Scotland pulled off a huge upset as they defeated Bangladesh by 6 runs in the T20 World Cup 2021. Playing just his second international match, Chris Greaves produced one of the greatest all-round performances in the history of the T20 World Cup. With the bat, he smashed 28-ball 45 to get them out of the woods of 53 for 6, and then took the vitals wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim. Greaves returned with excellent figures of 2/19 in three overs and was named Player of the match.
Chris Graves’ rise in cricket is nothing short of an inspiring story as he was working as an Amazon delivery boy a few months back. Now with his stellar all-round performance against Bangladesh, Scotland registered their first-ever win-over test playing nation in an ICC tournament.
“It was an incredible day for him. It certainly wasn’t a surprise for us. We knew he had the ability. He showed some exciting skills on this tour. It was so nice to see him take on the Bangladesh bowlers. He chanced his arms at times, but these were shots that we believed that he is capable of playing.” Scotland captain Coetzer said
Chris was delivering parcels for Amazon not too long ago
During the post-match presentation, Scotland skipper Coetzer revealed about Greaves’ inspiring journey and told how he come far this long. Skipper said he was proud of the work he has put in to stand where he is today.
“I am really proud of Greaves,” Coetzer (Scotland captain) said. “He really sacrificed a lot. He was delivering parcels for Amazon not too long ago, and now is getting Player of the Match against Bangladesh. I am not sure if he will appreciate me saying this. Seeing the performance from Mark Watt and Chris Greaves with the bat today, they are lesser-known people who had to make many sacrifices to get to where they are today.
“Greaves isn’t a contracted player in Scotland. He was on the fringes. He put his hand up, worked extremely hard, and put himself in the picture. Going back a month, he wouldn’t even start in one of these games. Look at what he has done. It is just proof in the pudding that there are some quality players around Associate cricket. They just need the platform to show it.”
When asked about his match-winning performance, Greaves said: “We were in a tough situation obviously. We had to rebuild the innings and see where we go from there. It was unbelievable that I could be that person to be a part of that [rebuilding]. Incredible.”
