Scotland fire another shot for minnows

Feb 17, 2015 - 5:42 AM Scotland say their fighting loss to New Zealand at the World Cup has struck another positive blow for associate nations.

Captain Preston Mommsen vented his feelings before the match in Dunedin on Tuesday, criticising an International Cricket Council proposal to reduce the number of participating teams from 14 to 10.

He hoped for a strong campaign from his team and other associate nations to send a strong message about their ability.

Ireland's four-wicket upset of the West Indies in Nelson on Monday was the ideal start.

Scotland followed up by posting a modest 142 at University Oval before claiming seven Black Caps wickets as the hosts suffered speed wobbles in their chase.

"We realise the importance of putting in a good showing for associate cricket," Mommsen said.

"Hopefully the performance we put on today gets people talking and shows that associates belong at World Cups."

He is confident they can push England in their next game, in Christchurch on Monday.

Scotland's strength was reputedly their batting but three-wicket bags for seamers Iain Wardlaw and Josh Davey were well deserved while their ground fielding was nimble.

The top order let them down, slumping to 4-12 as Black Caps seamers Trent Boult and Tim Southee got the ball to talk.

"These guys play a lot of red ball cricket and if there's any assistance there, they know exactly how to exploit that," Mommsen said.

"We didn't anticipate it would move around that much.

"From a batting point of view, it's good that we've been exposed to that sort of skill this early in the tournament."

Source: AAP