Michael Leask: Scotland’s strong start to T20 World Cup no surprise

Michael Leask claims Scotland’s table-topping start to the T20 World Cup is “no surprise to us” and insists his side can knock out one of England or Australia.

Leask was named player of the match in his side’s vital victory over Namibia in Bridgetown, taking the key wicket of top-scorer Gerhard Erasmus then blasting four sixes in a match-winning partnership with captain Richie Berrington.

That left the Scots top of Group B after their first two games, having also taken a point in the washed out opener against England. Scotland also impressed in that match, reaching 90 without loss from just 10 overs before the rain stepped in.

https://x.com/CricketScotland/status/1798876547652477101

And Leask sees no reason why he and his team-mates should not dream big and progress to the Super 8 stage ahead of their better known opponents.

“We’ve got two more huge games and why can’t we top the group at the end of it?” he said.

“We’ve got a hell of a squad. It’s no surprise to us, but it might be a surprise to some. England will probably say it was a surprise to them the other day that we were 90 off 10 overs.

“But this team’s got great depth. We’ve played together for a number of years, a number of us and we’ve got some new fresh blood too so it doesn’t really surprise us that we’re in this position.”

Scotland’s win came just hours after co-hosts the United States defeated Pakistan in one of the biggest ever World Cup upsets, leaving Leask banging the drum for the non-Test playing nations.

This year’s edition of the competition was expanded to 20 teams to allow more countries to perform on the global stage and the early signs suggest it was the right decision.

https://x.com/ICC/status/1798849793080349031

“The more teams, the better for me,” said Leask.

“You’ve seen us and Namibia play a fantastic associate game of cricket. You’ve seen another associate take on a full member and win. We fight well above our weight and I think we deserve a lot more recognition than that.”

Scotland head to Antigua next, where they face Oman on Sunday before wrapping up their group campaign against Australia.