*EDINBURGH:* Scotland secured their biggest win in their cricketing historywith a thrilling six-run defeat of England.
Callum MacLeod’s brilliant 140 not out took the home side to 371-5 inglorious batting conditions in Edinburgh.
Jonny Bairstow’s 54-ball century looked to have England on course untilthey slipped from 220-2 to 276-7.
Liam Plunkett (47 not out) and Moeen Ali (46) kept them in it, but last manMark Wood was lbw to Safyaan Sharif from the fifth ball of the 49th over.
It is a wonderful result for Scotland, who have been improving steadilysince the 2015 World Cup and were only denied a place in the 2019tournament when rain stopped their match against West Indies in thequalifying tournament in March.
Here, against the number one ranked side in the world, the Scots gave thesort of performance that further questions the International CricketCouncil’s decision to cut the World Cup to only 10 teams.
For England, so impressive in limited-overs cricket in recent years, thisdefeat can be mentioned in the same breath as the Twenty20 humblings by theNetherlands, and World Cup losses to Ireland and Bangladesh.
They must regroup for the five-match series against Australia, which beginsat The Oval on Wednesday, while Scotland move on to T20s against Pakistanon Tuesday and Wednesday.