England 167 for 6 (Bell 50, Cook 44, Davey 3-28) beat Scotland 133 for 9 (Leask 42, Tredwell 4-41) by 39 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard
Scorecard
Just for a moment it appeared there might be sunshine on Leask. Just for
a moment it appeared England could be upset by a 23-year-old who has
just given up his job in a bank to take his chance with a summer
contract with Cricket Scotland. Just for a moment, as Michael Leask
thrashed five sixes in an innings of 42 from 16 balls, it seemed the
nightmare of defeat against Holland could be revisited in Aberdeen.
But in the end the romance of an underdog victory was outshone by the
professionalism of an England unit who had a bit more nous, a bit more
quality and a bit more experience. Leask had to be content with a man of
the match award and the people of Aberdeen had to be content with the
fact that they had somehow, against all the odds, pulled off an
enjoyable fixture in which their team had given a more than decent
account of themselves.
So England's new era began with a workmanlike victory over Scotland. It
was not, perhaps, the dominant performance that some might have liked
but, in wretched conditions that England captain, Alastair Cook
described as "the wettest I've ever played in" a disciplined,
professional England held off a rapidly-improving Associate side who
they next meet in the World Cup in Christchurch in nine-months time.
Perhaps Alex Salmond knew what to expect. The leader of the Scottish
independence movement was invited to the match but stayed away, quite
possibly having taken one look at the weather forecast. Aberdeen has
many charms, but watching cricket in bitterly cold, wet conditions is
not one of them. Staging such a match at such a venue at this time of
year was an accident waiting to happen. And sure enough, one of the
groundstaff, Ken McCudie, sustained a dislocated elbow when slipping on
the outfield in a mopping-up process that went well beyond the call of
duty.
Certainly conditions could hardly have been more difficult to those
anticipated in the World Cup. Rain delayed the start until 4pm, reducing
the match to a 23-over encounter. It then intervened again during the
Scotland innings to see the contest reduced to 20-overs a side with
drizzle continuing for much of the game.
So it was never likely that England, without white ball cricket so far
this season and put in on a pitch that had been under cover for a couple
of days, would produce the aggressive top-order batting that their
critics say will be required if they are to prosper in global events.
Instead they produced a measured, mature performance. The sort of
performance that has served them pretty well in England over recent
years. The sort of performance that may infuriate those who want them to
bat with more urgency but that was a sensible tactic in conditions that
Cook rated as "one of the worst I've ever played in."
They adapted and, through Ian Bell and Cook, posted an opening stand of 83 in 11.3 overs that laid the platform for a decent total in these circumstances.
Bell was the dominant partner. While Cook thrashed around without ever
finding his timing - it sometimes looked as if he were using a broken
bat - Bell sped to a 33-ball half-century and in the process overtook
Alec Stewart to become the second highest run-scorer in ODI cricket for
England. Twice he drove straight sixes - once skipping down the pitch to
loft the offspin of Majid Haq back over his head and once punching Rob
Taylor over long-off - and also reverse-swept, drove and pulled other
boundaries.
"On a wicket where no-one else could time it, it just flowed for 'Belly,'" Cook said afterwards. "It was just class."
But the late acceleration never quite came. When Bell was dismissed,
bowled round his legs attempting to flick over the legside, Cook became
bogged down and finally departed to a fine, running catch on the
long-off boundary and Jos Buttler was brilliantly caught by Taylor,
jumping high on the midwicket boundary.
England pacemen rested |
"Scotland's fielding was exceptional," Cook said. "We were struggling to
stand on our feet. There was standing water at mid-off and I was
struggling to grip my bat, so for them to take running catches was
exceptional."
Eoin Morgan, who thrashed two full tosses to the boundary and one more
over it, and Joe Root, improvising cleverly, pushed the score forward
with bright contributions. But when Morgan edged a wide one and Root and
Ravi Bopara fell to successive deliveries, Cook admitted England
"weren't sure if that was a good score."
Scotland never threatened to overhaul the target. James Anderson
was too quick for both opening batsmen and both Harry Gurney, who made a
quietly impressive debut as a death bowler, and Chris Jordan,
maintained their lengths well enough on to prevent Scotland ever getting
on top of the rate.
Only when Leask,
a 23-year-old from Aberdeen playing just his third ODI, was at the
crease did a Scotland victory appear possible. Leask thrashed five sixes
and two fours in a breezy innings of 42 from just 16 deliveries.
Just for a few minutes, with England's bowlers struggling to grip the
slippery ball, it seemed the former banker might pull-off a memorable
heist. But when James Tredwell, the unfortunate victim of most of the
six hitting, held one back and caused Leask to drag the ball to wide
mid-on, Scotland's challenge was over. Of the rest of the batsmen in the
top eight only Matt Machan, who scored 33 at almost a run-a-ball, made
double-figures.
There were a couple of areas of concern for England: Buttler missed a
fairly straightforward chance when Kyle Coetzer had 1 and they will know
that these conditions bear almost no comparisons to those expected in
Australia. But in circumstances where some England sides might have gone
missing, they did enough to avoid any potential embarrassment and
ensured the new Peter Moores era started smoothly.
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
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© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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