Sharif missing for Scotland

SCOTLAND, having scraped through the pool stages by just 0.007 of a run following Tuesday’s defeat by the USA, meet the Netherlands in a sudden-death play-off in Dubai today as they try to keep their Twenty20 World Cup qualifying campaign alive.

Pete Steindl’s men will take to the field without ex-Dunfermline pace bowler Safy Sharif after it was confirmed yesterday that he has a cracked rib which will rule him out of action for a month.

Safy played through the pain barrier against the Americans and, crucially, restricted them to just two runs from the first four balls of a nerve-shredding last over.

“Safy showed real guts and skill and, as it turns out, he has sacrificed himself for the good of the team,” said Steindl.

“He really nailed his yorkers and restricted the American batsmen.

“By the time he bowled the fourth ball of the over he was in too much pain and couldn’t go on after that.”

Skipper Gordon Drummond has been struggling with a niggling side strain but he should be ready to face the Dutch, while Forfarshire’s Matty Parker is just regaining full match fitness after hip surgery.