59 days to World Cup: Scotland bowlers go the extra mile to help Pakistan

Giving away freebies in the form of wides and no-balls can be very frustrating for the fielding team. All the pressure exerted on the batsmen through regular wickets and dot-balls is lost when extras are given away. The worst such instance in ODI history occurred during the match between Scotland and Pakistan at Chester-le-Street during the 1999 World Cup.

A confident Scotland invited Pakistan to bat first and put the pressure on Wasim Akram's side by reducing them to 92/5 with the likes of Inzamam-ul Haq, Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi back in the dressing room. But they surrendered the advantage by aiding Pakistan with extra runs. 

Scotland gave away 59 extras, including 33 wides, 15 no-balls, 6 leg byes and 5 byes, a record which no team would want to hold. Such rank indiscipline by the Scottish pacers let Pakistan make a comeback in the match. 

Mohammad Yousuf, then known as Yousuf Youhana, put on 103 runs with wicketkeeper Moin Khan to lead Pakistan's recovery. Yousuf was the highest run-scorer with a 119-ball 81. He was followed by extras, while Moin Khan and Wasim Akram scored a valuable 47 and 37 respectively to lead Pakistan to 261/6. 

Among the Scottish bowlers, only Nick Dyer wasn't among the extras. Even James Brinkley who was the most economical (1/29 in 10 overs) bowled six wides. All the three pacers John Blain, Gavin Hamilton and Asim Butt had a bad day contributing 34 extras between them. 

John Blain was the biggest culprit with six wides and six no-balls, while the other two bowled eight wides and three no-balls each.

Chasing the target, Scotland had no answer to Pakistan's pace attack as skipper Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar reduced them to 19/5 before a spirited 76 by Hamilton salvaged some respect for the men from the Highlands. 

Interestingly, Pakistan also gave away 37 extras before bowling Scotland out for 167, taking the number of extras in the match to 96 - another ODI record. Akram and Abdul Razzaq were the worst offenders conceding six extras each.

Pakistan won the match by 94 runs and they looked in control throughout the tournament before losing the finals to Australia.