Scotland's Calum MacLeod goes from unsuccessful fast bowler to most prominent ODI batsman outside Test arena

Ajit Vijaykumar 16:35 11/06/2018
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  • Calum MacLeod became the hero of Scotland after his 140 set up a stunning six-run win over England on Sunday.

    MacLeod’s innings against the No1 ranked ODI team not only sent shockwaves around the world but also proved that teams like Scotland who are outside the Test fold can compete against the big boys in white-ball cricket.

    So, who is MacLeod? Here’s all you need to know about the 29-year-old batsman:

    EARLY DAYS AS A FAST BOWLER 

    At the beginning of his career, MacLeod was a fast bowler with Warwickshire. His action was reported by the umpires during Scotland’s ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Canada in 2009.

    After re-configuring his game, MacLeod shifted his focus to batting and has now amassed 3,079 in one-day cricket, 1,867 in T20s and 904 in first-class cricket.

    SUCCESS IN ODIs

    MacLeod holds the record for most centuries scored in ODIs by batsmen outside the Test fold. In 57 ODIs, he has scored scored 1,853 runs at an average of 37.81 with seven centuries and six fifties.

    That puts him ahead of Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate (five centuries), Scotland’s Kyle Coetzer (four) and Kenyan legend Steve Tikolo (three). The buzz MacLeod’s swashbuckling innings on Sunday generated was massive and such was its impact that the batsman has now been signed up by Derbyshire for the T20 Blast.

    ASHES FIELDER

    MacLeod has another record to his name. He is the first Gaelic speaker to appear in a Test match after he came on as a substitute fielder for England in the during the Birmingham Test of the 2009 Ashes.

    “Calum is as Scottish as you can get but appearing in England colours was definitely a dream come true. He has already played for Scotland against England. However, to be involved in front of a capacity crowd and millions of TV viewers was great,” his father Donald was quoted as saying at the time.

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