THEY were written off in some quarters as no-hopers but Scotland always believed they were capable of a famous win and, inspired by a century from Richie Berrington, they proved the point by humbling Bangladesh in Voorburg, Holland, yesterday.
Berrington's boundary-laden 100 allowed the Scots to post an imposing 162-7 before the bowlers and fielders took his lead to dismiss the Tigers for just 128 in 18 overs, Josh Davey and Majid Haq claiming three wickets apiece.
The Scotland captain Gordon Drummond described it as a "brilliant moment" for Scottish cricket. "We have had a long wait to beat a Test country and we have to make sure it is just the start. Our aim now has to be to build on this victory and claim more big scalps.
"We came into this game after a poor performance against Notts but we always knew we were capable of this result."
Turning his attention to Berrington, Drummond said: "Richie's innings was phenomenal – he was hitting some of the best T20 bowlers in the world out of the ground. We then stuck to our task really well and showed great discipline with ball in hand."
If Berrington was the stand-out performer, the bowlers still had their job to do against a dangerous Bangladeshi batting line-up. However, the Tigers were tamed from the moment Ali Evans ran out Mohammed Ashraful.
Davey then had Tamim Iqbal caught by Craig Wallace before Preston Mommsen reduced the Test team to 49-3 thanks to Gordon Goudie's diving catch in the deep.
Bangladesh's best hope of turning things around rested with Shakib-al-Hasan. However, the world's leading all-rounder buckled under the pressure, offering a simple catch to Davey off Goudie.
Davey and Haq maintained the impetus with 3-23 and 3-27 respectively, the former completing a comprehensive win by bowling Abul Hasan with two overs remaining.
Earlier, Berrington was actually outscored as Calum MacLeod gave the Scottish innings its early momentum.The Uddingston man, who also has a T20 century to his name against the lesser lights of Oman, opened out with a well-timed drive to the cover boundary in the first over.
MacLeod then hoisted one over the rope at deep mid-wicket off Abdur Razzak as the tempo increased. He hit one further boundary before being deceived in the flight by Shakib-Al-Hasan to find himself stumped.
Jan Stander, another who has scored three figures in the short format, lasted for just three deliveries on this occasion before attempting an over-ambitious single.
Kyle Coezter helped Berrington add 38 for the third wicket but the Northants batsman was never in prime touch, taking 23 balls for his 14 before holing out.
However, at 85-3 in the 12th over, Scotland at least had a platform from which to build a challenging total and Berrington took full advantage. He moved to his 50 with a 6 off Razzak and stepped through the gears, driving, cutting and pulling for consecutive boundaries of Abul Hasan.
Mommsen shrewdly gave his partner the strike at every opportunity as the Berrington did not disappoint. Although there was a scare when a lofted shot off Mahmudullah almost brought his demise in the eighties, but the fielder at long on could only help it over the boundary for 6.
Berrington's fourth clearance, a huge blow over long-on, brought up his century. The landmark came from just 55 balls and included 10 boundaries and 4 sixes.
Fatigue probably contributed to his downfall without addition and the loss of Mommsen and Berrington in quick succession saw the Scots lose momentum and add just 13 runs in the final two overs.
Berrington said: "I can't really put into words how I feel but we're all just delighted to get this result.
"It's special for me to get a century but I had great support and with this group of guys it is really all about the team.
"We were pretty confident at the halfway stage but the guys still had to do the job and the bowlers and fielders put in a fantastic shift."
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