Seamer bowler Brad Wheal says facing reigning champions England has reinforced Scotland’s belief they can make a splash at the T20 World Cup.
Openers Michael Jones and George Munsey set a milestone as they shared an unbeaten stand of 90 in 10 overs against a high-quality England attack on Tuesday, with rain delays raising the target to a formidable 109 on DLS.
Scotland’s chances of a famous victory never took off when the skies opened and left the teams with a point each, but, as a statement of intent, it was a mission accomplished for the associated nation.
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Munsey hit a stunning reverse six against Adil Rashid at Kensington Oval on Tuesday
“Munns and Jonesy put the right foot forward and gave the rest of the team some good confidence to continue into the tournament and believe that we are good enough to be here,” Wheal said.
“We think we are good enough to compete and beat the best teams in the world. We think we are in a good position to win some games. We showed a little glimpse of what we could have done against the current world champions .
“It was definitely a defensible target, I mean, they would have chased 11 and over. It’s definitely something our bowling team could have defended.”
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Jones’ six against Chris Jordan in Scotland’s match against England shattered a solar panel
Scotland are favorites against Namibia
Scotland don’t have long to wait to vent their frustrations, with Namibia next visiting Kensington Oval on Thursday. (8 p.m. first ball, live on Sky Sports Cricket).
Namibia won their opening match against Oman after a Super Over and are 3-0 against the Scots in the 20 over format in the last five years.
But Wheal insists his side are in no mood to play second fiddle as they look to qualify from Group B as one of the top two teams.
He added: “Realistically, our best chance to get into the Super 8 scene, compete and topple big teams is to watch the next game and then Oman after that.
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David Wiese watched Namibia beat Oman in a dramatic Super Over at the T20 World Cup earlier this week
“One game at a time, but we will keep faith in what we did against England.
“I think in our eyes we definitely consider ourselves favorites because we know these are games we can and we need to win. We go into the game with the belief that we are going to win.
Wheal is energetic with Hampshire over World Cup participation
Scotland’s attack is missing the experienced Josh Davey after he was not released by Somerset, but Wheal had no such problems after a frank discussion with Hampshire over his availability.
“It’s a bit tricky… but I was quite open and honest with Hampshire. I said, ‘look, I want to go to the World Cup’,” he explained.
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Eoin Morgan, Nasser Hussain and Urooj Mumtaz join Ian Ward to discuss their T20 World Cup XI dream
“I wanted to be available for selection and they were pretty happy about it. They understand it’s an opportunity to go out there and play against the best of the best. It’s a learning experience.
“Every opportunity to pull on the Scotland jersey is an incredible occasion and one I will cherish forever.
Watch the T20 World Cup clash between Scotland and Namibia live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30pm on Thursday (8pm, first ball). Every match in the tournament is live on Sky Sports.
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