Recent Match Report - Scotland vs New Zealand Only ODI 2022

New Zealand 307 for 3 (Chapman 101*, Mitchell 74*, Allen 50 Leask 2-46) beat Scotland 306 (Leask 85, Cross 53, Bracewell 3-43, Duffy 3-52) by 7 wickets

The last time Mark Chapman scored an ODI century was 2449 days ago. It came on his Hong Kong debut, having just completed both his exams and a 20-hour flight.

A second came in the late-Sunday Edinburgh sunshine. Chapman's century was his first in New Zealand colours, adding to the 83 he made in Friday's T20I. It was an attractive, brutal knock, and as he reached the landmark off his 74th ball to point for a single, off came the helmet, and the bat swooshed through the air. Two balls later, a seven-wicket victory was sealed in the one-off ODI against Scotland.

"I managed to score a few a couple of days ago, and I was happy to contribute again today," he said after the match. "When Daryl (Mitchell) and I came together we had a lot of work to do. We talked about taking it deep, putting a partnership together and having wickets in hand come the end.

"Daryl was encouraging me to go for it, and I just put my head down and tried to make contact. I'm stoked. Thankfully it came off today."

The problem, for the opposition at least, is that New Zealand are just so difficult to beat. Even when you think you've got them, they fight back. Chapman's unbroken fourth-wicket partnership with Daryl Mitchell was worth 175 runs. The pair negotiated a potentially sticky situation with ease.

Chapman took a particular shine to Hamza Tahir, who was peppered straight. Three sixes in an over towards the conclusion eased him through the 70s. He was dropped by Michael Leask in the middle of those, mind.

Mitchell's knock, on the other hand, contained a share of luck. Luck that largely evaded the Scots. But he is having a golden European tour, and there were touches of quality aplenty. It meant a tenth consecutive ODI victory for the Black Caps. And this, remember, is a line-up without Devon Conway, Kane Williamson and Tom Latham.

The win did not come without wobbly moments, though. Scotland will take much from the game, if not victory. Dreich is a popular Scottish adjective meaning grey and dreary. It was apt for the early morning weather. And when Scotland slipped to 107 for 5 having elected to bat first in this one-off match, it looked apt for their day.

But then out came Leask. By mid-afternoon, the sun shone, Leask had walloped a rapid 85 - his highest score in this format - and his quickfire dismissals of Martin Guptill and Dane Cleaver had New Zealand up against it. For a while at least, it seemed game on.

Michael Leask scored a rapid 85 off just 55 balls•SNS Group/Getty Images

"It's a week of missed opportunities," Scotland head coach Shane Burger said. "We lost the big moments in the game, but ultimately, they go your way if you play more cricket. That one big partnership was the difference in the game.

"I can't fault the effort; the guys ran in and did the best we could. Our skill levels need to keep improving. It's still building blocks but to see the resilience and the character shine out speaks 1,000 words."

Scotland had made a sprightly start with Kyle Coetzer racing to 20 from just 12 balls. But a miscued pull off Jacob Duffy brought about his downfall. Then came the New Zealand pressure. Michael Bracewell reeled off ten uninterrupted overs. Six overs between him and Blair Tickner cost just 11 runs, with Michael Jones falling to Bracewell, and Calum MacLeod to the latter. Bracewell then removed both Richie Berrington and Chris Greaves to leave Scotland reeling.

Then came the counter punch. Finally, some home batting that mirrored the aggression of the in-house DJ's excessive use of musical interludes. Matthew Cross reached 50 first with an emphatic pull off Lockie Ferguson that fizzed onto a neighbouring road.

But Leask's knock was the standout. Pure aggression. Bracewell was bludgeoned straight, before Ferguson - from around the wicket - dropped short and was swatted away. A later flat bat down the ground had Duffy sprinting. 'You'll nay catch that big lad' came the cry from the hospitality tents. It was spot on. Leask then lifted Duffy over deep square and long on before falling 15 short of a century. Later, Mark Watt and Safyaan Sharif cameos took Scotland to 306.

The hosts needed early luck but did not get it. Chris Sole was almost celebrating an immediate wicket, with Finn Allen edging just out of Cross' reach. Shariff then thudded into Guptill's pads, the ball struck the stumps, but the bails remained intact.

Allen fell for exactly 50, Guptill 47 and then Cleaver soon after. But Chapman and Mitchell steadied before accelerating. Chapman boshed Tahir for a pair of maximums, Mitchell took ten off a Sharif over, and between them, they found 14 off Watt. Suddenly a run-a-ball was required. In the end, 25 balls were left spare.

Quite what long-term value these games have for Scotland, when played in such isolation, is difficult to measure. This was their first ODI against a full-member nation since Sri Lanka visited in 2019. There is nothing currently in the fixture list. With the schedule packed, quite where additional games come from is difficult to see. In which case, it is 'survive' rather than 'thrive.'

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/recent-match-report-scotland-vs-new-zealand-only-odi-2022/?feed_id=5293&_unique_id=62e83a49cedfd

Recent Match Report - New Zealand vs Scotland 2nd T20I 2022

New Zealand 254 for 5 (Chapman 83, Bracewell 61*, Main 2-44) beat Scotland 152 for 9 (Greaves 37, Neesham 2-9, Rippon 2-37) by 102 runs

The world-famous Johnnie Walker highball forms the focal point of the award-winning whisky tour on Edinburgh's Princes Street. It is described by the Scotch blender's own website as a "balanced mix of smoke, fruit and fizz". A mile away at The Grange, it was New Zealand's own highball concoction on parade; and the liquid equivalent's tagline could easily have applied.

For it was a perfect balance of 18 sixes that saw New Zealand notch their highest ever T20I score of 254, and claim victory by 102 runs. Half-centuries for Mark Chapman and Michael Bracewell were the dominant ingredients, as both made their respective T20I career-bests. Chapman's 83 came in 44 balls, while Bracewell's unbeaten 61 was even sharper on the palate at 25.

Chapman smashed seven sixes - getting off the mark with a straight one - after having started watchfully with four dots. A straight-arm jab off birthday boy Mark Watt fizzed to the boundary, while Hamza Tahir dropped short and was smoked for first four and then six.

He also pulled a Chris Greaves drag down to Watt on the boundary in what was his first professional knock since mid-April but there was no apparent rustiness.

At the other end, Bracewell should not, in fact, have made any. Scotland captain Richie Berrington will lament a drop in the covers long into the night. A relative newcomer to international cricket, Bracewell's ball striking is as clean as it gets, and that was particularly apparent in Ali Evans' 19th over, which went for 26.

There was both deftness - slower balls waited on and tucked away either side of the wicket - and force as he plundered 4, 4, 4, 6, 6 off the last five legal balls of the over. The first six, which brought up Bracewell's maiden T20I half-century, was slog swept over deep square leg.

Meanwhile, Chapman and Bracewell were supported by several other flavourfully fruity knocks: Dane Cleaver made a quickfire 28, Daryl Mitchell smashed 31, and Jimmy Neesham - whose maximum from the first ball of the 20th took New Zealand past 243, their previous highest T20I total, which they hit twice in early 2018 - fell to the final ball of the innings for 28 from 12 deliveries.

Neesham had wandered to the middle early in the 16th over; his partnership with Bracewell was worth 79 from 29 balls. Such was the scoring rate that at times the in-ground DJ struggled to clip up The Proclaimers quickly enough to cope with the demand for musical fillers.

In the run chase, a trio of George Munsey boundaries in the first over gave Scotland hope. But they had lost four wickets by the by the end of as many overs. Debutant Michael Jones, fresh from 206 for Durham in the County Championship, holed out to Bracewell, before Munsey, Matthew Cross and Ollie Hairs perished within the space of six balls.

Munsey was served neat by Neesham, who did not even glance to see the finger measure. Three balls later, Neesham doubled up, with Cross giving Bracewell catching practice. Then Hairs was run-out by Cleaver trying to steal a sneaky dram.

Ten overs into the Scotland innings came another New Zealand entry into the record books. Michael Rippon, a left-arm wristspinner, became the first man to bowl, well, left-arm wristspin for his country.

Two deliveries in, with the DJ again in his element, a replacement ball was fetched after Greaves had slog swept on to neighbouring Arboretum Avenue. The over cost 17, as Greaves - who last Saturday on this ground made 79 against Stoneywood Dyce in the Easter Premier League - tucked in.

Greaves then fell for 37, Ish Sodhi taking a sharp return grab, while Rippon later claimed Michael Leask and Evans.

For Scotland, two trouncings in a row, have, in the words of head coach Shane Burger, been "a massive learning curve".

But in a World Cup year, he wants more rather than less: "The more times you get thrown into this environment when they are better than you, and you have to make sure you're playing at your best, the more we will get better. We need more international fixtures against really good teams."

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/recent-match-report-new-zealand-vs-scotland-2nd-t20i-2022/?feed_id=4208&_unique_id=62e4e37eb9d92