The minnows are back in town at this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia!
We’re just 24 hours into the blockbuster extravaganza Down Under and we’ve already experienced two big upsets.
Former champions Sri Lanka and West Indies have been turned over by Namibia and Scotland respectively in a cracking start to proceedings to the month-long event.
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There is some incredible strength in depth among the Associate Nations and the argument over bigger-field World Cups will once again be propelled into the mainstream media on the back of this sensational start.
Ireland, the Netherlands and Zimbabwe are also competing in the preliminary rounds and they are more than capable of springing a shock themselves.
Namibia pulled off the biggest win in their history as they stunned reigning Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka on the opening day of the tournament in Geelong.
The Eagles shocked reigning Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka by 55 runs to land their only ever win against a Full Member in their 30-year association with the sport, whilst Scotland wrapped up a fine 42-run victory over two-time winners West Indies.
And that means neither 2014 champions Sri Lanka or West Indies, winners in 2012 and 2016, can afford any further slip ups in their quest for qualification from the preliminary round.
Sporadic scalps mean everything to these countries with the chance to showcase their talents on the world stage few and far between.
Jan Frylinck crashed 44 from 28 balls before taking two wickets in Sri Lanka’s run chase to spark jubilant scenes among the African side. And he said: “I’m a little bit speechless at the moment, what we’ve just achieved is above what we thought possible.”
The monumental victory came two days shy of a year on from when they were bundled out for just 96 by the Sri Lankens in their World T20 opener. They recovered from that big defeat to reach last year’s Super 12s where they beat Scotland but lost to bigger hitters Afghanistan, Pakistan and New Zealand.
And after their incredible win, proud coach Gerhard Erasmus said: “There was more hype and childish belief last year. This year was more something of knowing we can relate to that level mentally, physically and skilfully.
“We’ve seen it, we’ve tasted it and we’ve sort of closed that gap by becoming one step closer to them. They gave us the belief this time around.”
Scotland have long competed with the bigger nations in 50-over cricket, but their T20 games have been limited. They famously knocked off England in 2018 after smashing 371 before holding on for a nail-biting six-run win.
The Scottish Saltires have only played two T20s since last year’s World Cup, but they turned up to Hobart full of confidence after seeing Namibia’s huge win.
After starting their campaign in style, captain Richard Berrington said: “It’s a special win for us. A lot of hard work has gone into getting us to this point in the last 12 months. I'm extremely proud of the boys for going out there tonight and showing off our skills.”
And batter Callum MacLeod added: "There wasn't a huge amount of surprise that Namibia won yesterday and we won today - that is where we're at with our cricket.
“We've all been crying out for more opportunities and it would be great to see where some of the associate nations could get to if we were invited into the game sometimes.
"Wins in global events are significant, they have more on them. The win over Bangladesh last year was a special moment but today was probably a better win - we probably played the better cricket from start to finish and deserved to win."
Keep your eyes open for these plucky Associates, this sport is full of surprises!
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