A superb maiden international century from Calum MacLeod helped Scotland ease to victory against Oman in their latest World Twenty20 qualifying match yesterday.
The former Warwickshire player produced his third man-of-the-match performance in four games, carrying his bat through the innings for an unbeaten 104 at the Sharjah Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
His knock helped Scotland post 158 for five before a professional display in the field resulted in Oman being dismissed for just 106.
MacLeod said: "It's been a long time coming so I'm relieved as well as thrilled. T20 seems to suit my skills set and I'm just happy to play my part for the team. But it's not all about me. We are in this together and everyone is contributing to what we hope will be a successful campaign.
"The ultimate aim is to get to the World Cup in Sri Lanka and I'd happily swap my runs for that. We won't rest on our laurels because the games come thick and fast in this tournament."
MacLeod made his intentions clear in the third over when successive deliveries from Farhan Khan were dismissed for four and six. Similar punishment was meted out to Awal Khan and when Scotland reached 52-0 in the sixth over, MacLeod had scored 36 of the runs.
His opening partner, Richie Berrington, got in on the act with his own flurry of boundaries and had contributed 30 to a stand of 104 when he was bowled by Zeeshan Siddiqui.
A succession of middle-order batsmen came and went in quick succession the Scots struggled to make an impact in the closing overs, but MacLeod continued his merciless assault on the Oman bowlers, reaching three figures with his fourth six, over long on, with three balls of the innings remaining.
"I knew as soon as I hit it that it was going over the boundary and started my celebrations before the ball landed," the 23-year-old said. "It was a special feeling."
Several bowlers, notably Safy Sharif, Preston Mommsen and the excellent Majid Haq then emphasised MacLeod's point that it is a team game as Oman's batsmen struggled to make a game of it.
Sharif's pace was too much for openers Zeeshan Siddiqui and Adnan Ilyas before Mommsen (2-23) and Haq (3-12) spun their way through the middle and lower order to seal a convincing 52-run win.
The result leaves Scotland joint second in a highly competitive Group B. They have a rest day today before tomorrow's potentially key encounter with Ireland.
Pete Steindl, the coach, said: "Calum has worked really hard on his batting and fully deserved his first century today. Hopefully it will be the first of many. It was a good performance all-round today and an important win to keep us in touch towards the top of our group."
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