This has been a tough World Cup for Scotland. This is their third appearance at this tournament and they are still seeking their first win. They came close against Afghanistan earlier but fell short by a whisker. Then yesterday they played Bangladesh and batting first, scored 318/8 with a fine 156 by opener Kyle Coetzer. They had to have been confident of their chances at the break but Bangladesh targeted this score in a clinical fashion and reached it quite comfortably with 6 wickets and 11 balls to spare, even though they had never successfully chased such a high score before.

The pattern of this game was quite similar to the one in which Sri Lanka beat England. This is the third time in this tournament where the second team successfully chased a score of over 300 it and this total that once seemed a winning one now seems to be merely defensible. We may see teams that bat first now aiming for a score of 350 to provide greater insurance. It used to be that 250 was considered a fairly good score but no more. I am not sure why scores are so much higher in this tournament. Maybe the boundaries are shorter or the pitches flatter and not giving the bowlers much help.

While this loss must be a crushing blow to Scotland, eliminating them from contention from making the quarterfinals from group A, it provides a boost for Bangladesh and keeps their hopes alive. If they can win at least one of their remaining two games against Sri Lanka and Australia, they will make it. England is their rival for the fourth and final spot in group A and they have to beat both Bangladesh and Afghanistan to qualify. So it looks like the England-Bangladesh game on March 9th is going to be crucial for both teams.

In group B, Ireland still has a shot at making it to the next round. They are competing with West Indies and Pakistan for the 3rd and 4th places to join India and South Africa. Ireland still has to play Zimbabwe, India, and Pakistan. Two wins will ensure that they are in. One win will likely make the final ordering be determined by the net run rate.