Scotland beat the United Arab Emirates by 41 runs to win the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln on Saturday in New Zealand. Both teams had already qualified for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Fill-in captain Preston Mommsen hit 139 not out to lead his side to 285 for five from 50 overs after Scotland lost the top three in the batting order with just 37 runs on the board. Richie Berrington chipped in with 63 in a fifth wicket stand of 138 with Mommsen.

Opening bats Amjad Ali and Salman Faris added 49 at about five runs per over for the UAE before Faris was bowled for 16. Ali was then caught at the wicket for 34, both wickets falling to Rob Taylor. Shaiman Anwar, who had success with the bat last summer at King City, fell for just 3. Captain Khurram Khan was out for 34 at the end of the 25th over, leaving the UAE on 106 for four. Swapnil Patil struck 99 not out from 99 balls but the rest of the batting was unable on the day to provide significant support.

Mommsen was named Player of the Game and also Player of the Tournament. He scored 520 runs from eight innings, twice being not out. UAE captain Khurram Khan topped the run scoring for the tournament with 520 runs from eight completed innings. Calum MacLeod’s 175 not out against Canada helped him to 401 runs from eight innings. He made a duck in the Final. Swapnil Patil’s 99 not out carried him to fourth place in the tournament’s run scoring charts with 364 runs, edging out Hong Kong opening bat Irfan Ali’s 363 runs from seven innings, twice being not out.

Khurram Khan’s scores in this tournament ended with 34 after innings of 45, 85, 138, 78, 88, 88 and an initial 21 against Nepal. Preston Mommsen closed with 139 not out, hit 78 against Kenya, 94 versus Papua New Guinea, made 46 against Namibia and struck 118 against Hong Kong. Scotland scored five of the top eleven highest team scores in the competition while UAE made four of the top fifteen scores in the event.

Scotland and the UAE can now look forward to participating in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup while Canada looks to the Under-19 squad who compete in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup that starts in about ten days in the UAE. (EN)