On Tuesday, Scotland stunned Zimbabwe by winning by 31 runs to set up a winner-take-all match against the Netherlands for a spot in the World Cup.
Michael Leask was a major contributor to Scotland’s success in this match.
When they won their match against Zimbabwe on Sunday, Sri Lanka became the first of the top two teams in the Super Six league to have qualified for the World Cup that will be held in October and November in India.
A poor performance by the top order of the home team’s batting lineup prevented them from claiming the second place with a win against Scotland in Bulawayo. However, the hosts had a chance to claim the slot if they had won.
Leask’s score of 48 runs off 34 balls was the highest for Scotland, who finished its allotment of 50 overs with 234 runs for eight wickets.
After the Scots had been left reeling at 170-7, he came in at number eight and partnered with Mark Watt (21 not out) for a crucial eighth-wicket partnership of 46 runs. This combination proved to be important.
Matthew Cross (38), Brandon McMullen (34), and George Munsey (31) were the other three batters who reached the 30-point mark, but they were unable to capitalize on the time they had spent at the crease.
Zimbabwe were rapidly reduced to 37/4 in the run chase, under great pressure from Scottish fast Chris Sole (3-33), despite the fact that Sean Williams collected 3-41 off of his 10 overs. However, he failed to shine with the bat as Zimbabwe was quickly reduced.
As Zimbabwe began to fight back, Wessly Madhevere reached 40 and the deadly Sikandar Raza reached 34.
However, Ryan Burl’s score of 83 runs off 84 balls provided the greatest cause for optimism for the home people.
But Burl was dismissed by Leask’s offbreak, which proved to be a game-changing moment. Leask also took a brilliant catch off of his own bowling to get rid of Richard Ngarava.
The Scotsman finished with a score of 2-33 off of six overs, and his team left the field knowing that if they were able to beat the Dutch the next day, they would be able to go to India in the fall.