Scotland need to target Oman spinners says former skipper

Scotland

Former Scotland skipper Preston Mommsen has urged the team to show caution when facing Oman swing bowler Bilal Khan.

Khan has already shown that he can get the better of top batsmen and is really getting a lot out of the new white ball considering the conditions.

Mommsen believes that the powerplay will be key for Scotland with both bat and ball.

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“Against Oman the key will be the powerplay, both with bat and ball,” Mommsen wrote on a column for the ICC.

“Bilal Khan has shown why he is regarded as one of, if not the best fast bowler in Associate cricket and Oman’s strength looks to be the pace bowling, especially under lights.

“Generally, I think you need to be aggressive in the powerplay, but against Oman, it may be a case of keeping wickets in hand and looking to take on the spinners.

“Then with the ball, Oman have dangerous batters at the top of the order with Aqib Ilyas and Jatinder Singh, so taking early wickets will be key. If Scotland can do that, I think it could be quite comfortable, if not it will be another tough evening.

“You need to get ahead of the game in the powerplay in these conditions. In the Middle East, scoring in the middle overs can be difficult, so if you can get ahead of the game early, not only does that set you up nicely, it also means the change bowlers are coming on under more pressure. There’s a balance there, you want to take calculated risks, that is where you would need to see Bangladesh change their approach.”

Scotland riding the wave

Mommsen believes that victory over Bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament has given Scotland a confidence boost.

“It was a monumental night when they beat Bangladesh on Sunday, both in terms of the outcome and the manner. Scotland were going up against a team with so much experience, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan had almost 300 T20I caps between them.

“So it was some performance, particularly after they were reduced to 53 for six. Most people would have written them off at that stage but Mark Watt and Chris Greaves were unflustered and unfazed by the situation, sticking to the game plan to be aggressive.

“Scotland carried the momentum of their batting into the bowling, and there is a lot more depth in the attack now with Brad Wheal and Josh Davey bringing the fight they showed with their respective counties into the World Cup. The spinners then strangled Bangladesh, with Greaves backing up his performance with the bat with the key wickets of Shakib and Mushfiqur.”

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