SCOTLAND batsman Richie Berrington reckons he is in form to take on the best in this week's World T20 qualifying competition after his rapid-fire 61 helped steer his side to a six-wicket win over Namibia in the first of the tournament warm-up games.
The competition proper does not start until Thursday, but there was plenty of optimism around the Scotland camp after this victory cemented the gains of their two wins over Ireland last month. "It was nice to spend a bit of time at the crease and get a few away. All the boys have been hitting the ball pretty well so we are raring to go and looking forward to that first game," Berrington said.
To suggest that Scotland were in trouble when Berrington arrived with the side 37 for 3 would be a bit of an exaggeration but they definitely needed his steadying influence as he rebuilt the momentum, first with Kyle Coetzer and then with Preston Mommsen the captain, before finishing things off with a big boundary.
"We got the job done, got out of the game what we needed to," Berringon added. "Come Thursday I hope we can take a lot of confidence out of it. We have a few attacking players up top and aim to be positive in those first six overs. We have guys who can strike the ball cleanly all the way through. I thought the guys were excellent. The bowlers put them under pressure early and then managed to squeeze them in the middle with the spinners. I'm really pleased with the end result."
The bowling attack had restricted Namibia to 127 for 8, with both Michael Leask and Ali Evans taking wickets in consecutive balls as the visitors struggled to build on a promising start.
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