Netherlands takes last qualifying spot for the Cricket World Cup and denies Scotland
Netherlands beat Scotland by four wickets to qualify for the Cricket World Cup on Thursday. Sri Lanka had already claimed the other World Cup berth at the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe. Bas de Leede was Netherlands' match-winner with his all-round performance.
He took 5-52 with his seam bowling as Scotland made 277-9 batting first at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. De Leede then provided a belligerent batting display by making 123 from 92 balls to lead the Dutch to victory with 43 deliveries to spare. Netherlands finished on 278-6 to reach their fifth World Cup since their first appearance in 1996.
They last played at the World Cup in 2011. Scotland appeared to be on the way to the World Cup until de Leede turned the game with his century. The right-hander hit seven fours and five sixes.
«First, I'm extremely proud of the boys,» Netherlands captain Scott Edwards said. «The cherry on the top was that we managed to chase down the total. Win or lose, we would have been proud of the boys, the way we have played in the tournament.» Netherlands meets Sri Lanka on Sunday to determine the overall winner of the qualification tournament, although both have achieved their main target to reach the World Cup alongside cricket's biggest teams in India in October-November.
«We will put our best performance to win the tournament,» Edwards said. «We will celebrate now, then look forward to the final.» Brandon McMullen hit 106 and captain Richie Berrington added 64 to help Scotland to its competitive total. ___ AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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