England coach Matthew Mott blamed nerves for his side's "sloppy" start against Scotland, but believes they had "all things in their favour" in the chase had the game not been abandoned.
Their World Cup opener was rained off after only one innings, which was split in two due to the bad weather, though Scotland's Michael Jones and George Munsey scored an impressive 90-0 in their 10 overs.
England were then set a target of 109 in 10 overs, but another rainstorm denied them a chance to begin the chase before the match was called off.
Prior to the first rain break, Mark Wood had George Munsey caught on 16, but the opener was reprieved when Wood was shown to have bowled a front-foot no-ball, while misfields allowed extra runs.
Despite what Mott labelled as "sloppy" play while bowling, he was confident his side would have been able to mount a successful chase.
"It was probably just a bit of nerves at the start of a tournament," Mott told the BBC.
"There's definitely areas we want to improve on, but there was a lot of good stuff in there as well.
"That was certainly an achievable chase. We probably would have had all the things in our favour in terms of only 10 overs, 10 wickets in hand and a wet ball [for Scotland's bowlers].
"It was frustrating not to get back out there, but that's the way it is."
Next up for England in Group B is Australia on Saturday at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.
"I definitely think Australia is a big game but it's our next game and that's why it's a big game, and then depending on how we go there we reset and go again," Mott added.
"I'm sure, if the weather allows us, I think it'll be a fantastic contest."
Emerging Ireland in control at stumps on day three of second four-day game against West Indies Academy
Emerging Ireland are firmly in the driver’s seat at stumps on day three of their second four-day encounter against the West Indies Academy at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Thursday.
At stumps on day three, the West Indies Academy were 148-3 off 28 overs, trailing their Irish counterparts by 93 runs in their second innings.
Ackeem Auguste ended the day 70* off 91 balls including 11 fours while opening partner Kadeem Alleyne contributed a run-a-ball 38 including five fours and a six.
Earlier, the hosts were dismissed for 441 in 112.5 overs after starting the day 397-7 off 103 overs.
Fionn Hand, who started day three on 61* ended up being dismissed for 79.
The bulk of the Irish run scoring came from captain Andrew Balbirnie who hit 88 off 134 balls on Wednesday. He was well supported by Andy McBrine who hit 64 and James McCollum who hit 40.
Kelvin Pittman, Nyeem Young, Joshua Bishop and captain Teddy Bishop all took two wickets, each.
The Academy were dismissed for 200 in their first innings after winning the toss and batting first on Tuesday.
Teddy Bishop was the main scorer in that batting effort with 69 while Nyeem Young (29), Jewel Andrew (27) and Ackeem Auguste (26) all got starts.
Full Scores:
West Indies Academy 200 off 56 overs (Teddy Bishop 69, Nyeem Young 29, Jewel Andrew 27, Ackeem Auguste 26, Matthew Humphreys 5-57, Curtis Campher 3-12) & 148-3 off 28 overs (Ackeem Auguste 70*, Kadeem Alleyne 38)
Emerging Ireland 441 all out off 112.5 overs (Andrew Balbirnie 88, Fionn Hand 79, Andy McBrine 64, James McCollum 40, Paul Stirling 32, Teddy Bishop 2-35, Nyeem Young 2-55, Kelvin Pittman 2-65, Joshua Bishop 2-72)
Jeremiah Louis replaces injured Kemar Roach for England Tests
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced an updated 15-member squad for the three-Test Richards Botham series in England, starting on 10 July 2024 at Lord's.
The squad features one significant change: Kemar Roach has been replaced by St. Kitts & Nevis’ fast bowler, Jeremiah Louis due to Roach's ongoing rehabilitation from a knee injury sustained during the County Championship in England.
Lead Selector the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes remarked, “Kemar’s skill and experience in English conditions will be missed. However, this opportunity has been long in the making for Jeremiah Louis, he certainly has the skill and experience to make an impact in England.”
The Richards Botham series, named after West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards and England great Lord Ian Botham, is a historic rivalry dating back to 1928 when the West Indies first toured England.
West Indies Test Squad:
19-year-old fast bowler Isai Thorne will join the squad as a development player.
Team Management Unit:
Head Coach: Andre Coley, Team Manager: Rawl Lewis, Assistant Coaches: Jimmy Adams, Rayon Griffith, Shaun Tait, Physiotherapist: Dr. Denis Byam, Strength & Conditioning Coach: Ronald Rogers, Team Masseuse: Fitzbert Alleyne, Team Analyst: Avenesh Seetram.
The squad have been in a training camp at Tonbridge School and will play a 3-day warm-up match against the England Lions at Beckenham starting on 4 July.
Fixtures for England series:
Wednesday 3 July 2024 3-Day Warm-Up Match Beckenham
Wednesday 10 July 2024 1st Test Match Lord’s
Thursday 18 July 2024 2nd Test Match Trent Bridge
Friday 26 July 2024 3rd Test Match Edgbaston
Markram hails 'incredible' South Africa bowlers in Afghanistan win
Aiden Markram praised South Africa's bowlers following their nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan to book their place in the T20 World Cup final.
The Proteas were forced to bowl first, having lost the toss, but reduced their opponents to 28-6 in 6.3 overs as Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada starred.
Afghanistan were bowled out for 56 after just 11.5 overs, and despite the early loss of Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks and Markram steered South Africa into their maiden men's world cup final.
"(We were) fortunate to have lost the toss, I guess. We also would have batted, so we got a bit of luck with regards to that," Markram said at the presentation ceremony. "But the bowlers still had to get it in the right areas.
"They got enough balls in the right areas and made life really tough for the Afghanistan batters. So, credit to them.
"They've been incredible throughout this whole competition for us. They've kept things really simple and sort of assessed conditions and adapted their plans accordingly. And they've been incredible for us so far."
It proved to be third time lucky for South Africa, having lost both of their previous semi-final appearances at the tournament.
"Chuffed to have got it over the line. A lot of our games have been really close," Markram said on his side's narrow wins during this year's tournament.
"And I know there (have been) a lot of people back at home in the early hours of the morning, waking up, and we (have been) giving them a lot of grey hairs.
"So, hopefully, this evening was a little bit more comforting for them."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
