October 17 turned out to be a Super Sunday for Chris Greaves and Scotland, as the minnows stunned a full member nation, Bangladesh, by 6 wickets in the group stage of the ongoing World T20 in Oman.
What made the win more special was the all-round performance by Greaves in just his second international match. The 31-year-old first led a brilliant lower-order fightback with a 28-ball 45 as Scotland recovered from 53/6 to post 140 for nine in their first round Group B opener of the T20 showpiece.
He returned to haunt the Bangladeshis with the ball, too, taking 2/19 in three overs, which included the crucial wickets of experienced batters Shakib Al Hasan (20) and Mushfiqur Rahim (38). Bangladesh could only manage 134/7 in their allotted quota of 20 overs.
Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer, while hailing Greaves for the win, revealed that the latter used to deliver parcels for Amazon before arriving on T20 cricket’s biggest stage.
“It was an incredible day for him but certainly it wasn’t a surprise for us. We knew he had the ability to do this,” said Coetzer. “Really proud of Greaves, he had to sacrifice a lot. He was delivering parcels for Amazon not long ago and now he’s getting man of the match and playing against Bangladesh.”
It was former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior who, reportedly, helped Greaves realise the dream of playing for his country. The Scot once met Prior during a nets session in Wanderers. Having impressed the Englishman with his skills, Greaves, reportedly, told Prior that he had a British passport and was looking to play professional cricket in the UK.
Prior asked Greaves for his email but the Scottish all-rounder did not have one! He, reportedly, shared his mother's email address. Prior stayed true to his word and helped Greaves join Durham's academy. The rest, as the cliché goes, is history.
