all been said before, but this tournament has highlighted (again) so much that is wrong with the management, structure & priorities of world cricket @ICC #notgoodenough— Craig Wright (@craigwright99) March 21, 2018
Spare a thought for @CricketScotland , very well played during the tournament and a shame the way the game ended #commiserations— Carlos Brathwaite (@TridentSportsX) March 21, 2018
Umpires have called it. Scotland are out.— Cricket Scotland (@CricketScotland) March 21, 2018
"Feel
absolutely sick for everyone @CricketScotland, players, support staff,
administration & supporters," wrote Wright.
"It's all been
said before, but this tournament has highlighted (again) so much that is wrong
with the management, structure & priorities of world cricket @ICC
#notgoodenough."
Mommsen pointed out
the ICC's 'value' of "commitment to the global game", saying:
"@ICC I think you need to re-address your 'values' below, particularly
your final point. Your actions as a governing body are so misaligned with this
it's frightening."
A controversial lbw
decision also proved key as Richie Berrington fell to Windies spinner Ashley
Nurse for 33, with no DRS in place for the qualifiers.
Had the rain come
with Scotland on the same score but four wickets down, they would have
qualified instead.
"There are a
couple of decisions that have hurt us in the last two games and obviously
another one didn't go our way today," said Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer.
Earlier, the
underdogs had a dream start to the winner-takes-all clash, with Safyaan Sharif
dismissing star West Indies opener Chris Gayle with the first ball of the
match.
Sharif and Bradley
Wheal each finished with three wickets, as Scotland restricted their opponents
to under 200 despite 66 from Evin Lewis and a gritty half-century by Marlon
Samuels.
The Scots rebuilt
after being reduced to 25-3 as Kemar Roach claimed two early wickets, but were
left high and dry by Berrington's dismissal and the rain.
Zimbabwe will claim
the final place at the reduced 10-team World Cup if they beat the United Arab
Emirates on Thursday.
SOURCE: AFP
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