Scotland skipper Preston Mommsen (in pic) has said he is impressed with the fight they put up against New Zealand in their three-wicket defeat in World Cup Pool A encounter here on Tuesday that highlighted the team's strong character. The bowlers outshone the batsmen, impressing with their disciplined approach to give the home team a scare, picking up seven wickets.
“We are very proud of the fight we put up and the character these boys have shown. We are not shy of the fact that we are a very inexperienced team in World Cups,” Mommsen said at the post match presentation ceremony. “Glad to get this first one out of the way and now we are ready for England.”
Scotland next plays England on Feb 23 at Christchurch. The 27-year-old praised Machan and Berrington for their knocks and added that the bowling was commendable too. “Tough start for us as we were unfortunate to lose a few early ones, but credit to Machan and Richie for batting through that difficult period. We also bowled in the right areas for which we got our rewards.”
McCullum hails bowlers
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum says pacers Trent Boult and Tim Southee were “outstanding” as they set up the team's victory by denting the Scotland batting line-up with their intimidating bowling. Boult was declared Man-of-the-Match for his two for 21 in six overs while Southee took two for 35 in his eight overs as they reduced Scotland to 12 for four inside five overs.
“They are world-class bowlers (Boult, Southee) and they have stood up for a long time in Test cricket for us. It is outstanding when you are able to win the toss, choose to bowl, and then be backed up,” McCullum said. The Kiwi skipper though expressed worry on the batting front as they overhauled the target with 25.1 overs to spare but lost seven wickets.
“Credit to Scotland for posting a good total that was tricky on this kind of surface. I am pleased with the result in the end, but we definitely showed nerves towards the end. We will take the result, and points from the game. Really good performance with the ball and in the field, but we need to improve on our batting,” he said.