Richie Berrington feels Scotland need time to reflect after suffering a four-wicket defeat to Namibia in the T20 World Cup.
The Scots have a mini-break between games after opening the Super 12 with back-to-back losses.
Two days after their humbling 130-run defeat by Afghanistan, their fortunes with the bat did not improve in Abu Dhabi.
A meagre 109-8 for Scotland never looked like being enough, as they were put on the back foot immediately by a devastating opening spell from Ruben Trumpelmann.
Their performance in the field was full of heart but ultimately, Scotland had too few runs to play with.
Scotland, who were without captain Kyle Coetzer due to a finger injury, now have a week before their next game against New Zealand in Dubai.
“We need time to reflect which we will do as a group and we will look to see where we can improve,” said stand-in skipper Berrington. “Obviously being a few wickets down early is never easy but I don’t think we have to go searching too much. We just have to back our skills and keep being clear with our gameplans.
“I wouldn’t say we have any regrets, obviously we are disappointed with the last two games. We haven’t played as well as we can, but we have to look to regroup and come back as best we can and come back stronger. This team is always looking to improve and we will keep doing that.”
There was praise for former Stoneywood Dyce all-rounder Michael Leask, for his performance with bat and ball.
“He was excellent,” added Berrington. “He has been in really good form over the last month and he is striking the ball as well as he ever has, so we will see a lot more of him.
“With the way he bowled as well, coming under pressure with not a lot to defend, was great.”
Scotland’s innings got off to a disastrous start. A fired-up Trumpelmann got rid of George Munsey, Calum Macleod and Berrington in the first over, as the Saltires’ batters failed to fire.
Craig Wallace fell soon after and it was left to Aberdonians Matthew Cross and Leask to stabilise a wobbling side.
Cross went for 19 and while Leask (44) and Chris Greaves (25) played well, the Namibian bowling attack were superb in restricting their opponents.
Their reply looked to be ticking along, only for them to be upset by the Scotland spinners. Mark Watt, Leask and Greaves picked up four wickets between them to give the Saltires unlikely hope.
They dragged the game out until the final over but JJ Smit (32 not out) was able to anchor Namibia home for their first Super 12 win.
“It’s a disappointing night for us – we were probably 20 or 30 runs short,” added Berrington. “It’s pretty hard to recover after a first couple of overs like that. Credit to Namibia, I thought they bowled fantastically well up front and put us under pressure.
“Unfortunately for us we weren’t able to recover and get the score we needed in the first innings.
“We’ve got a few days to reflect and recover. But one of our strengths is sticking together and we’re always looking to improve. We’ll take some learnings from this and come back stronger in the next game.”
