Oman and Scotland share points as Cyclone Shaheen hits final ODI

The final ODI of the CWC League 2 tri-series at Muscat came to a premature end with the arrival of heavy rain signalling the approach of Cyclone Shaheen. Oman and Scotland split the points in the sixth and last match of the seventh League 2 trilateral series.

A counter-attacking half century from George Munsey helped Scotland recover to 100 for 3 by the 24th over after losing three wickets in the PowerPlay. Bilal Khan and Kaleemullah knocked over the Scottish top order early before Munsey combined with Richie Berrington to build an unbroken partnership of 76 for the fourth wicket to leave the match promisingly poised when the early rain returned to snuff out the series.

Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer again won the toss and elected to bat first after a brief shower had pushed back the start by 15 minutes, but quickly came to regret it as Bilal and Kaleemullah picked apart the Scottish top order. Coetzer himself became the first wicket to fall when he was caught off Bilal for 5 in the sixth over, before Matthew Cross and Calum MacLeod fell in the space of three balls. Cross pinned LBW by Kaleemullah and MacLeod caught off Khan.

Munsey seemed unfazed by the situation, hitting Khan for six in the next over, and went hard after Nadeem on his introduction in the 14th over, hitting his first two balls for six and four. Berrington was happy to take a back seat even as Munsey became increasingly adventurous, reverse sweeping Maqsood over backward point for six in the 20th, taking advantage of the ominously increasing wind.

With the first squalls of the storm already lashing across the ground however, a result never looked likely. The rain arrived in earnest in the 24th over, and despite the weather relenting on occasion through the rest of the evening the teams never got back out.

The washout denied Scotland a chance to further close the gap to Oman at the top of the League 2 table, though they have six games in hand over their hosts to make up the 11 point deficit.

Oman, for their part, will be reasonably pleased with their work over the past two home series, having five of their seven completed matches, but bar one stray match apiece against Namibia and the UAE to catch up, they now have only away tours remaining for the second half of their 36-match League 2 campaign. Despite a healthy lead at the top of the table, they might have hoped to put more distance between themselves and the chasing pack over the course of two series on home turf.

The three participants in the tri-series - today's two contenders and Papua New Guinea - will now turn their attention to the shorter format, joined in Muscat by Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup, the quartet set to compete in Group B of the First Round of the tournament which starts next month, with two spots in the main draw on offer for the Oman-based group.