Namibia 26 for no loss (Van der Westhuizen 20*) need another 243 runs to beat Scotland 268 for 5 (Berrington 110, Mommsen 49*, Smit 2-43, Viljoen 2-55)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
File photo – Richie Berrington mowed five fours and four sixes en route to his career-best List A score © Peter Della Penna
Richie Berrington‘s third List A century propelled Scotland to 268 for 5 in an innings reduced to 43 overs in the first WCL Championship match between the two sides at The Grange. In reply, Namibia were 26 for 0 in 5.1 overs before rain halted the chase and pushed the game into the reserve day on Monday.
The rain was on and off throughout the day with the first interruption arriving after 17 overs with Scotland 69 for 2. That after the start had been delayed by two-and-a-half hours. Berrington, who was slow to get going, was on 9 off 26 balls then. He had moved on to 14 off 35 when the rain returned, after 19.4 overs, to push the players off the field briefly. However, once the weather cleared out and the sun appeared, he flipped a switch and pillaged 86 off the next 49 balls he faced to bring up an 84-ball century.
And it was the introduction of Bernard Scoltz, the left-arm spinner, in the 27th over, that brought about the shift in momentum in Berrington’s innings. With a strong breeze blowing across the ground, Scholz tried to tempt Scotland’s batsmen into swinging with the breeze but against the turn only to see his strategy go fruitless. Berrington slog-swept the second ball he faced from Scholz over deep midwicket for six before taking him for 16 in the 31st. That included a six over wide long-on that took him to a half-century in 58 balls.
He needed just another 26 balls to reach three figures, feasting on a series of short-pitched balls from Jan Frylinck and Christi Viljoen. The only chance he offered was a difficult one when on 61, he drove Sarel Burger flat to long-on. Stephen Baard put in a one-handed, leaping effort but only managed to deflect the ball over the rope for six. By the time Berrington fell, bottom-edging a slower full toss from left-arm medium pacer JJ Smit onto his stumps, he had raised his career-best score of 110.
The wicket also ended a blistering 101-run fifth wicket stand with Preston Mommsen that had spanned just 9.4 overs. Mommsen, returning to the Scotland side after coming out of retirement, ended unbeaten on 49, repeatedly using the scoop over fine leg to great effect.
Viljoen hadn’t played for Namibia since 2014, but has made an impact on his comeback tour after playing first-class cricket in New Zealand. Though his short-ball ploy did not work against Berrington and Mommsen, it had worked earlier in the day when he bagged two wickets in his opening over – that of Kyle Coetzer, the Scotland captain, and Matthew Cross, who were both caught at deep square leg.
Smit then accounted for Calum MacLeod, who was caught attempting a flick for 22 at midwicket. Craig Wallace then partnered Berrington in a fourth-wicket stand of 71 before he holed out to long leg trying to slog against the medium pace of Burger. At that point, the match was evenly balanced at 151 for 4 in the 32nd over, before Berrington and Mommsen shored up Scotland’s total.
Scotland had a chance to break Namibia’s opening stand when Stephen Baard’s hook off Alasdair Evans in the fifth over landed at long leg. But Safyaan Sharif misjudged the ball and never came off the rope. Baard remained not out on 6, with Louis van der Westhuizen on 20 having cracked four boundaries through the off side, before rain ended play for the day.
Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo’s USA correspondent. @PeterDellaPenna
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo