Bulawayo [Zimbabwe], June 21 : Scotland's Michael Leask displayed a blistering knock of 91* which guided his team to a narrow win against Ireland in the ICC Men's World Cup at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on Wedneday.
After hitting the winning run in the last ball, Player of the Match Michael said in the post-match presentation, "I don't think I can quite put it into words, I'm lost for words. We had a few tough games against Ireland and last time we had a tied game (in the previous qualifiers) against Zimbabwe as well, so to hit the winning runs is even more special."
"We got a team that bat very deep, I got a lot of belief in my ability and Watty (Watt) and Surfy (Sharif) did a great job as well. He (Watt) is a fantastic performer, we had a lot of partnerships together and when he walked out to bat I told him let's do it one more time. This is just the start of our journey, we are gonna take things deep and hopefully go all the way. He (Brandon McMullen) is a fantastic cricketer, he is an absolute hero for us and long may it continue," he further added.
Batting first, Ireland's top order collapsed against Brandon McMullen's lethal bowling. They were 33/4 after 8.2 overs. Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie were dismissed on a golden duck by McMullen in consecutive balls. Harry Tector was also dismissed cheaply at 6 off 10.
Campher bagged an outstanding century, scoring 120 off 108 balls. Dockrell also played a knock of 69 off 93 runs.
For Scotland, Brandon McMullen was the pick of the bowlers, he took five wickets by conceding only 34 runs. Sole, Watt, and McBride picked one wicket each.
Chasing 287, Scotland's first wicket fell quickly, and Ireland were getting wickets from the other end.
However, Michael Leask played exceptionally well, his explosive knock of 91* provided Scotland with a remarkable victory against Ireland in the last ball. Christopher McBride scored 56 off 60 balls. Mark Watt also played an effective knock of 47 off 43 balls.
For Ireland, Mark Adair was the pick of the Bowler with three wickets. Joshua Little and George Dockrell took two wickets each while Curtis Campher and Benjamin White picked one-one wicket each.
Michael Leask was awarded "Player of the Match".
Brief scores: Ireland: 286/8 (Curtis Campher 120, George Dockrell 69, Brandon McMullen 5/34) vs Scotland: 289/9 (Michael Leask 91, Christopher McBride 56, Mark Adair 3/57).
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