Scotland fired up for Zimbabwe decider after missed chance to clinch series

Scotland wicketkeeper/batter Matthew Cross believes the frustrating end to Friday’s match will fire the team up ahead of their Wolf777 T20 Series decider versus Zimbabwe at The Grange this afternoon (2pm).

Scotland's Matthew Cross in action during Friday's T20 defeat to Zimbabwe at The Grange, which levelled the series at 1-1 ahead of today's decider. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

The Scots went 1-0 up on Wednesday with a seven run win and two days later they looked like they might make it 2-0 in the three match series when Cross, Richie Berrington and then Michael Leask were at the crease.

However, credit to the Zimbabwean bowlers and fielders, they kept it very tight in the last three overs or so as Scotland tried to chase 137 to win and the visitors eventually won by 10 runs.

That made it 1-1 to set-up today’s decider in Edinburgh and Heriot’s man Cross, who made 42 runs on Friday, said: “We know that we had a really good chance of going on and getting the win on Friday and wrapping up the series, but it wasn’t to be and we are kicking ourselves a bit for that.

“Although we lost a few early wickets in our reply, when myself and guys like Richie and Michael were in we felt like we could get over the line while we also know that those bellow us in the batting line-up can do a job.

“Zimbabwe bowled and fielded well, but it was maybe one that we let get away from us and we have had to refocus and get ourselves mentally prepared for the third game.

“We head off soon for a spell abroad so we want to end this week of games at home on a high.”

Get a year of unlimited access to all The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis of the biggest games, exclusive interviews, live blogs, transfer news and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today