‘Unreal downfall’ -Fans react as Scotland beat West indies by 7 wickets and knock them out of 2023 World Cup qualifiers
Scotland and West Indies faced off at the Harare Sports Club. The coin went Scotland’s way and they opted to bowl first. This was also a knockout game for the Men in Maroon. Things did not start for the West Indies on a bright note as Johnson Charles was caught by Christopher McBride off Brandon McMullen for a duck. Shamarh Brooks followed him back to the pavilion soon after. The two early blows put the West Indies on the back foot as Scotland kept the pressure on.
Shai Hope did not give any hope for the West Indies as he fell to Safyan Sharif and then Chris Sole castled Kyle Mayers. This meant that the West Indies were in disarray at 30-4. Nicholas Pooran also could not set the stage on fire as Mark Watt picked his wickets after he made 21 off 43 balls with two fours, After this came a period of brief respite for the West Indies as Jason Holder made 45 off 79 balls with three fours and one six.
Matthew Cross made an unbeaten 74 off 107 balls with seven fours for Scotland
Romario Sheperd joined Holder as he hit 36 off 43 balls with five fours. But it was only for some time as Scotland came back and struck the double blow. Scotland kept the run rate in check and did not allow the West Indies to accelerate at any point. The Men in Maroon could muster only 181 in 43.3 overs. Mcmullen picked up 3-32 in his nine overs. Watt, Chris Greaves and Sole picked up two wickets each in their respective spells.
In the second innings, Scotland lost the wicket of Christopher McBride with no run on the board. But that was the only glimmer of hope for the West Indies as McMullen made a valuable 69 off 106 balls with eight fours and one six, Matthew Cross struck an unbeaten 74 off 107 balls with seven fours to see Scotland through. Skipper Richie Berrington stayed at the end with an unbeaten 13 off 14 balls with two fours. With this result, West Indies will not make it to the 2023 World Cup in India.
Let us take a look at the reactions on Twitter:
A tremendous win for Scotland over the West Indies !!
And I'm talking about cricket, not skating or curling
Congratulations !
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) July 1, 2023
Happy for Scotland. Heartbroken for the Windies. 💔
A milestone moment in the history of ODI cricket and the Men’s Cricket World Cup. A WC sans the men in maroon was unthinkable. Hopefully from here, they will rise again. 💪🏼 #CWC23 https://t.co/dKW7jNcs60
— Ajesh Ramachandran (@Edged_and_taken) July 1, 2023
In 2018, Scotland lost to WI and as a result lost an opportunity to play in the 2019 World Cup. They were gracious and supportive in defeat and wished us well.
I want to return the favour. Congratulations @CricketScotland and best of luck in the remaining Super Six games. pic.twitter.com/1HWBBqWbjg
— Carlos Brathwaite (@CRBrathwaite26) July 1, 2023
Team liked by many globally missed out on T20 World Cup and now misses out on 50 overs World Cup beaten by Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Scotland. If things don’t improve , we might not see West Indies again in ICC events for a very long time in future.
— Prasanna (@prasannalara) July 1, 2023
West Indies are out of the World Cup. Even though it isn’t surprising…given how their standards have fallen in the last few years…it’s still a little disappointing to see the erstwhile champions of cricket to become a spectator for a world event.
Change is the only constant!!!— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 1, 2023
The winners of the first two World Cups, finalists in 1983 and two time T20 World Cup champions will be watching the 2023 World Cup on television.
Will really miss the West Indies!— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) July 1, 2023
I love West Indies
I love West Indian cricket
I still believe they can be the No.1 team in world cricket!— Gautam Gambhir (Modi Ka Parivar) (@GautamGambhir) July 1, 2023
The West Indies didn't just lose to Scotland, they were brushed aside. The whole is a tiny fraction of the sum of the parts now. I hope every player is looking within rather than sideways because while I am overjoyed for Scotland, the West Indies lost rather substantially to…
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 1, 2023
Such a shame that West Indies won't be there at the World Cup.. Caribbean cricket has officially hit rock bottom. But when you hit rock bottom, only way is up. #WestIndies #CWCQualifier pic.twitter.com/rRHoQhynLJ
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 1, 2023
What a shame. West Indies fail to qualify for the World cup. Just shows talent alone isn’t enough, need focus and good man management, free from politics. The only solace is there isn’t further low to sink from here. pic.twitter.com/dAcs3uufNM
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) July 1, 2023
