Scotland vs England, ODI: Hosts Look to Unsettle Depleted England in Edinburgh

So, England will begin their limited-overs leg of the summer at the beautiful and picturesque Edinburgh ground owing to a One-off One-day International against Scotland.

Earlier, it turned out to be an unsatisfactory result in the Test series against Pakistan, for England. After losing the opening Test in Lord’s, the Three Lions made a strong comeback in the next Test to level the series one each.

Their preparations for the 2019 World Cup for England will eventually kick off on June 10. The next 12 months will be very crucial as they hope to win their first-ever ICC World Cup scheduled at their backyard.

At the other end, Scotland has failed agonisingly close of qualifying for the ICC World Cup after losing narrowly against Windies. They lost by five runs under Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method.

Therefore, the loss was more agonizing as there was a shambolic LBW decision. If the ICC hadn’t decided to scrap the World Cup to 10 teams.

Interestingly, it would have given the opportunity to the likes of Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland to take part in the coveted event.

As of now, Scotland has to be satisfied with playing odd matches here and there against Full Member countries. This will be the first match for England in Scotland since 2014. Back then, the English team had comfortably beaten them.

Moreover, Scotland has put up some impressive performances in the recent past. They have beaten countries like Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. They also came close to beating Windies and Ireland.

England, on the other hand, has a totally different setup. They are the No. 1 ranked side in the ODI format with points ahead of second-ranked India.

Among the last 10 bilateral sides, England went on to win nine series in a spectacular fashion. They defeated Australia quite comfortably and then New Zealand in a close series.

England is the overwhelming favourites. However, if England shows the rustiness, Scotland might take advantage.

Scotland has hopes of staging an upset due to the absence of two big players in the form of Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Butler has also been rested. Hence, England will be fielding a depleted side. Scotland has never won against England in the four encounters they have played earlier. In front of their home crowd, they will be looking for an unlikely victory.

Meanwhile, there are chances of the shower in Edinburgh. The pitch here has assisted the spinners of late, but have been also a batting friendly surface in between. If England plays to their potential, they will in all likelihood thrash their oppositions. However, in cricket, you can never predict and anything can happen.

Team News:

Scotland- The inclusion of experienced batsman Preston Mommsen will bring stability to the batting order. He retired a couple of years ago but his inclusion will surely modify the playing XI.

They also have the likes of Kyle Coetzer, Richie Berrington, Matt Cross.  Some good bowlers which will be led by county player Brad Wheal.

England: The visitors will be without the services of Woakes and Stokes, two premier all-rounders of the team. Buttler won’t be part of the team either.

Sam Billings in all likelihood will take up the wicket-keeping role. The bowling department I expect is set to feature the likes of Mark Wood, David Willey, and Liam Plunkett. Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali will be the expected spinners.

Squads:

Scotland: Kyle Coetzer (C), Richie Berrington (VC), Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, Preston Mommsen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal, and Stuart Whittingham.

England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood.