New Zealand have recorded a three-wicket victory over Scotland to maintain their 100% record at the Cricket World Cup.
After being reduced to 12-4, Scotland's Matt Machan and Richie Berrington put on 97 runs for the fifth wicket, but after they were dismissed in quick succession, the minnows were bowled out for 142 with just under 14 overs remaining.
The run chase was a formality for New Zealand, but after losing seven wickets at regular intervals, captain Brendon McCullum will be aware that his team need an improvement in their next fixture against England.
Read below to see how the action unfolded in Dunedin.
Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the group-stage fixture between New Zealand and Scotland at the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
After Ireland chased down over 300 to defeat West Indies, anything is possible in this Cricket World Cup, right? Well, not quite, but it certainly shows the minnows can be full value in a competition that they may not be involved in next time around. That's a story for another day but tonight, let's see if Scotland can follow the Emerald isle in causing a huge shock in this tournament.
TOSS! The toss has already taken place in Dundein and it's good news for New Zealand fans. Skipper Brendon McCullum has called correctly and the Black Caps will bowl first. Scotland captain Preston Mommsen insists that his team were going to bat anyway.
After winning the toss, McCullum spoke about trying to exploit the early movement in the pitch while his opposite number believes that it looks like a track when a significant score is possible. Either way, both men sound confident with 20 minutes remaining until the start of the match.
It had been thought that New Zealand could rest players heading into this contest, but McCullum has gone with the same XI that comfortably defeated Sri Lanka on the opening day of the tournament.
NEW ZEALAND XI: Guptill, McCullum, Williamson, Taylor, Elliott, Anderson, Ronchi, Vettori, Milne, Southee, Boult
As for Scotland, they go with the team that thrashed Ireland by 179 runs in their opening warmup match. After that result, you can see why Mommsen is feeling so confident!
SCOTLAND XI: Coetzer, MacLeod, Gardiner, Machan, Mommsen, Berrington, Cross, Davey, Taylor, Haq, Wardlaw
It's great news on the weather front. The sun is out in full force in Dunedin, and it's forecast to stay out throughout the day.
Teams scoring over 300 runs has been a regular feature during the early stages of this competition, and realistically, you feel as though Scotland have to do the same to have any chance in this game. Getting through the opening 10 overs with minimal dismissals will also be key though, and some kind of balance will need to be found. Easier said than done, though...
It should be noted that there is a full house at Dunedin. It's not the biggest of stadiums but it's a picturesque venue that looks quite a sight when there's not a seat to be had.
Both national teams have taken place and impeccably observed. It's time for New Zealand to take to the field and for the two Scotland openers to make their way out into the middle.
It will be Tim Southee to bowl to Kyle Coetzer first. Here we go!
The ball is nibbling about a bit but nothing too extreme. Coetzer fails to get anything on the opening two deliveries before seeing his first aggressive shot find the fielder. The second half of the over also brings no runs and Southee starts off with a maiden.
WICKET! MacLeod (0) LBW b Boult
WICKET! Gardiner (0) LBW b Boult
What a start from Trent Boult! He starts with a wide, but with his next two balls, he has trapped Callum MacLeod and Hamish Gardiner in front of the stumps. Both are plumb. He's on a hat-trick...
The hat-trick ball isn't threatening the stumps and new batsmen Matt Machan is able to leave. The ball is beginning to swing all over the pace and tie the batsmen up. Machan survives but this looks like it is going to be a long struggle for the minnows.
Scotland finally have a run off the bat when Coetzer directs the ball down to third man off the second ball of the over. Southee then fires the ball down the leg-side, giving Machan the chance to flick the ball to the fine-leg boundary. Machan's gets lucky on the next delivery though, edging the ball just past the slip cordon for one. Better over for Scotland.
I can't stress enough how well Boult has started this game. Again, he's almost unplayable with the first two balls, but he goes slightly wide with the third delivery and Machan plays a lovely shot through the off side for four. Boult concedes his second wide with the penultimate ball.
WICKET! Coetzer (1) c Elliott b Southee
WICKET! Mommsen (0) LBW b Southee
Scotland's worst nightmare is coming true. Southee can't complete his hat-trick but he'll be more than happy with two wickets. The first saw Coetzer picks out Grant Elliott at silly mid-on, before the skipper Mommsen was trapped LBW. The decision was reviewed but replays showed that the pad was clipped before the bat. Southee goes close to clipping the edge with a couple of deliveries but new batsman Richie Berrington survives.
Machan completely mis-hits an attempt pull but it falls safely and he is able to scamper home for a single. Boult sends down a couple of full deliveries that are well defended by Berrington before he ends the over with a single.
After Berrington takes a comfortable single, a short delivery from Southee is given the treatment by Machan, who is playing well here. No runs come from the second half of the over but Scotland won't mind at this stage.
How has Boult missed the stumps with the fourth ball of the over? I have no idea. An inswinging delivery ties Berrington all ends up and misses the leg stump by a whisker. Berrington is able to run through for a bye after a fumble from Luke Ronchi. Machan flicks the ball into the leg side for a single off the final ball.
It's a largely watchful over from Berrington but he almost edged behind midway through the over. Southee records his third maiden of the innings.
Boult comes mightily close to picking up his third wicket but after finding the edge of Machan's bat, the ball falls inches short of Southee at second slip. The batsmen is unlucky to find the fielder with an attempted drive through the covers, but although it's another maiden, it's another over without a wicket.
Brendon McCullum makes the first change to his attack, with Adam Milne coming in for Southee. The paceman immediately causes all kind of problems for Berrington and he's fortunate to survive two full deliveries that hit the pad and inside edge. Milne sends a wide one down that is taken full advantage of by Berrington, who ups his score to six off 23 balls, before he nicks another single off the last delivery.
Berrington swipes at a wide one from Boult and it manages to fly down to third man. His teammate Machan looks a lot more composed, and he plays a beautiful half-volley down the ground to move to 20 before he repeats the shot with an even better drive past the bowler's hand.
The new ball has lost much of its juice now so despite their dominance, New Zealand will be looking to strike again sooner rather than later. Berrington reaches double figures with an easy shot off his pads and this partnership is up to 28 off 8.4 overs. Respectable given the early onslaught from the Black Caps.
It's time for a bit of spin from Daniel Vettori and he gifts Machan a single with his first ball, which is short and down the leg-side. The second, which is fuller, is driven down the ground by Berrington for another single, and although he tightens it up, Machamn moves to 26 to make it three from the over.
Milne offers plenty of width to Machan but he finds the backward point fielder. Midway through the over, Machan dangles his bat out at a wide one and he's lucky to avoid the edge. After Machan takes a single, Berrington crushes a half-volley through the off side for three. It's drinks.
Vettori returns after the brief interval to register a maiden. Berrington misses out with a couple of shorter deliveries, but at the same time, he could have edged to Ronchi.
Machan moves to 28 with the quickest of singles before another run is added to the total after a wide. The fifty is brought up when Berrington manoeuvres the ball into the off-side for a couple and Scotland can be pleased with that effort. They could have been completely blown away after losing four quick wickets. Berrington takes a single off the final ball with a prod to mid-on.
Vettori's not getting much assistance off the pitch at the moment and it's more about whether the Scottish duo can play the correct shot. They add another three to the total with minimal fuss.
Southee is on for Milne, but Berrington and Machan welcome him back with a single apiece. A miscue from Berrington off the final ball of the over still earns him another run and he's up to 20 off 54 balls. Machan has 31 off 47.
A couple more from the Scotland batsmen take them to 60 off the opening 20 overs. They are just two off the fifty partnership.
FIFTY PARTNERSHIP! They need just one more ball to bring it up after a stunning drive from Machan, who looks an excellent technician with the bat. After getting back on strike, it's Berrington's turn to get in on the act with a wonderful shot through the covers. He gets a little too ambitious with the next delivery, with the ball just missing the outside edge, but he survives and Scotland are looking much better here.
More of the same from Vettori, who is relatively economical but not threatening a wicket. Just two singles from the over.
Southee takes the full approach with his opening two balls, but Machan is onto the shorter third delivery and pulls the ball for six! The Sussex man is up to 44 off 61. Make that 45 off 62 with a similar shot in front of square before Berrington cuts the ball to the fine-leg boundary for four more. This is turning into a bit more of a game!
Machan adds a couple of singles to take himself to 47. He's closing in on what would be a highly impressive half-century.
It's time for a bit of medium pace from Grant Elliott, who only goes for 26.5 per wicket. Not bad for the speed at which he bowls at! Three singles come from the over and Machan is up to 49. Berrington is on 33.
FIFTY! Machan has his fifty with a comfortable shot into the off-side. It's taken him 71 balls but it's an important knock for his side. Berrington smashes Vettori for six off the next ball and the minnows are warming to the task. Vettori continues to probe away but he can't break through. Eight from the over.
Scotland ease into three figures with four singles before Berrington sends the ball to the boundary off his pads. The bag pipes can be heard in the stands. There isn't much coming from the New Zealand faithful though.
WICKET! Machan (56) c McCullum b Anderson
New Zealand move onto their sixth bowler as Corey Anderson enters the action. He starts off well with a couple of accurate deliveries that almost tempt Machan but the left-handed batsman responds by advancing down the track to smash the ball down the ground for four. Top shot. However, two balls later, he's dismissed after miscalculating a pull and McCullum takes a decent catch at mid-on.
That wicket came as Machan and Berrington had put on a 97-run stand. Matthew Cross is the new batsman.
Unsurprisingly, McCullum brings some pace back into the attack in the form of Adam Milne. He allows Cross the chance to get off the mark by straying down the leg-side but it's a good shot four runs. Berrington will start the next over two off his fifty.
WICKET! Berrington (50) c Milne b Anderson
Berrington plays a neat shot through the covers for his half-century, but a ball later, an attempted hook to fine leg can only find Milne. It's a disappointing end to a much-needed knock. Both the in-form batsman have fallen to poor shots though.
Josh Davey is the eighth batsman and he's off the mark with a flick to the leg-side. Cross has made his way to eight. Scotland need these two men to remain at the crease until the 40-over mark or they will be in survival mode for the remainder of the innings.
Maiden over from Anderson, who has really altered the course of this game. Scotland had 230 plus in their sights with Machan and Berrington at the crease, but now they would be delighted with 200.
Cross has struggled with the bat during his first 11 matches for his country but he look a fine player, and he shows that with a delightful shot between cover and point. Seven come from the over.
WICKET! Cross (14) c Ronchi b Anderson
Maybe I spoke too soon. After a quick drinks break, Anderson strikes with his second ball after Cross edges behind to Ronchi. New batsman Rob Taylor is straight off the mark but Anderson now has figures of 3-12 off four overs. Game changer.
WICKET! Taylor (4) st Ronchi b Vettori
Vettori hasn't done much with the ball but he shows his class to out-fox Taylor, who is emphatically stumped by Luke Ronchi. Scotland's innings is beginning to peter out.
We are into the batting powerplay. Will Scotland gamble or try to see the 50 overs out? Josh Davey will probably have to do the majority of the work if they are and he goes onto the attack to add a boundary and a comfortable two to move into double figures.
WICKET! Haq (0) c Taylor b Vettori
The end is near for Scotland, who have capitulated in Dunedin. Majid Haq falls for a second-ball duck after edging to slip.
WICKET! Wardlaw (0) lbw b Vettori
The next ball sees Vettori trap Wardlaw in front of his stumps. The umpire initially gives it not out but it was plumb and Iain Wardlaw is forced to walk.
There will now be a 10-minute interval before New Zealand return to bat until the scheduled lunch break, which will be at 1.30am, GMT.
There were four golden ducks during that innings. New record?
Right on schedule, the two teams have returned for the final 35 or so minutes before the lunch break.
Iain Wardlaw starts relatively well for Scotland but his fourth ball is struck straight down the ground for Martin Guptill for the boundary. I doubt that New Zealand want to hang about. Net run-rate could be a factor later in the group.
Rob Taylor is exceptionally wide with his first ball but Brendon McCullum only toe-ends the ball and is almost caught. Guptill drives the next delivery back past the bowler for his second four.
WICKET! Guptill (17) c Cross b Wardlaw
One way or another, Guptill isn't in the mood to hang about. After a pull shot and cover drive bring successive boundaries, he falls to Wardlaw after edging through to Matthew Cross. Wardlaw enjoyed that. Kane Williamson is the new batsman.
McCullum plays a cleanly-struck voer drive for four but he's fortunate to miss the fielder. He's finds the fielder with his next shot, but Hamish Gardiner drops him! He had to slide but he should be taking those. Williamson ends the over with a neat drive through the off-side to take his team to 11 runs from the over.
Wardlaw finds some swing but McCullum meets him down the track to crush a drive through the covers. The New Zealand skipper moves to double figures with a powerful blow through mid-wicket and the Black Caps are rattling along at just over seven per over.
Decent over from Taylor, who concedes just a wide and a single. This lunch break is going to end up pretty pointless though.
WICKET! McCullum (15) c Cross b Wardlaw
Ok, maybe that lunch break is a little less pointless now. After Williamson cracks a couple of boundaries, McCullum falls to the final ball of the over with a poor shot through to the wicket-keeper. He will be annoyed with himself.
Ross Taylor needs just two balls to show he is in decent knick with a beautiful drive through the covers. He's goes for too much on the next ball though and is lucky not to tickle the ball through to Cross.
Going back to that golden duck record that I mentioned earlier, apparently, it has only been done twice in the history of ODIs. It's not the kind of record you want to be equaling...
Josh Davey is on for what should be the final over before lunch. He starts well, conceding just three runs from his first five balls, but the over is ruined with a hooked four from Williamson.
That will be it for 35 minutes or so. When we return, New Zealand will require 80 runs from their remaining 41 overs, which they should do with no problem at all. Williamson is on 22 and Taylor on 6. See you around 2.05am, GMT.
The Scotland squad must have been made an extra sandwich because we are still awaiting the return of the players. They shouldn't be too long, though, and neither should the remainder of this match.
Oh, here they are! Everyone is getting ready for the resumption of play. The amount of overs remaining is irrelevant. New Zealand need just 80 runs with eight wickets in hand. Scotland may as well go all-out attack here.
Wardlaw starts off well but off the penultimate delivery, Taylor sends the ball to deep mid-wicket for three.
WICKET! Taylor (9) c Taylor b Haq
Game on? Not quite, but Scotland have picked up their third wicket. Majid Haq doesn't off much spin or bounce but it doesn't matter after Ross Taylor lofts the ball into the grateful hands of Rob Taylor on the boundary rope. Grant Elliott has arrived at the crease.
For a pitch that is supposed to be a decent batting track, we've seen 212 runs for 13 wickets. Much of that can be put down to poor shot selection but it's not been a great return from the batsmen. Just two off that over.
Haq thinks he has nicked the glove of Elliott and asks to review the decision. However, the wicket is denied after replays show it clipped the forearm. Worth an appeal though. A good over from the spin bowler is ended with a short delivery that is emphatically sent to the boundary by Williamson, who moves to 28 off 30 balls.
Josh Davey is back into the attack but he offers Elliott far too much width and the batsman takes advantage with two boundaries in three balls. The all-rounder adds a single to make it nine from the over.
Like his last over, Haq bowls superbly for the first five balls before offering Williamson the chance to sweep for four runs. Great shot.
After Elliott finds another boundary off the bowling of Davey, he is beaten all ends up with a straight ball that deviates inside, just missing the off stump. Six come from the over and New Zealand are closing in on three figures.
Three singles in four balls bring the hundred up for the Black Caps. It's come in exactly 100 balls. A short ball from Haq is then crashed away by Elliott to take his side to within 39 runs of their target.
WICKET! Williamson (38) c Cross b Davey
Davey has been slightly expensive, but he has offered a threat and he finally gets his reward when catching the inside edge of Williamson's bat. It shouldn't change the result of the match but Scotland deserve credit for their perseverance.
Wardlaw has been brought back into the attack to see if he can add to his two wickets and he's unlucky not to bowl Elliott, who hits the ball into his pads via an inside edge. Just two from the over but Scotland need more wickets.
Corey Anderson settles for just the one in this over as we complete 20 overs. 33 more required off 180 balls. That's a demoralising stat if you are a Scotland fan but I don't think that New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum will be that impressed with this display.
WICKET! Elliott (29) c Cross b Wardlaw
In fact, McCullum could be reading his team the riot act. Wardlaw goes for seven runs in the opening five balls but he gets his third wicket after Elliott edges through to the wicket-keeper.
What a chance! Moments after removing Elliott, Wardlaw has put down what should have been a comfortable take at the fine-leg boundary. Anderson should be back in the hut and Scotland should have a real sniff at causing the most unlikely upsets. Luke Ronchi ends the over with two runs after a lofted shot to deep mid-wicket.
Wardlaw comes back with a decent-enough over but he is hit to the boundary off the final ball. That's happened far too frequently in this innings. New Zealand are 14 away now.
WICKET! Anderson (11) c Wardlaw b Davey
Wardlaw goes some way to redeeming himself with a good take from a miscued Anderson shot that went miles in the air. Davey has his second wicket.
WICKET! Ronchi (12) c Gardiner b Davey
After hitting four off the previous ball, Ronchi attempts to end the match in style but he finds Hamish Gardiner on the rope! This is untidy from one of the pre-tournament favourites. They still require five.
Adam Milne and Daniel Vettori are at the crease now. They need to get this done. Vettori pulls Wardlaw's first ball for two before flicking the next delivery off his pads for a single. They now need just two, which becomes one when Milne guides the ball down to third man. Can Vettori get New Zealand over the line? He can, just about, after edging the ball over the slip cordon.
NEW ZEALAND BEAT SCOTLAND BY THREE WICKETS!
Finally, New Zealand record the win over Scotland but they made it a lot tougher than it should have been. Sure, they required less than half of their allotted overs but losing seven wickets in under 25 overs to Scotland isn't World Cup winning form.
As for Scotland, they can be proud of their efforts. They could have been blown away for less than three figures after falling to 12-4 but they fought back valiantly. They will still fancy their chances of causing a shock in this tournament.
That will be all from Sports Mole for this game. Thanks for joining us and we hope that you return for our next offering of our World Cup commentaries later in the week. Goodbye for now.
Written by
Darren Plant
Darren Plant
