Scotland match-winner Chris Greaves has gone from delivering parcels to producing devilish deliveries at the T20 World Cup.
The 31-year-old all-rounder scored an impressive 45 off 28 balls then picked up two crucial wickets as the Scots stunned Bangladesh in Oman.
“He has really sacrificed a lot,” said captain Kyle Coetzer.
“He was delivering parcels for Amazon not too long ago and now he’s getting player of the match against Bangladesh.”
Scotland were struggling at 53-6 before Greaves, in only his second T20 international, top-scored in his side’s 140-9.
He then took two key wickets with his leg-spin as Scotland held their nerve for a famous six-run victory.
“We were in a tough situation,” South Africa-born Greaves told Sky Sports as he received his player of the match award. “It was a just (a case of) rebuilding the innings at that stage and see where we could go from there.
“It was unbelievable that I could be that person. To be a part of that is incredible.
“It was my day I think. There will be many other days when any one of us in that squad can be a part of it. I’m just so glad I could contribute what I did.”
Coetzer said players like Greaves and Mark Watt, who took one wicket and scored 22 runs, illustrate how players from associate nations have to balance sporting ambition with making a living.
“They are lesser-known people who had to make many sacrifices to get to where they are today,” he said.
“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.
“It is just proof in the pudding that there are some quality players around associate cricket. They just need the platform to show it.
“It was an incredible day for him but 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 are now well placed to reach the Super 12 phase of the tournament, with matches against Papua New Guinea and Oman to come in the first round.
“We believed we could achieve this win,” said Coetzer. “It didn’t quite go all our way, but it is a special feeling to beat Bangladesh. We have been planning for this tournament for a long time. We only played together as a group two months ago, after waiting a long time following the qualifiers.
“Guys were working hard behind the scenes, but it seemed sometimes we were working for nothing. Our tours kept getting cancelled. It was hard to manage, but this is reaping the rewards of keeping the faith that we will be a better team when this tournament comes around.”
