Cricket: Major setback in World Cup qualification

Apr 10 2009 by Paul Behan, Paisley Daily Express

THERE was disappointment for Paisley cricketers Majid Haq and Craig Wright after they watched in agony as Scotland suffered a setback in their bid to qualify for the 2011 World Cup.

The duo are in South Africa with the Saltires for the Cricket World Cup qualifiers but the Scots slumped to a bitterly disappointing 148-run loss to Canada at Benoni.

Although the Scots have already qualified for the Super Eight stage of the competition their latest defeat means they will have to win at least three, if not four, of their next four games to earn a top four place.

They must reach this goal to guarantee their ticket to the global showpiece in two years’ time.

And Scots coach Tony Judd believes the qualifying tournament is the biggest event in the history of Scottish cricket.

He said: “For Scottish cricket this competition is the most important ever.

“It’s even bigger than the World Cup itself.

“Doing well in the qualifiers can be a life-changing event for players and coaches alike because the rewards for success are so great.

“The ICC are pumping money into the associate nations to help close the gap with the Test-playing countries.

“The fact is you simply have to qualify to keep improving and keep getting the benefits.”

Poor batting, sloppy fielding and inconsistent bowling cost Scotland dear.

Man of the match Asish Bagai fired 87 runs off 122 balls as Canada made a 252-run for the loss of seven wickets.

This was despite a 3-23 haul from Buddie Craig Wright, plus two wickets apiece for Jan Stander and the recalled Calum MacLeod.

However an improbably dire top-order collapse reduced the sorry Scots to 33 for five after Nav Poonia went for a duck and Neil McCallum was out for one.

After John Blain had provided some gritty support to postpone the inevitable, Colin Smith was the last to go, clean bowled by Rizwan Cheema.

Haq, 26, who now plays for Clydesdale after leaving Ferguslie last year, and 34 year-old Craig Wright, who is skipper at Greenock, are both mainstays of the Scotland team.

Scotland lost in their opening match to Ireland by a total of seven wickets.

But they did recover to post wins over Namibia, Oman and Uganda, putting themselves in a strong position to take one of the four qualifying places up for grabs.

They will now take on the much fancied Netherlands tomorrow at University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

This is a game they simply can’t afford to lose if they are going to get their qualifying campaign back on track.

Scotland have one of the most experienced of all the squads in the competition.

They have a core of five players – captain Ryan Watson, his predecessor Craig Wright, county veterans Gavin Hamilton and John Blain, and wicketkeeper Colin Smith – who have between them played more than 600 List A matches.