Seam bowler Brad Wheal says Scotland's belief that they can make a splash at the T20 World Cup has been further strengthened by taking on reigning champions England.
Openers Michael Jones and George Munsey set a marker by sharing unbeaten figures of 90 from 10 overs against a high-quality England attack on Tuesday, with the target rising to a massive 109 in the DLS due to rain.
Scotland's chances of a famous bowling victory never got off the ground as the heavens opened and left the side with one run apiece, but as a statement of intent it was mission accomplished for the united nation.
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Munsey hit a stunning reverse-sweep six against Adil Rashid at Kensington Oval on Tuesday.
“Having Munns and Jonesy go out and put the right foot forward has given the rest of the squad good confidence to carry on for the rest of this tournament and believe that we are good enough to be here,” Wheal said.
“We believe we are good enough to compete and beat the best teams in the world. We feel we are in a good position to win some games. We will get a little glimpse of what we can do against the current world champions. There was.
“It was definitely a defensible target. I mean they would have chased it for 11 or more. It was definitely something our bowling line-up could have defended.”
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In Scotland's game against England, Jones scored six goals and Chris Jordan broke a solar panel.
Scotland are considered favorites to face Namibia.
Scotland won't have to wait long to take out their frustrations when they take on Namibia at the Kensington Oval on Thursday. (First ball at 8pm, live on Sky Sports Cricket)
Namibia won their opening match against Oman after the Super Over and have a 3-0 record against Scotland in the 20-over format in the last five years.
But Wheel insists he is in no mood to play second fiddle as his team hopes to qualify as one of the top two teams in Group B.
He added: “Realistically, our best chance to get to the Super 8 stage and compete against some of the bigger teams and turn things around is to watch the next game and the Oman game after that.”
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David Wiese watched Namibia beat Oman in a dramatic Super Over at the T20 World Cup earlier this week.
“One game at a time, but we will have faith in what we did against England.
“I think we definitely see ourselves as favorites because we know this is a game we can do and that we have to win. We go into the game with the belief that we are going to win.
Hampshire and strong Wheal on World Cup participation
Scotland's attack is missing the experienced Josh Davey, who was not released for duty by Somerset, but Wheal had no such issues after a frank discussion with Hampshire about his availability.
“It’s a bit tricky, but I’ve been pretty open and honest about Hampshire and said, ‘Listen, I want to go to the World Cup,’” he explained.
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Eoin Morgan, Nasser Hussain and Urooj Mumtaz join Ian Ward to discuss their dream T20 World Cup XI.
“I wanted to be able to get selected and they were very happy with that. They understand that it's an opportunity to go out and play against the best of the best. It's a learning experience.
“Any chance I get to wear a Scotland shirt is truly an amazing opportunity and something I will cherish forever.
Watch Scotland's T20 World Cup clash with Namibia live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30pm on Thursday (first ball 8pm). All matches of the tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
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