Calum MacLeod believes Scotland have delivered a massive statement through their historic first victory over England and one that could prove the ideal catalyst for cricket north of the border.
It was the 29-year-old’s stunning unbeaten 140 from 94 balls that powered the Saltires to their six-run win and, speaking after the dramatic finish – one that left English faces as red as their change strip – he credited their coach, Grant Bradburn, and captain, Kyle Coetzer.
“This win has been coming for a couple of years since Grant and Kyle took over and pushed the aggressive cricket you saw,” MacLeod said. “To take the step up to beat a full England side, No1 ranked in the world, is a massive statement from Scottish cricket.
“It does not take away what happened in the World Cup qualifiers [when Scotland missed out on next year’s tournament] and everyone’s feelings about the 10-team tournament. But this was a special day. It is up to us now to build on it.”
MacLeod’s own story is impressive, having started out life as a seam bowler at Warwickshire only for his action to be deemed illegal. The Glaswegian has since converted himself into a batsman and, while he is currently a player-coach for Bexley in Kent, following a disappointing time at Durham, another county chance may well follow.
He said: “Anyone who watched that game on Sky will see 11 cricketers in the shop window and all are capable of winning games for counties. But I do not want to get too far ahead and should enjoy spending time celebrating this win.
“We want more games. That is the bigger shop window rather than the personal side. If the ICC and other international teams look at this game, they will see we are not an add-on. This should be a catalyst for more games. Anyone here or watching could see the energy from the crowd and what passion there is for cricket up here.”
Eoin Morgan admitted his England team would not have deserved the win even if they had knocked off the final seven runs in their pursuit of 372. Australia, over five matches, come next and the captain is demanding a rapid improvement.
“We didn’t play anywhere near to our best,” said Morgan. “We were miles off where we expect to be and didn’t do enough to win. We might have scraped past them and won, but there were still quite a few mistakes made that we need to rectify and learn from ahead of the Australia series.
“It is huge for Scotland, too. I’m not hugely disappointed about it because it was a good competitive game and that is all we could have asked for.”