SCOTLAND's cricketers were last night left with a bitter-sweet taste - despite qualifying for the knockout phase of the T20 World Cup qualifier.

Pete Steindl's side crushed Group B whipping boys Denmark by 75 runs in Dubai.

But they came off the field to be told that Nepal had pipped them for third place - by just 0.000026 - after tournament bosses bowled the Scots a googly with a dodgy calculation.

The error meant Scotland finished fourth in the group and must now win two more matches to claim their place at the World Cup in Bangladesh next year.

Had they been third they would have needed just to beat Hong Kong to be sure of reaching the finals.

Matt Machan's brilliant unbeaten 90 had propelled Scotland to 205-3 - their highest score of the tournament.

During the mid-innings break the Scots were informed they would require to restrict Denmark to less than 121 in order to overhaul Nepal's run-rate - when the actual figure should have been 130.

In the event, the Danes made exactly 130-6, leaving the Scots privately frustrated in the extreme.

A team source said: "We had the field protecting the boundary and the captain brought the guys in when he thought Denmark only needed one run.

"That obviously made scoring a lot easier and probably cost us."

But coach Steindl preferred to concentrate on the task ahead, saying: "We can't let what happened distract us from the job we are here to do.

"Of course it is disappointing we were given the wrong figure but there is nothing we can do about it.

"We've spoken as a group about how we must stay positive and rise above it."

Machan and Calum MacLeod put the Scots on course for their third win in a row with a blistering partnership of 99 before the latter was stumped for a 32-ball 41.

Stoneywood-Dyce star Michael Leask then matched MacLeod's score but did it from only 20 deliveries - hitting four maximums in the process.

Machan was still there at the end, having faced 55 balls and stroked nine boundaries and four sixes.

In reply Denmark never looked like chasing their target but Carsten Pedersen's obdurate 43 proved costly to Scotland.

Neil Carter and Majid Haq were the pick of the bowlers, conceding just 9 and 11 runs respectively from their four overs.

The Scots had looked like crashing out of the tournament after losing three of their first four games.

However, they will play Italy in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and should they win that they are likely to face either Holland or UAE in a winner-takes-all clash the following day.

Steindl added: "We are pleased to get to the next stage after the situation we were in.

"The players have shown a lot of character to come back from that and in the last three games we have played some really good cricket.

"We must concentrate on keeping that going."