Scotland strengthened their T20 World Cup hopes by beating Namibia in Barbados, with the winning combination of Richie Berrington and Michael Leask helping them to victory.
After a strong batting performance in their first match against England, Scotland went on to win in Barbados, reaching a target of 156 with five wickets and nine balls to spare.
Things looked dicey when Matthew Cross fell lbw at 73 for four, but captain Berrington and Leask rallied courageously and scored 74 off the next 42 balls.
Leask hit four sixes in his 35 and Berrington was left scoreless on 47, finishing with a spectacular strike off David Wiese over long-on, punching the ball into the air in delight.
The result gives Scotland three points and leaves England in a tough spot if they fail to beat Australia on Saturday. Broadcast live at 6pm Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event.
Brad Curry was excellent with the ball, taking figures of 2 for 16 from four tough overs.
Brad Weale got Scotland off to a perfect start, hitting the new ball with some dangerous swing and having JP Kotze caught at midwicket with the third ball.
Curry also struck early and Chris Sohl recovered to score after three of his first four balls went over the ropes as Namibia reached 48-3 on a lively power play.
Scotland continued to press on, with Chris Greaves dismissing Malan Kruger in the eighth over, but Gerhard Erasmus proved a formidable opponent.
He held the innings together, regularly stringing together bounce from the spinners to keep things even, and he reached his half-century in a brilliant display off just 30 balls, smashing a six wide off Leask over long-on.
The Aberdeen native exacted instant revenge with Cross completing the stomp moments later, before the final five overs produced 42 runs and four further wickets before Curry and Weale sealed the win at the death.
Scotland captain Richie Berrington (left) and batting partner Chris Greaves celebrate after their five-wicket win over Namibia.
Scotland’s fightback got an early boost with Reuben Trumpelman’s wide eight – a change of fortunes for the left-hander, who had taken a wicket with his first two balls against Oman – but runs became harder to come by with the bat and the total slowly dwindled to 25 for 1 after five overs.
Michael Jones, who was superb in the heavy defeat to England, finally found his rhythm in the sixth innings, hitting two fours and a six, but the introduction of Erasmus changed the course of the game again. Jones (26) was caught behind and Brandon McMullen (19) was stumped with some careless footwork.
By the time Berrington and Leask got going, the required rate had risen to nearly 10 per over.
Two big overs effectively decided the match – 13 from Tangeni Lungameni and 19 from the veteran Wiese’s 17th – plus two big blows from Leask.
Leask drove Trumpelman over a big screen and over 100 metres to hole out, but Berrington forced Wiese back to the ground for a crucial six points to secure the win.
What’s next?
They have earned three points in Group B so far. Scotland is second to Oman at the bottom Sunday at 6pm in Antigua’s North Sound.
Namibia to face Australia in the tournament’s third game at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
You can watch every match of the Men’s ICC T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports right up to the final on Sunday 29 June.