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England finally got them on the score sheet as they beat their neighbours Scotland comfortably by 119 runs in their third match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Moeen Ali made an all round performance which helped England scripting an easy win in the end.
Batting first England rode on Moeen Ali’s innings of 127 to post a good first innings total of 303/8 in 50 overs. Ian Bell provided just the perfect support to Moeen as he played second fiddle to their 172-run opening partnership. Later on Eoin Morgan played an innings of 46 runs at a brisk pace to ensure that England crossed the 300-run mark for the first time in this tournament. Josh Davey turned out to be Scotland’s best bowler with 4 wickets beside his name but he proved to be a bit too expensive.
Not many teams have lost their matches when they have scored 300 or more batting first in this world cup. And it did not look like that the Scots will be able to get past the stiff target of 304. Kyle Coetzer fought a lone battle with an innings of 71 but Moeen Ali picked him up with before he began to look ominous for the first English win on the tour. Steve Finn picked up 3 wickets in his 9 overs as he turned out to be England’s best bowler on the day.
England won the match but their middle order never looked convincing even against the opponent like Scotland. Taking nothing away from the Scots it can be said that the English middle order struggled to find their feet on a rather flat pitch. Their batting was once again exposed but Moeen Ali saved the day for them. England really need to pull up their performance in order to avoid any sort of upset so early in the tournament.
Tags: England ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
