Jack, McColl star for Scotland in an easy win over Netherlands

The women in orange had won the toss and inserted the opposition in. Scotland openers Lorna Jack and Sarah Bryce got them off to a flier. The fourth over of the match, where 21 runs were scored off Silver Siegers, would have surely made Netherlands’ Juliet Post question herself for opting to bowl. Four successive boundaries were scored by Bryce in that over while Jack hit one off the final ball.
The duo looked prime to bat Netherlands out of the game when seamer Annemijn van Beuge, the 17-year-old, got the breakthrough – the wicket of the opposition skipper. She would consider herself fortunate as it was a low full toss that Bryce had mistimed straight to mid-on. With seven fours to her name in just 19 balls, Bryce walked away for 41, with the team’s score reading an exact 50.
Even as Becky Glen came to the middle, Jack, who was a quiet onlooker in the opening stand, started to get into the groove, keeping the scoreboard ticking. However, a couple of overs later, a quick throw by Eva Lynch from third man saw the back of Glen for a seven-ball 14.
From thereon, it was Jack, who took strike often and scored more runs. The scoring rate dipped after Glen’s fall – only 19 runs coming in the next three overs. Post that phase, Leonie Bennett, the pick of the Netherlands bowlers, got her only wicket, in the form of Priyanaz Chatterji, who missed her attempted scoop to get castled.
In the next 35 balls, Netherlands tightened the screws by drying the runs, even though they didn’t have wickets to show for it. Scotland could get only 20 runs off them, which then resulted in Ellen Watson’s fall, who stuttered and stumbled to a 20-ball eight.
Having seen off Bennett’s spell that read 4-0-24-1 as well as Iris Zwilling, who had figures of 4-0-17-0 to show, Scotland looked to finish on a high.
Jack changed gears and soon, taking a four off Siegers, which had come after eight long overs. She brought up her maiden T20I fifty off 53 balls and carried her bat through for a 55-ball 54 that featured only four fours. The knock took her to second for most runs scored in the tournament, just being nine shy of Nattakan Chantam’s 143.
Scotland were 99/2 in 10 overs and could only add 49 in the next ten. Momentum with Netherlands?
Katherine Fraser, all of 14 years old, got the early breakthrough for the tourists, as Babette de Leede hit a full toss straight to square leg. That was sign of things to come as the hosts didn’t get the pace of the track and never came close to hunting the 149-run target down.
Netherlands had lost their top three inside the powerplay, with medium-pacer Megan McColl picking two of those wickets. They lost a wicket in almost every over from the eighth of the run-chase.
Opener Sterre Kalis was the only batter to get into double digits for the hosts with 12 off 16 deliveries and extras were next best with 11.
Netherlands were 60/8 after 13.3 overs, when a huge downpour took the players off the field, forcing an early end to their ordeal. As it was, they were a good 62 runs behind as per the DLS method. With figures of 4-0-22-3, McColl was the pick of the bowlers for Scotland.
 
Brief Scores: Scotland 148/4 in 20 overs (Lorna Jack 54*, Sarah Bryce 41; Leonie Bennett 1/24) beat Netherlands 60/8 in 13.3 overs (Megan McColl 3/22) by 62 runs via DLS method.