SCO v ENG 2018: This win is massive for Scotland, says Kyle Coetzer

Scotland players want their win over England to send a strong message across cricketing world.

Kyle Coetzer got his team off to a brilliant start. (SNS Group)

Kyle Coetzer has always been a key wicket for oppositions going up against Scotland. For a while, the Scottish batting line-up has been dependent on his prowess but Coetzer is delighted to have finally see another pillar emerging for his side in the name of Calum MacLeod. 

Coetzer got his team off to another solid start opening the innings against England yesterday, scoring a fine 58 from 49 balls. Coetzer, when he got out, wouldn't have had the familiar feeling of all being lost from there on, because of just how good MacLeod has been. Macleod went onto play an outstanding knock of 140*, which laid the foundation of the first innings score of 371 and became the cornerstone of Scotland's historic win over England by 6 runs. 

The skipper Coetzer was heard saying to the BBC Sport after the game as, “It means a lot to the guys, We’ve created an electric atmosphere and it’s something we need to do more. It was an outstanding game and the guys did unbelievably well to knock over the No. 1 side in the world. It was nice to see what this Scottish team can really provide. It would be nice to play a few more games like this. It’s nice for us to take this opportunity.”

“It’s absolutely massive,When we get the opportunities that we’re not going to get over the next few years to perform against the top-ranked teams, it’s vital that we come with the energy and the passion and the drive that we had today to put a performance in that is worthy of not only Scottish cricket, but Associate cricket.”

Calum MacLeod himself said, “To have the No. 1 team in the world here, and the energy from the crowd, to set a total like that… what a game, It’s certainly one of the best games of cricket I’ve been involved in.”

Scotland players want their performance to send the message across to International Cricket Council(ICC) decision makers, as they continue to prove why the idea of a 10 Team World Cup next year is not the correct one. 

Safyaan Sharif, the fast bowler who finished off the game in the end, said, “I’m not going to say anything, They’ll (ICC) have seen it all today so hopefully they’ll click onto that. I mean England’s a brilliant side, everyone knows that, and to get a victory, scoring 370 against a top quality side, means the world to Scotland, so well done once again. It was just an incredible effort from the lads, they’ve just proven once again that they are capable of playing at this standard, and they did really well throughout the innings. Up top, it was tough in the second half but we managed to pull things back and did the job, so really… I’m lost for words, I don’t know what to say.”

Even the England Captain Eoin Morgan praised Scotland, He said, “Full credit to Scotland, they are a very dangerous side, To bring your best game in a one-off game like this is very difficult to do but I thought they played close to their best cricket. We didn’t. It wasn’t good enough to win and we were punished for it. It’s not the end of the world for us. It’s good to play a high-scoring game under pressure and we can take a lot out of it. We were a little bit rusty but we’ll be better for the run-out, better for the pressure we’ve been under.”

(Inputs from Wisden)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 11 Jun, 2018

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