Scotland suffer first-ever ODI defeat by UAE

Scotland cricket captain Kyle Coetzer. Picture: Bill Murray/SNS

The Scots went into the Tri-Series clash looking to bounce back from Sunday’s loss to Hong Kong but another sub-standard batting display saw them dismissed for 173 before their rivals eased to a four-wicket success.

It had looked promising when Kyle Coetzer, having won the toss, put on 50 for the first wicket with Matthew Cross, but a flurry of soft dismissals saw them throw away the initiative.

Cross was first to go for a breezy 24 which included one boundary and a maximum but his departure sparked a collapse which saw Scotland lose their top five batsmen for just 35.

Coetzer, having made 30, was one of leg-spinner Imran Haider’s three victims while Calum MacLeod, Josh Davey and Craig Wallace all went for single figure scores.

It was left to Richie Berrington to arrest the decline with a battling half-century. The Clydesdale batsman made 50 from 88 balls, with three boundaries, and was supported by Mark Watt who contributed 15 to an eighth wicket stand of 40. However, Zahoor Khan weighed-in with three late wickets as the Scots failed to bat their full allocation of overs.

Davey and Safyaan Sharif had two early wickets each as Scotland fought back to reduce UAE to 39-4. However, a 62-run stand between Mohammed Usman and Adnan Mufti put the home side in charge. Usman eventually fell to Brad Wheal, while Watt removed Mo Naveed who thumped 30 from just 23 deliveries.

Debutant Mufti held his nerve to finish unbeaten on 43 as UAE completed their historic win with more than eight overs to spare.