Cricket World Cup League 2, Dubai |
Scotland 215-8 (50 plus): Muncie 68, Lisk 40 |
Canada 220-3 (40.3 overs): Singh 87*, Wijeratne 56, Johnstone 43 |
Canada won by seven wickets |
Scotland suffered a disappointing seven-wicket defeat to Canada in their opening match of the new World Cup 2 campaign.
In competitive play for the first time since June, the defending champions reached 215-8, with opening scorer George Muncy hitting a 68.
Canada, which started with a win over the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, had little trouble making it up, reaching 220-3 in 41st place as Pargat Singh finished with 87 points and Srimantha Wijeratne with 56 points.
Aaron Johnson set the tone for Canada with his quick-fire 43, including five sixes, while Harsh Thakur scored the maximum off the last ball of the match.
Johnson's opening partner Wijeyeratne lasted until the 33rd over, taking the day away for Scotland alongside Singh, who faced 99 balls en route to his big score.
Muncy went on to hit 101 balls but his top-order teammates could not hold on, with Scotland managing to make 114-4 once he was dismissed.
Matthew Cross (30) and Michael Lesk (40) got the scoreboard moving, but fell to the bowling of Dillon Heliger, their wickets nullifying the possibility of any late fireworks.
Interim coach Stevie Gilmour said: “Obviously it's not the start we wanted, but as we've just discussed as a group, it's now about how we respond to this defeat before the next game.”
“We haven't quite been able to create enough partnerships with the bat, or apply enough pressure with the ball, so there are a lot of things we need to work on.”
Scotland will play in the next match against the UAE on Sunday.