Scotland have taken a huge step towards the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup as they thrashed West Indies by 42 runs in Hobart.
24 hours after Namibia stunned Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka, the tournament’s first group stage produced another major upset by an associate member nation as Mark Watt’s sensational 3-12 led a quite brilliant Scottish bowling display.
Opener George Munsey’s unbeaten 66 off 53 balls either side of a rain delay provided the backbone of Scotland’s 160 for five, but West Indies made a fast start to the chase and were in control at 52 for one inside the final over of the powerplay.
However, Evin Lewis’ departure started a collapse of seven wickets for 26 runs in 45 balls as Watt - who consulted a page of handwritten notes between deliveries - and Michael Leask (2-15) came to the fore.
Jason Holder, the only West Indies batter to show any middle-order discipline with his 38, was last man out as they were skittled for 118 with nine balls of the innings remaining.
The top eight teams from the previous World Cup 12 months ago - including England - have already qualified directly for the Super 12 stage, which begins on Saturday, and will be joined by a further four qualifiers.
West Indies and Sri Lanka were big favourites to top their respective pools and take two of those places but already the group stage has been blown wide open. Scotland have games against Ireland and Zimbabwe to come and, with the top two in each group advancing, will in all likelihood need only one more victory to see them through.
