Scotland captain admits ‘frustration’ as rain wrecks finely poised contest

In the first meeting between the two countries in the T20I format, Scotland seized the initiative between rain breaks to set the defending champions a DLS-adjusted target of 109 from 10 overs. Alas, a further shower after their innings had concluded on 90 for no loss proved terminal, with both sides settling for a point in Group B.

Having won the toss, Berrington’s decision to bat on an uncertain Kensington Oval pitch was vindicated as openers Michael Jones and George Munsey struck 51 in 6.2 overs before a long break in play. With the match subsequently reduced to 10 overs a side, the pair returned to the middle to add 39 more from their remaining 22 deliveries.

“I think we certainly gave ourselves a chance there,” Berrington said, on the prospect of an upset. “It would have been interesting to see how the weather would have affected the pitch because it did look a little bit of uneven bounce, as we expected during the day. I think if we bowled and fielded well, we certainly had an opportunity there.

“I think everyone’s frustrated, not being able to get a game in there. Some positives to take, at least. The guys who went out to the middle I thought did a really good job. Now looking ahead, they’ve had some time out there and we can take some things from that. But certainly we’re frustrated we couldn’t get a full game in.”

“I think we had all the advantage in that,” Mott said. “I think it was going to be a wet ball, 10 wickets in hand, only 10 overs. I think if we got back out there, I thought it would have been tough on Scotland given the start that they had.

“But I thought it was well within our grasp to achieve that. I think the way we’re looking to play, we’d look to be at that mark in a 20-over game. So, yeah, I think we were very confident.

“Those who’ve watched a lot of T10 cricket, I think that was certainly an achievable chase and we probably would have had all the things in our favour. It was frustrating not to get back out there, but that’s the way it is.”

“I thought we were a little bit sloppy in the field a couple of times, probably just a bit of nerves at the start of a tournament,” Mott said. “There’s definitely areas we want to improve on, but there was a lot of good stuff in there as well.

“It’s something we spoke about at the break, about just tidying up. And I think we did that really well after. I wouldn’t be reading too much into it – it happens in T20. But we’ve already seen how challenging these conditions are going to be and how they can flip so quickly.”

“Yeah, we’re looking to do that, definitely,” he said, when asked if he was looking for a statement performance against Australia. “I think we showed that. I think, you know, Mark Wood steaming in their first over, I think it’s exciting. Him and Jofra together is something that we’ve not been able to have for a while.

“We were really keen to make a statement there. But you know, equally, I think we bat deep, we’ve got good options around there. We match up really well against Australia, and whatever the result of this game, it was going to be a big game the next one, and we’re really looking forward to it.”