Berrington proud of gallant Scotland despite devastating loss

Scotland entered their final Super Six clash at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier event on Thursday in the box seat to clinch a spot at the 50-over showcase, but had to endure a sensational individual performance from Bas de Leede as the Netherlands clinched a 31-run victory and pipped them for the final World Cup berth.

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It meant Scotland missed out on their chance of appearing at a fourth World Cup in India later this year and Berrington knows the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for his improving side.

"That’s obviously a really tough one to take today and the guys will certainly be hurting right now," Berrington admitted post-match.

"I'm extremely proud of the guys for the fight we showed throughout this tournament. Unfortunately, today wasn't quite enough also have to give credit to their guys and the way they played.

"I think we probably just maybe weren't as disciplined as we have been through the tournament. They ran really well between the wickets. But again, we probably just missed the mark a little bit."

While the disappointment of missing out on qualification will take some time to pass, Berrington said there were still plenty of positives for his side to take from the tournament as the Scots registered six victories and lost on just three occasions.

Emerging all-rounder Brandon McMullen scored a superb 106 against the Dutch on Thursday and compiled an impressive 364 runs and 13 wickets for the tournament, while spinner Chris Greaves (14 wickets) and fast bowler Chris Sole (11 wickets) also performed well throughout the Zimbabwe event.

Scotland will now turn their attention to booking a place at next year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup by finishing in the top two spots during the Europe Qualifier event they are hosting later this month and Berrington is confident his side is on an upward curve.

"Looking over the whole tournament, we can be very proud of some of the cricket we've played," Berrington added.

"There are certainly some good building blocks and we can keep improving.

"A lot of different players stepped up at different times throughout this tournament, which has been really exciting to see and some young players coming into the squad as well have done really well. So that's good signs for the future."