Scots cricket Wildcats beat Papua New Guinea

After breaking through the 150-cap barrier this week, Kari Anderson was the catalyst for another significant milestone as Scotland edged out Papua New Guinea by seven runs to claim a first win at the ICC Women's World Cup qualifiers in Colombo.

Wildcats skipper Abbi Aitken. Picture: Donald MacLeod

The dramatic result left the Wildcats with a minor chance of reaching the Super Six stage, if they upset Pakistan in tomorrow’s final group game while gaining a huge increase in their net run rate.

However, in their most winnable tie in Sri Lanka, the former captain – now based in New Zealand – led the way by scoring 26 runs as the Scots set a target of 169 and then took three wickets for 35 as their rivals were bowled out on the very last ball of a tense finale.

“We felt we didn’t get enough runs and we were disappointed in 169,” Anderson said. “Our target was in the 200s. But the pitch was tough and that probably restricted our scoring options.”

Rachel Scholes hit 35 in a 59-run partnership with Anderson with Liz Priddle firing 31 off 44 balls. Although opener Brenda Tau scored 46, Priyanaz Chatterji was able to deny the tail with two precious wickets in four balls.