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SIDSTE
NYT FRA ECC/ICC I EUROPA |
Scotland start as favourites as U/15 Division 1 tournament heads to Netherlands
Scotland will start as clear favourites as they defend their European Under-15 title in The Netherlands next week, but they will not be short of challengers in what promises to be a closely-contested tournament.
With six of last year’s winning squad – new captain Christopher Cash, Lyle Hill, Gavin Main, Alexander Muir, Sebastian Stewart and Andrew Umeed – returning this time, the Scots will not be short of experience at this level, and they will go into the competition with a clear sense of what is required. Umeed, moreover, has in the meantime been to this year’s ICC European Centre of Excellence in La Manga.
Jersey only missed out on run rate on taking their first Division 1 title last year, and skipper Luke Gallichan – another alumnus of the Centre of Excellence – and the two other survivors from that side, Edward Fricker and Thomas Sutton, will be determined to go one better this time and topple Scotland from their throne.
Then there is, of course, Ireland, who have dominated European youth tournaments in recent seasons but had to be content with third place last time. Benn Hoey will skipper a comparatively new squad, with only Darren Nicol back from last season’s side. Hoey and Lee Cole are two more who have gained valuable experience in La Manga.
Hosts The Netherlands, too, have a largely untested combination, with only Vivian Kingma having taken part last year. Captain Wessel Coster and his team will be hoping that home advantage will help them to improve on the fourth place they achieved in 2009, and again both Coster and Kingma were at the ICC European Centre of Excellence in April.
Guernsey had a very young side last time, and like Scotland they will again bring six of that squad: Tom Hutchinson, Joshua Kirk, Jason Martin, Oliver Nightingale, Harry Player and Matthew Stokes. That experience will no doubt stand them in good stead as they seek to improve on last season’s fifth place.
Denmark, too, will be looking to do better, having finished last despite an encouraging final-day victory over Jersey. Mati Malik will lead a largely new squad, with Mads Nyeng the only other member of his side who played last year.
The round robin competition will be played at Salland’s Schootsveld complex in Deventer and at Maarschalkerweerd, the Kampong club’s ground in Utrecht.
There will be full coverage of the tournament, including regular score updates from all the matches, on the ICC Europe web site at http://www.icc-europe.org/EUROU15/index.shtml
Scotland defeat Jersey to clinch title
Ireland secure second vital U/19 Global Cricket World Cup Qualifier place
Scotland clinched the 2010 European U/19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier with a convincing all-round team display which saw them beat Jersey by 109 runs at Stormont.
Batting first, wicket-keeper Matthew Cross (33), Aman Bailwal (28), Peter Legget (26), Anjan Luthra (21), Sam Page (21), and Tom McBride (20) were the top scorers as they batted with purpose and intent, safe in the knowledge that it would have taken something extraordinary for Jersey to overhaul them, given their vastly superior run rate.
Jersey's fielding and catching has been a feature of their play all week, but today half chances went to ground, and tiredness crept in as the effects of five games in seven days took their toll on the young island side. Charles Perchard (3-54), Aidan McGuire (2-26), James Faudemer (2-30) and Ben Stevens (1-23) were best with the ball for Jersey as Scotland finished on 208 all out in 49.5 overs.
The Jersey reply got off to a disastrous reply when pinch hitter William Falle was run out before the lunch break. Scotland captain Paddy Sadler's impressive tournament continued as he bowled with great pace and control to finish with the impressive analysis of 4 for 22. Fellow opening bowler Stan Shillington (2-17) was also among the wickets, as were Scott McElnea (1-5), Aman Bailwal (1-18), and Peter Legget (1-34).
Corey Bisson provided the only real semblance of resistance for Jersey in a fluent and entertaining 32. In the end Jersey were dismissed for 99 in 40.3 overs, leaving Scotland victors by 109 runs and worthy champions.
Ireland made sure of second place and a vital U/19 World Cup Qualifier place when they beat Netherlands by 82 runs at Waringstown.
Batting first, Ireland posted a competitive 238 all out. They lost Jason van der Merwe and Adam Berry early, before the Donemana pairing of Andy McBrine (34) and Ryan Hunter (28) started a recovery. However when they and George Dockrell fell in quick succession, the game was in the balance at 91 for 5.
However Shane Getake (47) and his Malahide team mate Adam Coughlan (40) added 69 for the sixth wicket, to put Ireland back in control. Graeme McCarter provided some late fireworks as he hit 46 from just 40 balls (6 fours, 1 six) to take Ireland to 238 all out in 46 overs.
Philip van der Brandeler (4-30), Sebastiaan Braat (2-40), and Robert van der Harten (2-55) were most successful with the ball for the Dutch.
In reply, James Gruijters (29) continued his consistent batting form this week, and opener Sverre Loggers (20) gave his side a decent platform. However Barry McCarthy (2-21) and Shane Getkate (2-39) both made sure wickets fell at regular intervals.
It was the introduction of George Dockrell which proved the downfall for the Netherlands, as the left armer showed just why he is so highly rated in cricketing circles. He finished with 5 for 34 as the Dutch finished on 156 all out in 38.4 overs.
Ireland's 82 run win confirmed their second place in the group, and they now go into the World Cup Qualifiers, hoping to reclaim the title they won last year in Canada.
Guernsey won the battle of the bottom two teams when they inflicted a six wicket defeat upon Denmark at the picturesque Laurevale ground.
Batting first Denmark rallied from a precarious 58 for 6 to post a respectable 139 all out in 43.3 overs. The batting honours went to wicket-keeper Vijayasai Sasitharan who top scored with an undefeated 28. The Danish total was boosted by 23 extras.
In the bowling department, Dale Mullen (3-30), Guy Batiste (2-4), Thomas Kirk (2-28), Andrew Hutchinson (2-34), and Glenn Le Tissier (1-12) were the wicket takers for Guernsey.
Chasing the modest total, Guernsey were given a perfect start when Adam Martel (21) and Isaac Damarell added fifty for the first wicket. Thomas Kirk made 28 from 30 balls (4 fours), while Glen Le Tissier blasted 19 not out from 11 balls.
It was Damarell though who did the real damage, as he recorded a superb unbeaten 57 from just 63 balls (7 fours) to steer Guernsey to the win with six wickets and 24.3 overs to spare.
Score summaries (day five):
At Stormont: Scotland 208 all out, 49.5 overs (Cross 33; Perchard 3-54)
Jersey 99 all out, 40.2 overs (Bisson 32; Sadler 4-22)
Scotland won by 109 runs
At Waringstown: Ireland 238 all out, 50 overs (Getkate 47; McCarter 46; Coughlan 40; van den Brandeler 4-30)
Netherlands 156 all out, 38.4 overs (van den Burg 36; Dockrell 5-34)
Ireland won by 82 runs
At Laurelvale: Denmark 139 all out, 43.4 overs
Guernsey 140-6, 25.2 overs
Guernsey won by 4 wickets
Table (After round 5)
|
Teams |
Mat |
Won |
Lost |
Tied |
N/R |
Pts |
|
Scotland |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
|
Ireland |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
|
Jersey |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
Netherlands |
5 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
Guernsey |
5 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Denmark |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Jersey moves to four points after victory over the Netherlands
Scotland move to top after round 2
Ireland comes back strong after first day defeat
Twenty-four hours after Scotland defeated Ireland on the last ball – Jersey scraped through by one run, again off the last ball, against the Netherlands.
Needing five to win from the last over with one wicket left, Paul van Meekeren had seemingly guaranteed a tie for the Dutch by driving Charles Perchard through the covers, but a brilliant diving stop from Andrew Rabet at long-off kept the batsmen to a couple. Three dot balls followed before van Meekeren took a single to leave last man Werner Erkelens needing two from one. Perchard bowled it full and straight and though Erkelens did get bat on it it was only enough to return the ball to the bowler, who comfortably won the footrace to the non-strikers’ stumps, sending Jersey into raptures.
Earlier in the day, Jersey were reduced to 58 for 6 by some impressive Dutch seam bowling. Skipper Sebastian Braat led from the front, picking up 3 for 28 in his ten, while Philip van den Brandeler continued his good firm by taking 3 for 26. The most economical spell, however, belonged to left-armer Zacahary van Baren, who got through his ten for only fourteen. From here, though, Alex Noel (30) and Alex Cooke (31) staged a recovery, and their dogged seventh-wicket partnership of 64 hoisted the Jersey total into the realms of competitiveness: 140 for 8.
In reply, the Dutch started equally poorly, losing wickets to the seam of Perchard, Cooke, and Noel before Stevens and James Faudemer took over. The left-arm spinners bowled beautifully together, conceding only 29 runs from their combined overs. The seamers returned and when Aiden McGuire ran out van Baren to leave the Dutch 102 for 8, the Islanders had become favourites.
Nevertheless, a ninth-wicket stand of 33 between van Meekeren and the tenacious James Gruijters swung the match back towards the Netherlands before Gruijters – whose mature 42 was undoubtedly the innings of the day – was caught at point with the score on 135. By this stage, a number of Derriaghy locals had made their way to the ground and so a sizeable crowd was present to witness another remarkable climax in this absorbing week of cricket.
At Belmont, Scotland had a comfortable seven wickets victory over Denmark. Winning the toss, Scotland had no hesitation in asking their opponents to bat first and Denmark were soon in trouble on a soft, damp pitch.
Scotland captain Paddy Sadler bowled his ten overs straight off, taking four wickets for just 10 runs as the top order collapsed. Bashit Javed at number six was the only batsman to get to grips with the bowling and pitch, making 32 of the 55 runs scored. Denmark fell to a final total of 100 in the 45th over. Freddie Coleman grabbed the last three wickets at a cost of four runs in four overs.
Scotland began slowly, losing TomMcBride with just 11 on the board. Coleman and Luthra then took the score to 38 before Coleman was run out following a fine piece of work. However, Luthra was joined by Bailwal and they took control and saw Scotland to within sight of victory before Luthra was caught on the deep mid wicket boundary by Raja.
Scotland reached their target in the 28th over, Bailwal finishing the match with the only six hit of the day. This victory leaves Scotland with two victories after two rounds of matches.
Ireland put the disappointment of their reversal against Scotland firmly behind them when they comprehensively defeated Guernsey by seven wickets at Stormont.
Adam Martel had put Guernsey in a strong position with his 46 from 80 balls, (5 fours, 1 six) . At 94 for 1, a possible shock looked on the cards. However the dismissal of Martel by Irish captain George Dockrell proved a pivotal moment in the game, and Guernsey contrived to lose their last 9 wickets for just 44 runs to finish on 135 all out in 44.2 overs. Thomas Kirk battled bravely for his 27.
Andy McBrine (3-25), George Dockrell (2-13), Shane Getkate (2-23) and Barry McCarthy (2-25) were the successful wicket takers.
Any thoughts that Guernsey could make Ireland struggle were quickly dispelled as Jason van der Merwe and Ryan Hunter launched a blistering attack on the opening bowlers. The pair added 61 in just 4.3 overs, with Van der Merwe striking 4 fours and a six in his 28 from just 14 balls.
Hunter went on to score a deserved half century making 55 from just 49 balls (7 fours). Andy McBrine (20*), and George Dockrell (13*) saw Ireland over the finishing line with 30.5 overs to spare.
Score summaries (day two):
At Derriaghy: Jersey 140-8, 50 overs (Cooke 31, Noel 30; van der Brandeler 3-26; Braat 3-28)
Netherlands 139 all out, 50 overs (J Gruijters 42)
Jersey won by 1 run
At Belmont: Denmark 100 all out, 44.3 overs (Javed 32; Sadler 4-10)
Scotland 105-3, 27.3 overs
Scotland won by 7 wickets
At Stormont: Guernsey 136 all out, 44.2 overs (Martel 46; McBrine 3-25)
Ireland 138-3, 19.1 overs (Hunter 55)
Ireland won by 7 wickets
Table (After round 2)
|
Teams |
Mat |
Won |
Lost |
Tied |
N/R |
Pts |
|
Scotland |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
Jersey |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
Ireland |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Netherlands |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Denmark |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Guernsey |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Fixtures on Saturday 24 July 2010: Rest Day
Fixtures on Sunday 25 July 2010:
Denmark V Ireland (Downpatrick), Jersey V Guernsey (Holywood), Scotland V Netherlands (Lisburn).
All matches start at 11.00am
ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 fixtures confirmed
The International Cricket Council today confirmed the remaining fixtures in its first-class tournament, the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10, with everything leading towards November’s final, which will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The next match to be played will start on Sunday 25 July between the Netherlands and Zimbabwe XI in Amstelveen.
Next month, four matches will be played with Canada taking on Zimbabwe XI in Toronto from 2-5 August. Ireland will then go head to head with the Netherlands at Leinster Cricket Club in Dublin and Scotland will host Afghanistan in Ayr with both the matches to be played from 11-14 August. Ireland will then travel to Toronto where it will meet Canada at Toronto CSCC from 31 August.
The dates and venues of Zimbabwe XI v Scotland and Zimbabwe XI v Ireland matches will be announced in due course.
ICC INTERCONTINENTAL CUP
25-28 Jul – Netherlands v Zimbabwe XI, VRA, Amstelveen
2-5 Aug - Canada v Zimbabwe XI, Maple Leaf Cricket Club, Toronto
11-14 Aug – Ireland v Netherlands, LCC, Dublin
11-14 Aug – Scotland v Afghanistan, Ayr, Scotland
31 Aug-3 Sept – Canada v Ireland, CSCC, Toronto
2-5 Oct – Kenya v Afghanistan, Nairobi Gymkhana, Nairobi
25-29 Nov – Final, Dubai, UAE
ICC INTERCONTINENTAL SHIELD
18-21 Sept – Uganda v Namibia (venue TBC)
25-28 Nov – Final, Dubai, UAE
O'Brien and White bat Ireland to comfortable victory over Scotland
Johnston: "We had set ourselves the target of winning every game and retain the title and I'm just over the moon to achieve that objective"
Drummond: "Something that we need to learn is to convert good starts into winning scores and kill off the opposition"
Rights-free audio interviews with Kevin O'Brien, Trent Johnston and Gordon Drummond available for download at http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/media_interactive_zone/audio_interview.php
Photographs from Ireland v Scotland match available through Getty Images and from the ICC FTP site; images from the Netherlands and Afghanistan match available for free downloading through ICC FTP site
A 160-run fourth wicket partnership between Kevin O'Brien and Andrew White set up a comfortable six-wicket victory for Ireland over traditional rival Scotland in the final of the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 at VRA in Amstelveen on Saturday.
O'Brien finished unbeaten on 98 and White was dismissed after a well-played 79 as the defending champion achieved a 233-run target for the loss of four wickets with 31 balls to spare.
O'Brien, who later picked up his third man-of-the-match award of the tournament, and White had come together with Ireland in bother at 51-3. However, the two batsmen played clever cricket by not only nudging and pushing the ball around but also by punishing anything that was loose.
The duo's stand, which spanned 29 overs, was the largest partnership in the entire tournament and also the highest for Ireland against Scotland in ODI history, eclipsing the 131 added by William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan in Benoni during last year's ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
When Richie Berrington brought off a blinder of a catch to terminate White's innings with 22 still required for victory, O'Brien kept his composure and took his side home in the company of John Mooney (12 not out) without any further hiccups or last-minute scares.
Such was O'Brien's commitment to the team cause that instead of attempting a boundary which would have given him his second ODI century, he opted for a single to ensure that Ireland collected the silverware and also retained its status as the top Associate side.
O'Brien's superlative innings included three towering sixes and four exquisitely timed fours from 104 balls. His first 50 runs came off 62 balls with two fours and two six. White's innings, his maiden ODI half-century, spanned 87 balls and included 11 fours.
Earlier, Scotland's openers Fraser Watts (98) and Preston Mommsen (80) had provided Scotland a dream start when the two put on 141 runs for the first wicket in 30.2 overs after being put into bat. It was easily the highest first-wicket stand of the entire tournament, passing the 50 added by Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie for Ireland against Canada.
However, Scotland's middle-order failed to capitalize on that start and in the face of some intelligent bowling from O'Brien (2-46), Ireland captain Trent Johnston (2-21) and left-arm spinner George Dockrell (2-42), it slipped to 169-7 before a late rally led by Watts and Scotland captain Gordon Drummond (30) lifted it to 232 as they added 51 for the eighth wicket.
Watts, who was not even a member of the playing eleven at the start of the tournament, fought hard before he was ninth out in the penultimate over of the innings, with his innings spanning 112 balls and including eight fours. His opening partner Mommsen batted equally well and punctuated his 107-ball innings with seven fours and a six.
Ireland captain Trent Johnston was delighted with his side's performance which saw it return from two difficult situations to turn the tide in its favour.
Johnston said: "We had set ourselves the target of winning every game and retain the title and I am just over the moon to achieve that objective.
"It is great to win another trophy that keeps us at the top of Associate level. We had a few speed bumps against Afghanistan in the last 12 months but it was not (the case) here as we beat Afghanistan pretty convincingly a few days ago with an inexperienced side.
"All those people who talk about the wheel turning or that Irish cricket is a one generation side are very much mistaken and will be proven wrong if they look at the performances the kids have put in over the last 10 days."
Reflecting on the match, Johnston said: "I was certainly not happy to see Scotland reach 141-0 after I had sent it in as we didn't bowl very well at the start. But we persisted and stayed focused which earned us two key wickets. A couple of silly shots from their senior players later on got us back in the match and in the end we were left chasing 233 instead of anything in excess of 280.
"Kevin (O'Brien) has matured as a cricketer and is working very hard on his game. We call (Andrew) White as a finisher so I was confident that the two would take us home after we were struggling at 51-3. The two were expected to build a partnership and they did exactly that, and though White couldn't take us over the finish-line, it was an excellent effort by him."
Scotland captain Gordon Drummond admitted he was disappointed after failing to capitalise on a solid opening stand. He said: "We were constantly assessing the situation but when we reached 141-0, we were targeting 280 and this is what we should have got at the end. Something that we need to learn is to convert good starts into winning scores and kill off the opposition.
"If you had offered me a second place and four wins out of six matches before the start of the tournament, I would have definitely taken it because we arrived here without a couple of key players and after having finished fifth in South Africa last year.
"Overall, it has been a good two weeks in the Netherlands which has provided an opportunity for the players to learn and improve their game and skills."
In the third-fourth position play-off game in Rotterdam, Afghanistan defeated the Netherlands by five wickets. It was an excellent outcome for the Asian side which had finished sixth in the tournament in South Africa last year, an event it had entered as a Division 2 side.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad scored a 108-ball 82 with eight fours and Asghar Salamkhail belted five fours and three sixes in a 68-ball 64 as Afghanistan achieved a 219-run target with five wickets and 24 balls to spare.
Earlier, Tom Cooper missed out on his second successive century against Afghanistan when he was dismissed for 96 as the Netherlands struggled to 218-5 ? thanks to a late 40-ball cameo by Wesley Barresi who clubbed four fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 51.
Cooper, who was later declared man of the match to add to his player of the tournament award, finished with an aggregate of 408 runs that also included scores of 87, 67, 39, 101 and 18. The 23-year-old faced 135 balls and hit seven fours on Saturday and featured in a 78-run third wicket stand with captain Peter Borren (28) and a fifth-wicket partnership of 69 with Barresi.
In the fifth-sixth position play-off in Schiedam, Canada recorded back-to-back victories over Kenya and condemn the African side to a winless tournament. Chasing a modest target of 191, Canada recovered from 81-5 to achieve victory in the last over with three wickets in hand.
Zubin Surkari was Canada's top-scorer with 49 while captain Ashish Bagai contributed 39 as the two batsmen put on 85 runs for the sixth wicket.
Scores in brief:
At VRA, Amstelveen, Ireland beat Scotland by six wickets (Match streamed live on www.espnstar.com/icclive)
Scotland 232 all out, 48.5 overs (Fraser Watts 98, Preston Mommsen 80, Gordon Drummond 30; Nigel Jones 2-20, Trent Johnston 2-21, George Dockrell 2-42, Kevin O'Brien 2-46)
Ireland 233-4, 44.5 overs (Kevin O'Brien 98 not out, Andrew White 79, Paul Stirling 32)
Man of the match: Kevin O'Brien (Ireland)
At VOC, Rotterdam, Afghanistan beat the Netherlands by five wickets
The Netherlands 218-5, 50 overs (Tom Cooper 96, Wesley Barresi 51 not out, Peter Borren 28; Mirwais Ashraf 2-20)
Afghanistan 219-5, 46 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 82, Asghar Salamkhail 64, Nawroz Mangal 27, Karim Sadiq 21 not out; Mudassar Bukhari 2-22)
Man of the match: Tom Cooper (The Netherlands)
At Excelsior Cricket Club, Schiedam, Canada by Kenya by three wickets
Kenya 190 all out, 50 overs (Thomas Odoyo 39, Collins Obuya 34, Dominic Wesonga 33, Hiren Varaiya 23, Alex Obanda 21; Rizwan Cheema 3-36, Harvir Baidwan 2-25, Umar Bhatti 2-48)
Canada 194-7, 49.2 overs (Zubin Surkari 49, Ashish Bagai 39; Alfred Luseno 2-23)
Man of the match: Zubin Surkari (Canada)
Scotland sets-up mouth-watering final against Ireland
Johnston: “To go into the final with five from five, especially the way we won today means we are cook-a-hoop and full of confidence”
The Netherlands go head to head with Afghanistan in third-fourth position play-off while Canada meets Kenya in fifth-sixth position play-off
Saturday’s final to be streamed live on ESPN STAR Sports website www.espnstar.com/icclive and tournament website www.iccevents.yahoo.com
Scotland overcame a gritty Afghanistan fight back in the winner-takes-all match to set up Saturday’s ICC World Cricket League Division 1 final against defending champion and old foe Ireland.
Left-arm spinner Ross Lyons took 3-21, fast bowler Gordon Goudie bagged 2-24 and wrist spinner Moneeb Iqbal claimed 2-35 at VOC in Rotterdam as Afghanistan, after electing to bat first, was skittled out for 141 in 47.1 overs on a good batting surface after being 54-2 at one stage.
Opener Fraser Watts then top-scored with a fighting 46 off 98 balls in Scotland’s run-chase to dash Afghanistan’s slim hopes after it had reduced the European side to 66-3, then 112-5 and finally 139-8, to win by two wickets with 37 balls to spare.
Waiting for them in Saturday’s final is Ireland, which produced a champion’s performance to return from the brink to defeat the Netherlands on Friday.
At VRA in Amstelveen Irish spinners Paul Stirling and George Dockrell recorded career-best figures to overshadow a dream debut by Netherlands fast bowler Bernard Loots (3-16) and bowl their side to a stunning 39-run victory.
The Netherlands, chasing 178 for victory, lost its last six wickets for six runs to be bowled out for 138 in 38.5 overs in a match which had no bearing on the final standing.
Off-spinner Stirling, who had earlier opened the innings and scored a dogged 33 in Ireland’s 177 in 48.2 overs, recorded figures of 6.5-0-11-4, while left-arm spinner Dockrell returned figures of 10-0-35-4 as the Dutch side’s captain Peter Borren’s rush of blood, bowled by Dockrell for 47 with the score of 132-4, turned out to be the turning point in the match.
Stirling, for his all-round performance, was declared man of the match.
Earlier, Ireland’s decision to bat first appeared to backfire as it plunged to 57-5 before a rearguard action led by John Mooney’s maiden ODI half-century (54 off 71 balls with four fours and a six) lifted it 177 in 48.2 overs.
Saturday’s final between Ireland and Scotland will be the ninth time the two traditional rivals will meet at the ODI level. Ireland enjoys a 6-2 head-to-head advantage, including a five-wicket victory in this tournament earlier this week at VCC in Voorburg.
Also on Saturday, the Netherlands will take on Afghanistan in the third-fourth position play-off at VOC in Voorburg in which it will not only try to retain its third position but will also attempt to avenge for a six-wicket defeat it suffered against the Asian side at VCC in Voorburg.
Scotland’s Watts, who was declared man of the match, looking ahead at Saturday’s final against Ireland, said: “It will be very tough as Ireland, as we know, is a very good side. We have played them already once and I thought we played really well in that game. It was sort of a lottery (in that game) as the wicket was a bit up and down.
“We have full respect for Ireland but we’re in form and are now a confident side. We have belief in ourselves and I think it will be a very evenly-contested match. Hopefully if keen our nerve, we can go one better this time.”
Watts agreed that Ireland will come hard at Scotland on Saturday morning. “We just need to carry on with what we’re doing. Ireland will come very hard at us and will try to make life difficult for us. We just need to keep our nerve and do our jobs individually. And if we manage to do our jobs, I’m sure we can win the final tomorrow.”
Ireland captain Trent Johnston, who was rested for today’s match, said: “To go into the final with five from five, especially the way we won today, taking the last six wickets for six runs, means we are cook-a-hoop and full of confidence.
“What’s just as important is that we’ll be playing our third match on this pitch so we know what to expect and we have an edge over Scotland by virtue of winning our group match against them, albeit helped by the toss of a coin on a sporting pitch.”
Johnston admitted tomorrow’s final will be a tough match. “It’ll be tough, it’s always hard against Scotland, but we know that if we bring our A game then we can win the trophy, which would be a great achievement
“Scotland has got some handy cricketers. They’ve got (Richie) Berrington and (Neil) McCallum with the bat, Fraser Watts has hit some form, they’ve got a couple of good spinners and Matthew Parker bowled very well against us. On top of that, if conditions are similar to today, then Gordon Goudie will swing the ball and Gordon Drummond is a handy cricketer too, all-round. He’ll be tough to get away if he bowls line and length.
“We won’t be taking Scotland lightly, we’ll be determined to prove Ireland is the number-one Associate team,” he said.
“Before the tournament I don’t think we were given much of a chance, missing half our team through county commitments and injuries and I would have made Afghanistan favourites as they’ve had their full-strength side here.
“But we’ve brought in the young guys and they have been a real boost for us experienced players, it shows we have the strength in depth to fall back on. In the situation like today, to come back and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, taking six for six from 132-4 gives us huge confidence,” Johnston concluded.
31-year-old Bernard Loots, who replaced Maurits Jonkman in the Netherlands side only last evening, reflecting on his debut, said: “I heard on Tuesday that I may be playing and the clearance came through yesterday so it’s been exciting and also happened quite quickly.
“I bowled decently although it was very disappointing to lose as that would have crowned the day for me. I’m realistic about my role in the side - I know I’m there more as a container than a striker but I only went for two runs an over today and I’ll settle for that and the three wickets were a great bonus.
“My first wicket (from his second ball) maybe popped a little and I managed to hold on to the catch in my follow-through. That settled the nerves down but I’m not a spring chicken and I knew what I had to do, it was a case of trying to stay calm, hit my areas and do what was required.”
Loots said he was keen to play in next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. “The World Cup is definitely an ambition but it’s a case of one step at a time. What I’ve got is an opportunity and all I can do now is continue to perform.
“If the World Cup comes then it’s an added bonus but there’s much work for us all to do before then.”
In a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s fifth-sixth position play-off match, Canada defeated Kenya by six wickets to earn its first victory of the tournament. Captain Ashish Bagai hit an unbeaten 61 from 78 balls with nine fours and added 83 runs for the unfinished fifth wicket partnership with Zubin Surkari (23 not out) as the North American reached the 154-run victory target with 14.1 overs to spare.
Scores in brief:
At VRA, Amstelveen, Ireland beat the Netherlands by 49 runs (Match streamed live on www.espnstar.com/icclive)
Ireland 177 all out, 48.2 overs (John Mooney 54, Paul Stirling 33, Nigel Jones 25 not out, Andrew White 23; Bernard Loots 3-16, Mark Jonkman 3-28, Peter Borren 2-32)The Netherlands 138 all out, 38.5 overs (Peter Borren 47, Bas Zuiderent 28; Paul Stirling 4-11, George Dockrell 4-35) Man of the match: Paul Stirling (Ireland)Points: Ireland 2 The Netherlands 0
At VOC, Rotterdam, Scotland beat Afghanistan by two wickets
Afghanistan 141 all out, 47.1 overs (Nawroz Mangal 38 not out, Mohammad Shahzad 34, Asghar Salamkhail 24; Ross Lyons 3-21, Gordon Goudie 2-24, Moneeb Iqbal 2-35)Scotland 142-8, 43.5 overs (Neil McCallum 46; Shahpoor Zadran 2-19, Hamid Hassan 2-22, Nawroz Mangal 2-22)Man of the match: Fraser Watts (Scotland)Points: Scotland 2 Afghanistan 0
At Excelsior Cricket Club, Schiedam, Canada beat Kenya by six wickets
Kenya 153 all out, 45.2 overs (Maurice Ouma 38, Collins Obuya 23, Dominic Wesonga 22, James Kamande 21; Harvir Baidwan 3-24, Rizwan Cheema 2-29, Parth Desai 2-33)Canada 154-4, 35.5 overs (Ashish Bagai 61 not out, Zubin Surkari 23 not out, Geoff Barnett 21; Thomas Odoyo 2-14)Man of the match: Harvir Baidwan (Canada)Points: Canada 2 Kenya 0
Points table after round matches
P W NR L Pts NRR
Ireland 5 - - - 8 +0.918
Scotland 5 4 - 1 6 +0.178
Afghanistan 5 3 - 2 6 -0.105
Netherlands 5 2 - 3 4 +0.312
Canada 5 1 - 4 2 -0.449
Kenya 5 - - 5 - -0.915
Saturday’s fixtures:
Final: Ireland v Scotland, VRA, Amstelveen (live streaming at www.espnstar.com/icclive and http://wcldiv1.yahoo.net/)
Third-fourth position play-off: The Netherlands v Afghanistan, VOC, Rotterdam
Fifth-sixth position play-off: Canada v Kenya, Excelsior Cricket Club, Schiedam
Afghanistan shows nerves of steel to beat Kenya by one wicket off last ball
Ireland survives Scotland scare as the Netherlands defeats Canada; Kevin O’Brien becomes second Irishman to complete 1,000 ODI runs
Photographs from the Afghanistan v Kenya and Ireland v Scotland matches match available for free downloading through ICC FTP site; images from Canada v Netherlands match available through Getty Images
Afghanistan proved to be a team with nerves of steel as it defeated Kenya by one wicket off the last ball in a third round thriller of the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 in Amstelveen on Monday. Chasing 234 runs for victory at the VRA ground in its first-ever ODI against the 2007 champion, Afghanistan was down and out when it was reduced to 134-6 in 31 overs, needing another 100 runs from 19 overs.
Samiullah Shenwari kept the Asian side’s head above water with a career-best 82 off 118 balls with nine fours but when he became Nehemiah Odhiambo’s 50th wicket at this level it looked like Kenya was the favourite to record what would have been its first win of the tournament. But Mohammad Nabi had other ideas. He hammered three fours and two sixes in a rapid 42-ball 47 to maintain Afghanistan’s interest in proceedings.
The wheel was turning back in Afghanistan’s favour but there was a further twist when Nabi became one of two victims for Jimmy Kamande, Afghanistan needed 13 runs off 14 balls at that stage with two wickets standing and at that point the ninth wicket pair of Khaliq Dad (18 not out) and Hamid Hassan batted sensibly to level the scores.
With one run required off two balls for the win, Hassan fell to Kamande when he was caught inside the 30-yard circle while attempting to clear the fielders. However, Dad, who had crossed when Rakeep Patek was completing the catch, kept a cool head and swept the last ball of the match for a single and bring a famous victory for Afghanistan in front of more than 250 very vocal supporters.
Earlier, Collins Obuya top scored for Kenya with 60 and Thomas Odoyo struck a 33-ball 52 with five fours and two sixes to help their side to 233-7 which was its highest score of the tournament to date. Kenya captain Maurice Ouma, who scored 40 and took four catches behind the wickets, was adjudged player of the match, and reflecting on his side’s defeat, he said: “It’s very disappointing to lose a game like that especially as we gave it our all but there were plenty of positives to take from it from our side.
“Collins Obuya and Thomas Odoyo batted really well and it was great to see them play so well, two senior players really leading from the front. Nehemiah Odhiambo bowled well and that is what we want from him as, together with Thomas, he is the spearhead of our attack. “In the end it was the little errors here and there that cost us and another defeat is not nice to take but there are three games left for us in this tournament and if we can continue to improve like we did today then we will be able to take plenty away from this tournament after all.
Meanwhile, Kevin O’Brien became the second Ireland batsman to complete 1,000 ODI runs as the defending champion survived a scare from Scotland in a low-scoring encounter to maintain its unbeaten run. Chasing a modest 118-run target at VOC ground in Voorburg, Ireland achieved victory for the loss of five wickets in 34.2 overs after slipping from 56-2 to 65-5 in 20 overs. O’Brien, later declared man of the match, finished unbeaten on a priceless 41. When he reached 13, after staying on 12 for 16 deliveries, he completed 1,000 runs in his 40th appearance to become the second Ireland batsman after William Porterfield to reach the milestone.
A delighted O’Brien later said: “It is obviously an achievement. They’re all hard-fought runs against some very good teams around the world. It is a good one to know and hopefully I can just build on it for the future for the next couple of years, including the ICC Cricket World Cup next year in the subcontinent.”
On a difficult batting surface against some disciplined bowling and on a beautiful day weather-wise, Scotland’s batsmen found themselves all at sea for much of their innings on a pitch that offered assistance to the bowlers.
While battling to hang in there and survive its full quota of overs, it failed to take its batting powerplay until it was mandatory to do so, in the 46th over, by which time Scotland had already slipped to 118-8 before being dismissed six runs later with 16 deliveries going unused.
Neil McCallum showed a lot of courage and patience to top score with a sedate 49 that came off 94 deliveries. Out of Scotland’s eight fours, the 32-year-old hit six and each boundary was a treat to watch. The other batsman to reach double figures was Dougie Lockhart who scored 19 off 68 balls.
Ireland’s bowlers made optimum use of the favourable conditions and returned with impressive figures. Trent Johnston recorded figures of 10-3-18-2 and Nigel Jones had figures of 10-3-19-2. O’Brien, Alex Cusack and John Mooney picked up a wicket each while Scotland opener Preston Mommsen (4) was run-out due to some athletic fielding by Jones.
In turn, Ireland started confidently with Paul Stirling hitting a couple of exquisite shots before Matthew Parker’s double strike off successive deliveries pegged back the batting side. Stirling and O’Brien carried the score from 12-2 to 56-2 before Stirling’s dismissal led to two more quick wickets as Ireland slipped to 65-5. However, those turned out to be Scotland’s last successes as O’Brien took control of proceedings and slowly but confidently steered Ireland to success which has put it on top of the table with three successive victories.
O’Brien’s 41 came off 84 balls and included five fours and a six. Together with John Mooney (20 not out), O’Brien added 55 runs in 85 deliveries. Stirling’s 37 included seven punishing boundaries off 43 deliveries.
For Scotland, Drummond and Parker picked up two wickets apiece conceding 23 and 42 runs respectively.
Drummond was disappointed with the result. He said: “We knew it was a difficult wicket to bat on. I think 150 or 160 would have been an interesting chase as there would have been more pressure on the batsmen to score quicker. “We got five wickets but once the ball got softer, batting became much easier. Also, the bowlers didn’t bowl consistently and missed the right areas otherwise we might have taken 10 wickets. “It’s a reality check for us and I don’t think we have played as well as we can. I think the best is yet to come from us and hopefully we’ll be able to put together for the next game against Kenya.”
At VOC in Rotterdam, a career-best 84 not out by Eric Szwarczynski guided the Netherlands to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Canada. It was the home side’s second win in three matches while Canada, which finished second in last year’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier for the WCL divisions 1 and 2, is still searching for its first win. Chasing 169 runs for victory, the home side achieved victory in 42.4 overs. Szwarczynski hit seven fours and a six off 121 deliveries and added 70 runs in an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership with Bas Zuiderent who scored 35 not out. For the second wicket with Tom Cooper (35), Szwarczynski put on 91 runs.
Earlier, Canada’s 168 revolved around captain Ashish Bagai’s 71 before he was the last batsman out. He hit seven fours from 132 balls as the North Americans lost their last eight wickets for 107 runs.
For the Netherlands, Bradley Kruger and Mark Jonkman took three wickets each conceding 21 and 39 runs, respectively, while Adeel Raja bagged 2-26.
Scores in brief:
At VRA, Amstelveen, Afghanistan beat Kenya by one wicket (Match streamed live on www.espnstar.com/icclive)
Kenya 233-7, 50 overs (Collins Obuya 60, Thomas Odoyo 52 not out, Maurice Ouma 40, Rakeep Patel 34; Hamid Hassan 3-32, Samiullah Shenwari 2-38, Shahpoor Zadran 2-54) Afghanistan 234-9, 50 overs (Samiullah Shenwari 82, Mohammad Nabi 47, Asghar Salamkhail 24; Nehemiah Odhiambo 3-53, James Kamande 2-22, Shem Ngoche 2-28)
Man of the match: Maurice Ouma (Kenya)Points: Afghanistan 2 Kenya 0
At VOC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands beat Canada by seven wickets
Canada 168 all out, 49.1 overs (Ashish Bagai 71, Geoff Barnett 34, Calvert Hooper 27; Bradley Kruger 3-21, Mark Jonkman 3-39, Adeel Raja 2-26)Netherlands 169-3, 42.4 overs (Eric Szwarczynski 84 not out, Tom Cooper 39, Bas Zuiderent 35 not out)Man of the match: Eric Szwarczynski (The Netherlands)Points: The Netherlands 2 Canada 0
At VCC, Voorburg, Ireland beat Scotland by five wickets
Scotland 117 all out, 47.2 overs (Neil McCallum 49; Trent Johnston 2-18, Nigel Jones 2-19) Ireland 120-5, 34.2 overs (Kevin O’Brien 41 not out, Paul Stirling 37, John Mooney 20 not out; Gordon Drummond 2-23, Matthew Parker 2-42)Man of the match: Kevin O’Brien (Ireland)Points: Ireland 2 Scotland 0
Points table after third round
P W NR L Pts NRR
Ireland 3 3 - - 6 +1.009
Netherlands 3 2 - 1 4 +0.993
Scotland 3 2 - 1 4 -0.003
Afghanistan 3 2 - 1 4 -0.205
Canada 3 - - 3 - -0.928
Kenya 3 - - 3 - -1.097
Five-star
Cusack
bowls
Ireland
to
39-run
victory
over
Afghanistan
Rights-free
audio
interviews
of
Neil
McCallum,
Trent
Johnston,
Alex
Cusack
and
Andrew
Poynter
available
for
download
at
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/media_interactive_zone/audio_interview.php
Photographs
from
Afghanistan’s
innings
available
through
Getty
Images
Ireland
took
a
sweet
revenge
for
its
shock
defeat
to
Afghanistan
in
the
same
tournament
last
year
when
it
outsmarted
the
Asian
side
by
39
runs
to
record
its
second
successive
victory
in
the
ICC
World
Cricket
League
Division
1 at
VOC
in
Rotterdam.
Afghanistan,
which
beat
Ireland
by
22
runs
in
Krugersdorp,
South
Africa,
failed
to
repeat
its
performance
and
was
dismissed
for
198
runs
while
chasing
238
runs
for
victory.
It
had
started
its
run-chase
on a
bright
and
sunny
Sunday
morning
after
intermittent
rain
on
Saturday
afternoon
had
forced
the
match
to
be
carried
over
into
the
reserve
day.
In
the
first-ever
ODI
between
the
two
sides
(last
year’s
match
is
not
classified
as
an
ODI
as
Afghanistan
did
not
have
an
ODI
status
then),
a
lot
more
was
expected
from
the
Afghanistan
batsmen.
However,
they
failed
to
come
to
terms
with
some
disciplined
Irish
bowling
which
was
well
backed
up
by
strong
fielding.
The
Ireland
bowlers
bowled
accurately
and
when
the
Afghanistan
batsmen
tried
to
break
the
shackles
by
attempting
over-ambitious
strokes
then
well-positioned
fielders
didn’t
miss
an
opportunity
as
Afghanistan
lost
wickets
at
regular
intervals
to
be
eventually
bowled
out
in
47.1
overs.
Surprisingly,
Afghanistan
delayed
its
batting
powerplay
until
the
46th
over
by
which
time
it
was
already
struggling
at
188-8
and
needing
another
52
runs
from
30
balls.
It
managed
only
10
runs
in
its
final
13
deliveries.
The
bowler
who
broke
the
back
of
Afghanistan’s
top
and
middle-order
was
right-arm
fast
bowler
Alex
Cusack.
He
claimed
the
prized
scalps
of
Noor
Ali
(21),
Mohammad
Shahzad
(two),
Asghar
Stanikzai
(20)
and
Samiullah
Shenwari
(14).
He
later
returned
in
the
death
overs
to
add
the
wicket
of
Hamid
Hassan
(17)
to
complete
his
maiden
five-wicket
haul.
He
finished
with
excellent
figures
of
8.1-1-22-5.
Off-spinner
Andrew
White
also
bowled
well
and
picked
up
the
wickets
of
Afghanistan’s
top
scorer
Shabir
Noori
(38)
and
Karim
Sadiq
(25)
to
finish
with
impressive
figures
of
2-30.
On
Saturday
Afghanistan
had
let
Ireland
off
the
hook
with
some
sloppy
fielding
to
allow
the
defending
champion
to
post
239-9
in
50
overs.
Andrew
Poynter,
who
was
adjudged
man
of
the
match,
was
the
top
scorer
with
78
while
captain
Trent
Johnston
struck
a
quick-fire
42
not
out
that
included
two
fours
and
two
sixes
from
28
balls.
Johnston
was
delighted
with
his
side’s
success.
He
said:
“I
thought
the
toss
was
very
important
on
this
wicket.
We
posted
a
pretty
good
total
and
we
knew
if
we
could
get
early
wickets
and
put
pressure,
our
spinners
will
come
through
and
do
the
job.
“Our
spinners
didn’t
bowl
as
well
as
we
all
expected,
but
Alex
Cusack
bowled
fantastically
well
and
took
five
wickets.
I
thought
we
built
a
lot
of
pressure
on
them
and
didn’t
give
them
any
loose
balls
which
they
like.”
Johnston
was
all
praise
for
Poynter
and
Cusack:
“Both
were
outstanding.
(Andrew)
Poynter
has
just
come
back
into
the
side
after
a
couple
of
years
off,
I
suppose.
But
he
got
his
chances
in
the
absence
of
some
key
players
due
to
their
county
commitments
and
he’s
making
full
use
of
them.
This
is
something
that
all
the
youngsters
need
to
do.
“People
think
Ireland
is a
one
generation
team.
We
have
just
got
to
have
a
look
at
him.
He
(Andrew
Poynter)
has
come
back
into
the
team
and
he
has
10-12
years
of
international
cricket
ahead
of
him.
To
come
out
here
and
score
80-odd
runs
on
this
wicket
is
an
outstanding
achievement.
“(Alex)
Cusack
is a
big
ace
up
my
sleeve.
He
was
man
of
the
tournament
in
the
ICC
World
Twenty20
Qualifier
earlier
this
year.
He
is a
massive
player
and
though
he
missed
out
on
batting,
he
came
back
strongly
to
pick
up
five
wickets.”
Scores
in
brief:
At
VOC,
Rotterdam,
Ireland
beat
Afghanistan
by
39
runs
Ireland
237-9,
50
overs
(Andrew
Poynter
78,
Kevin
O’Brien
44,
Trent
Johnston
42
not
out,
Andrew
White
31;
Hamid
Hassan
3-53,
Khaliq
Dad
2-27)
Afghanistan
198
all
out,
47.1
overs
(Shabir
Noori
38,
Karim
Sadiq
25,
Mohammad
Nabi
23,
Noor
Ali
21,
Asghar
Stanikzai
20;
Alex
Cusack
5-22,
Andrew
White
2-30)
Man
of
the
match:
Andrew
Poynter
(Ireland)
Points:
Ireland
2
Afghanistan
0
Monday’s
fixtures:
Kenya
v
Afghanistan,
VRA,
Amstelveen
(live
streaming
at
www.espnstar.com/icclive
and
http://wcldiv1.yahoo.net/)
Netherlands
v
Canada,
VOC,
Rotterdam
Ireland
v
Scotland,
VCC,
Voorburg
Netherlands
bounces
back
with
comfortable
victory
over
Kenya
McCallum
powers
Scotland
to easy
win over
Canada;
Afghanistan
to start
its
238-run
chase
against
Ireland
on
Sunday
Photographs
from the
Scotland
v Canada
match
available
for free
downloading
through
ICC FTP
site;
images
from
Ireland
v
Afghanistan
match
available
through
Getty
Images
The
Netherlands
shrugged
off
Thursday’s
last-over
disappointments
with a
117-run
victory
over
Kenya in
the
second
round
match of
the ICC
World
Cricket
League
Division
1 at VCC
in
Voorburg
on
Saturday.
The
Dutch,
which
lost to
Scotland
by one
wicket
in its
opener,
made
amends
for a
late
batting
collapse
against
the
African
side by
bowling
and
fielding
brilliantly
to
successfully
defend a
230-run
target,
dismissing
the 2007
champion
for 112
in 30
overs.
Elsewhere,
Neil
McCallum
celebrated
becoming
Scotland’s
most-capped
One-Day
International
player
by
stroking
a
well-constructed
89 not
out in
his
side’s
69 runs
victory
over
Canada
on the
Duckworth-Lewis
calculations
at VCC
in
Amstelveen,
while
intermittent
rain
prevented
Afghanistan
from
starting
its
238-run
chase
after
Ireland
had
capitalized
on some
poor
fielding
to post
237-9 in
50 overs
at VOC
in
Rotterdam.
The
Asian
side
will
start
its
innings
on
Sunday.
Bolstered
with the
inclusion
of
Alexei
Kervezee
from
English
county
Worcestershire,
the
Dutch
were on
course
for a
big
score
when
they
reached
196-3 in
the 40th
over
after
being
sent
into
bat,
Kervezee’s
share
being
92,
before
losing
their
way
completely
to
finish
on 229
in 49.2
overs.
The
20-year-old
Kervezee
was in
sublime
form as
he
clobbered
11 fours
and a
six in a
89-ball
knock
and
dominated
a
123-run
second
wicket
stand
with Tom
Cooper,
who
registered
his
third
half-century
in as
many
ODIs
while
scoring
a
watchful
67 from
98 balls
with
three
fours.
After
Kervezee
departed,
falling
eight
short of
his
maiden
century,
Cooper
found
another
good
ally in
Wesley
Barresi
(24) as
the two
batsmen
put on
53 runs
for the
fourth
wicket.
However,
Cooper’s
dismissal
triggered
a
sensational
collapse
as the
home
side
lost its
last
seven
wickets
for 32
runs in
58 balls
James
Kamadane
was the
bowler
who
brought
Kenya
back in
the
match
with
figures
of 4-36
while
James
Ngoche
(2-39)
and
Thomas
Odoyo
(2-26)
supported
him well.
The
230-run
target
proved
to be
too
stiff
for the
Africans
which,
for the
second
successive
match,
put up a
dismal
batting
performance
and
crashed
out for
112 runs
after
being
80-3 at
one
stage.
Only
Collins
Obuya
offered
any
prolonged
resistance
with
made 29
while
Adeel
Raja and
Peter
Borren
took two
wickets
apiece.
In
Amstelveen,
McCallum
passed
Gavin
Hamilton’s
mark of
36 ODI
appearances
and made
the
occasion
a
special
one for
himself
by
producing
a man of
the
match
performance
that
gave his
side a
second
successive
victory
in the
tournament.
McCallum,
32,
stroked
his
fourth
ODI
half-century
while
scoring
89 not
out that
came off
78 balls
and
included
seven
fours
and four
sixes.
Together
with
Richie
Berrington,
who
scored a
91-ball
67 with
three
fours
and two
sixes,
McCallum
added
124 runs
in 23
overs.
McCallum
was in
devastating
form as
his last
39 runs
came off
just 13
deliveries
and
included
three
fours
and
three
sixes.
It was
his
powerful
hitting
that
helped
Scotland
collect
52 runs
in the
batting
powerplay
between
the 45th
and 49th
overs.
Canada
slumped
to 79-6
in 21
overs in
response,
not
helped
by two
interruptions
for rain,
and when
play
resumed
they
found
themselves
with a
near-impossible
target
of 196
from a
total of
26
overs, a
target
made so
stiff
because
of that
high
number
of
wickets
lost. It
eventually
finished
at 126-9
to lose
by 69
runs.
Scotland’s
joy at
its
victory
was
tempered
a little
by the
news
that
top-order
batsman
Gregor
Maiden
is set
to miss
the rest
of the
event
with a
damaged
right
thumb.
Maiden
took a
blow
from a
delivery
by
Canada
pace
bowler
Colvert
Hooper
and
although
he
batted
on in
discomfort
before
eventually
being
dismissed
for 30,
team
officials
later
said the
injury
was
serious
and they
would be
set to
seek a
replacement.
McCallum,
reacting
to
becoming
the most
capped
Scotland
player,
said: “I
don’t
play for
records
and I
wasn’t
aware of
it until
I was
told
after I
batted.
If you
play for
any
length
of time
then
those
things
will
follow
and it’s
gratifying.
But the
main
thing is
that the
team is
playing
well.”
And
reflecting
on the
match he
added:
“We knew
Canada
would be
a
difficult
game and
by
deciding
to bat
first we
knew we
had to
give
ourselves
a chance
by
getting
a total
to
defend.
Myself
and
Richie
Berrington
managed
to put a
partnership
together.
In the
dressing
room we
always
talk
about
getting
100-plus
stands
and it
was good
that we
did just
that.
“It was
a
totally
different
surface
from the
one we
played
against
the
Dutch on
Thursday.
We knew
it
wouldn’t
be easy
up front
but we
still
opted to
try and
put a
total on
the
board
and all
the
batsmen
did well
in tough
conditions.
The top
order
had to
work so
hard to
take the
shine
off the
ball and
keep
wickets
intact
and
Richie
and I
took
advantage
when the
hardness
went off
the ball.”
McCallum
said his
side was
looking
forward
to
Monday’s
match
against
traditional
rival
Ireland.
He said:
“We’re
very
pleased
with the
way
things
are
going at
the
moment.
We took
a lot of
confidence
from the
way we
played
against
India A
last
week and
although
the
Dutch
game on
Thursday
could
have
gone
either
way
we’ll
take
that win,
and this
performance
against
Canada
sets us
up
nicely
for our
match
with
Ireland.
“It’s a
cliche
but
we’ve
not
looked
beyond
this
match at
this
stage.
We’ll
just
take
each
game as
it comes,
do the
basics
well if
we can,
and if
we can
do that
then the
rest
should
take
care of
itself.”
At
Rotterdam,
Afghanistan
dropped
no less
than
half a
dozen
catches
that
allowed
defending
champion
Ireland
to
recover
to 237-9
in 50
overs.
Andrew
Poynter
finished
as the
top
scorer
with a
fine 78
that
came off
109
balls
and
included
six
fours
and a
six.
However,
it was a
28-ball
cameo
from
captain
Trent
Johnston
that
lifted
his side
to a
decent
score.
Johnston
clubbed
two
fours
and two
sixes in
a
28-ball
42 not
out,
including
15 off
the last
over
from
Mohammad
Nabi.
For
Afghanistan,
Hamid
Hassan
took
3-53
while
Khaliq
Dad
claimed
2-27.
Afghanistan
will
start
its
run-chase
tomorrow
(Sunday)
at 1100
(0900
GMT).
Scores
in
brief:
At
VRA,
Amstelveen,
Scotland
beat
Canada
by 69
runs
(D/L
method)
Scotland
236-4,
50 overs
(Neil
McCallum
89 not
out,
Richie
Berrington
67,
Gregor
Maiden
30; Umar
Bhatti
2-29)
Canada
126-9,
26 overs
(Hiral
Patel
37, Umar
Bhatti
26;
Gordon
Goudie
3-18,
Ross
Lyons
2-23)
Man
of the
match:
Neil
McCallum
(Scotland)
Points:
Scotland
2 Canada
0
At
VOC,
Rotterdam,
match in
progress
Ireland
237-9,
50 overs
(Andrew
Poynter
78,
Kevin
O’Brien
44,
Trent
Johnston
42 not
out,
Andrew
White
31;
Hamid
Hassan
3-53,
Khaliq
Dad
2-27)
At
VCC,
Voorburg,
the
Netherlands
beat
Kenya by
117 runs
The
Netherlands
229 all
out,
49.2
overs (Alexei
Kervezee
92, Tom
Cooper
67,
Wesley
Barresi
24;
James
Kamande
4-36,
Thomas
Odoyo
2-26,
James
Ngoche
2-39)
Kenya
112 all
out, 30
overs
(Collins
Obuya
29;
Adeel
Raja
2-3,
Peter
Borren
2-26)
Man of
the
match:
Alexei
Kervezee
(The
Netherlands)
Points:
The
Netherlands
2 Kenya
0
ICC WCL
Div.1
matches to
be live
streamed
from the
Netherlands
In a major
boost to the
promotion
and coverage
of the ICC
World
Cricket
League
Division 1,
the ICC
today
announced
six of the
18 matches
would be
live
streamed on
the
tournament
and EPSN
STAR Sports
websites.
As such,
die-hard
fans of the
game will
now be able
to follow
all the
action in
real time
from VRA
ground in
Amsterdam,
including
the final on
10 July.
The
five-camera
coverage
will include
live
commentary,
replays,
captains’
interviews
at the toss,
flash
interviews
after the
completion
of the first
innings and
post-match
interviews
of the
captains and
the player
of the
match.
The matches
to be
streamed
live include
the
Netherlands
v Scotland
game on 1
July, Canada
v Scotland
(3 July),
Kenya v
Afghanistan
(5 July),
Ireland v
Canada (7
July), the
Netherlands
v Ireland (9
July) and
the 10 July
final.
It is the
first time
that the ICC
World
Cricket
League
Division 1
will be
broadcast in
such a
manner.
For more
details on
the
territories
where the
coverage is
available,
please go to
www.iccevents.yahoo.com
Afghanistan
captain
Nowroz Khan
Mangal was
delighted
with this
news.
“It’s a
great
contribution
by ICC’s
commercial
partners to
ensure
people back
home can
follow our
performance
and progress
in this very
important
tournament,”
said Mangal.
“Although
only one of
our matches
will be
streamed
live, it is
good news
for our fans
in
Afghanistan
coming on
the back of
live TV
coverage of
the ICC
World
Twenty20
2010.
“I’m sure
this will go
a long way
in the
continued
promotion
and
development
of the sport
in
Afghanistan.”
Scotland
captain
Gordon
Drummond
said: “It is
a great
opportunity
for the fans
who cannot
be here to
follow the
proceedings
on their
computers
while
sitting in
their
comfortable
chairs.
“Live
streaming of
the
tournament
will provide
a good
chance for
the Scottish
fans to
watch some
of the new
guys in the
side and see
what they
are capable
of doing at
this level.
“Likewise,
it will also
be an
opportunity
for the up
and coming
cricketers
to see the
standard of
the game at
this level
and improve
upon their
skills in
the training
camps so
that when
they step
into the
senior side,
they exactly
know what
are the
challenges
and
expectations
and how they
can meet
those
demands.”
Gordon
Drummond
talks up
Scotland’s
chances at
ICC WCL Div.
1 on this
week’s ICC
Cricket
World radio
show
Ireland
coach Phil
Simmons
discusses
his side’s
preparations
for the
tournament
that got
underway
today
Former West
Indies fast
bowler
Michael
Holding
talks about
his role as
a
commentator
Podcast
available
for free
download and
editorial
use from
www.icc-cricket.com
On this
week’s ICC
Cricket
World audio
show
Scotland
captain
Gordon
Drummond
talks about
his side’s
preparation
for the ICC
World
Cricket
League
Division 1 (WCL
Div.1)
tournament
which got
underway in
the
Netherlands
today
(Thursday).
“We’ve had a
few changes
to the
Scotland
side since
the previous
World
Cricket
League in
South Africa
last year
and I think
one of our
major goals
for this
tournament
is to be
really
competitive
in every
game we play
and try to
win every
match,” says
Drummond.
“We’ve got
two new
players in
the side in
the form of
our two
opening
batters.
Oliver Hairs
is recently
out of
school and
has been
performing
really well
on the club
cricket
scene in
Scotland,
plus we’ve
got Preston
Mommsen who
is in fine
form at the
moment.
Matthew
Parker, our
opening
bowler, is
very
effective
with the bat
as well,”
says
Drummond
Joining
Drummond on
this week’s
show is
Ireland
coach Phil
Simmons who
discusses
his side’s
chances and
preparations
just as the
tournament
got underway
today in the
Netherlands.
“First and
foremost we
want to win
the
competition
but what has
worked out
in our
favour for
this
tournament
is that
we’ve been
able to
bring in
four or five
youngsters
into the
side due to
senior
players not
being
available
and it gives
us an
opportunity
to test
these guys
out, ahead
of the World
Cup, on a
highly
competitive
stage,” says
Simmons.
“I don’t
think we’ll
be under
pressure as
current
holders of
the trophy,
but we put
pressure on
ourselves to
do things
right, play
cricket the
right way
and success
comes that
way in
cricket,”
says the
former West
Indies
player
turned
Ireland
coach.
The show can
be used in
whole or
part by
radio
stations
that want
cricket
content,
while the
public can
also
download it
straight
from the ICC
website at
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/media_interactive_zone/podcast.php.
Also on this
week’s show,
former West
Indies fast
bowler
Michael
Holding
talks about
his life now
behind the
microphone
watching
cricket for
a living.
“I enjoy
being a
commentator,
especially
the
camaraderie
in the
commentary
box and it’s
enabled me
to maintain
great
friendships
with guys I
used to play
against –
from Asia,
Australia,
from all
over the
world,” says
the ICC
Cricket Hall
of Famer.
“I never
knew I
wanted to be
a
commentator,
it had never
crossed my
mind until a
radio
station in
Jamaica
approached
me way back
in 1988. I
told them no
initially
and then
they came
back to me
again and I
agreed to
give it a
try.
“I started
off on radio
and then
gradually I
moved to
television
and I enjoy
it greatly
now,” says
Holding.
Apart from
the above
interviews,
the show has
the usual
round up of
cricketing
news and an
update of
the Reliance
Mobile ICC
Player
Rankings for
Test and ODI
cricket.
The weekly
ICC Cricket
World audio
show runs
for 15
minutes and
has been put
together by
the ICC’s
global
broadcast
partner ESPN
STAR Sports.
The June
issue of
the Pepsi
ICC Development
Programme -
Europe newsletter
is now
online at www.icc-europe.org so
click below
to see the
latest
developments
in European cricket
please click
here
Exciting
developments for the
growth of cricket
Qualification
process expanded for
the ICC World
Twenty20;
US$2million
strategic funding
towards enhancement
of projects in key
areas; next wave of
ICC development
events allocated
Seychelles applies
for Affiliate
Membership
Haroon Lorgat:
“Cricket development
around the world has
never been stronger”
A new and expanded
global qualification
system will be
established to give
the ICC Associate
and Affiliate
Members a distinct
pathway towards the
ICC World Twenty20,
it has been decided.
The qualification
tournament, which
has previously
involved six or
eight teams, will be
expanded to a
16-team tournament
in early 2012 to
give those sides the
chance to represent
their countries at
the prestigious ICC
World Twenty20 2012
in Sri Lanka.
Meeting in Jakarta,
the ICC Development
Committee has
designed the
new-look tournament
to comprise the six
which currently
enjoy ODI/T20I
status plus 10
qualifiers from
regional Twenty20
events.
The exact details of
the regional
qualification
network will be
announced in due
course but the
intention is to give
all 94 Associate and
Affiliate Members a
clear pathway of
opportunity towards
the finals of this
truly global
tournament.
In another exciting
development, the
committee has
pledged US$2million
towards major
cricket facilities
developments in
leading and targeted
Associates and
Affiliates, in
partnership with
Members and
third-parties.
Specifically, the
Members eligible to
apply, under a
system to be
finalised in due
course, will include
each of the top
six-ranked
Associates/Affiliates,
China, USA and a
Member nominated by
each of the Africa,
East Asia-Pacific
and Europe regions
together with any
Associate or
Affiliate scheduled
to host certain ICC
events.
Commenting on these
decisions, ICC Chief
Executive Haroon
Lorgat said: “These
are two extremely
exciting, strategic
and encouraging
developments for the
future of our great
sport. They
represent a clear
sign of our ongoing
commitment to
growing the game
beyond its
traditional
boundaries and
ensuring that each
of our members has
the opportunity to
develop and become
the best they can be.
“Cricket has never
been stronger. We
now have three
viable formats of
the game at
international level
– something no other
sport can boast –
and cricket
continues to grow in
popularity in almost
every corner of the
globe. These
initiatives are
steps along the path
towards continued
sustainable growth.
“Overall, it was a
very productive
meeting and I would
like to thank
Cricket Indonesia
for hosting it so
effectively and for
welcoming all the
delegates so warmly,”
said Mr Lorgat.
While in Jakarta,
the Development
Committee received a
presentation from
Cricket Indonesia
and attended the
national under-17
championships, which
involved teams from
12 regions across
that vast nation. In
addition, Mr Lorgat
met with
representatives from
the Indonesian
government and the
national Olympic
committee.
“Indonesia is an
outstanding example
of an Affiliate
Member on an upward
move. It is the
fastest-growing
member in terms of
participation
numbers and I
believe this is due
to excellent staff,
volunteers,
strategies, plans
and partnerships
that are in place,”
added Mr Lorgat.
The number of ICC
members, currently
standing at 104, may
continue to grow as
the application of
Seychelles for
Affiliate Membership
has now been
forwarded to ICC
Annual Conference
2010 for
consideration.
In addition, the
Development
Committee has
allocated the
staging of three
Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League (WCL)
events to Hong
Kong/China (Division
3 in January 2011),
the United Arab
Emirates (Division 2
in April 2011) and
Botswana (Division 7
in March/April
2011).
The ICC Women’s
World Cup Qualifier
2011, which will
determine the four
teams to join
England, New
Zealand, Australia
and India at the ICC
Women’s World Cup
2013 in India, will
be staged in
Bangladesh in
November. The
competing teams will
be the West Indies,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka and Japan plus
one qualifying team
from the Americas
and two teams each
from Africa and
Europe. This event
will double as the
women’s qualifying
tournament for the
ICC World Twenty20
2012 to be staged in
Sri Lanka.
These allocations
are all subject to
the finalisation of
logistical and
budgetary
arrangements in
coming weeks and
months.
The groupings for
the eight-team WCL
Div. 8 2010 event
(6-12 November) in
Kuwait have now been
confirmed as follows:
Group A – Bhutan,
Kuwait, Suriname and
Vanuatu.
Group B – Bahamas,
Gibraltar, Zambia
and the next highest
European qualifier
(to come from the
regional division 2
event, which runs
from 13 to 19 July
2010).
The April issue of
the Pepsi
ICC Development
Programme -
Europe newsletter is
now online at www.icc-europe.org so
click on the link
below to see the
latest developments
in European cricket.
http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue109.pdf
ICC
World Twenty20 to be
broadcast in 15 European
languages
Cricket fans in France,
Turkey, Greece, Hungary and
many other nations can
follow TV commentary in
their own tongues as
Eurosport reaches out
Lorgat: “Initiative is yet
another sign of ICC’s
commitment to grow the game
beyond its traditional
boundaries”
If you’ve ever wondered how
to say “howzat?” in Polish
or “free hit” in German, you
could find out over the
course of the next few weeks
as the Eurosport channel
will be broadcasting the
upcoming ICC World Twenty20
from the West Indies in 14
languages across the length
and breadth of the
continent.
The broadcaster, which is an
official licensee of ICC’s
broadcast partner ESPN STAR
Sports, has confirmed it
will broadcast 23 matches
from the event. 14 games
will be live on Eurosport 2
and all of the 23 will be
available via Eurosport
Player, Eurosport's online
pay-TV service.
Along with the other
licensees, this exciting
development means that the
ICC World Twenty20 2010 will
be accessible to 56
territories across the
continent of Europe. In
addition, the full list of
languages that Eurosport
plans to broadcast in are
Bulgarian, Czech, Danish,
English, French, German,
Greek, Hungarian, Italian,
Polish, Romanian, Russian,
Serbian, Swedish and
Turkish.
This is in addition to the
global reach of the
tournament through ESS’s
various licensees in more
than 200 territories around
the world.
Through Eurosport, ESS is
also launching its exciting
“What is Cricket?”
educational campaign in
order to continue building
upon the event’s growing
popularity in Europe.
This ESS campaign aims to
build on last year’s efforts
to bring Twenty20
International cricket closer
to fans in Europe with
five-minute promotional
clips on Eurosport that
introduce key elements of
the sport and show new fans
and viewers what makes the
ICC World Twenty20 so
exciting to watch.
As a flavour of what you can
expect on your TV screens
over the next few weeks, you
can watch clips of
Eurosport’s multi-lingual
coverage of the ICC World
Twenty20 2009 in England on
the event website
www.iccevents.yahoo.com.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon
Lorgat said: “This is
another example of how the
ICC and our partners are
bringing the great sport of
cricket to the world and
promoting it beyond its
traditional boundaries. It
is great news for cricket
and for the sports-lovers of
Europe.
“This is the second time
Eurosport has broadcast an
ICC event – the first being
the ICC World Twenty20 2009
in England. After that
tournament we received
correspondence from cricket
novices in places like
Sweden and Italy wondering
how they could find out more
about the game and if there
were any clubs in their
neighbourhoods they could
join,” said Mr Lorgat.
“Being able to put these new
cricket-lovers in touch with
our Members across Europe
was particularly satisfying
and we hope this year’s
event in the West Indies
will inspire yet more people
to pick up the game.”
The “What is Cricket?”
campaign on Eurosport will
take the form of regular
on-air features explaining
the fundamentals of the game
to viewers who may not have
seen much cricket in the
past.
ESS Managing Director Manu
Sawhney said: “We’re very
pleased to continue our
partnership with Eurosport
Group to showcase the ICC
World Twenty20 event across
continental Europe.
“This event enjoys a strong
following across the region
and we’re committed to build
on that popularity further
with the ‘What is Cricket?’
campaign together with the
ICC and Eurosport Group,”
said Mr Sawhney.
“This unique educational
campaign builds on the ICC
World Twenty20’s growing
appeal after last year’s
efforts to localize the
event in 14 languages, and
will go a long way in taking
the game to new heights in
the continent and bringing
in new audiences for the
future.”
Laurent-Eric Le Lay,
Chairman and CEO of
Eurosport Group added:
“We’re delighted with the
partnership between ESS and
the ICC. We’re looking
forward to delivering the
ICC World Twenty20 2010 in
the best way possible to our
viewers in Europe so they
can enjoy the event in all
its glory.
“This is one of the year’s
biggest global sporting
events and we’re confident
that this new educational
campaign combined with
broadcasting the event in
more languages will raise
the bar in terms of reaching
more fans.”
The 17-day tournament will
feature 12 teams with all
the top international
players in the world taking
part and with tickets for
the big event fast
disappearing, fans who are
unable to support their
teams at the grounds will be
afforded the best possible
coverage courtesy of ESS.
The event will also feature
eight women’s teams, which
will play their group-stage
matches in St Kitts. The
semi-finals and final will
run as double-headers with
the men’s version in St
Lucia and Barbados in front
of ESS cameras, giving
enormous exposure to the
women’s game around the
world.
ICC announces
schedule of ICC
World Cricket League
Division 1
The ICC today
announced the
schedule of the
six-team ICC World
Cricket League
Division 1 (WCL
Div.1) 2010, which
will be hosted by
Koninklije
Nederlandse Cricket
Bond (KNCB) in the
Netherlands from 1
to 10 July.
Besides the host
nation, defending
champion Ireland,
Kenya, Canada,
Afghanistan and
Scotland will take
part in the
tournament which
showcases the best
ODI cricketers from
the Associate and
Affiliate Members.
The tournament will
also provide Kenya,
Ireland, the
Netherlands and
Canada an ideal
platform and a
perfect opportunity
to assess their
progress as they
continue to prepare
for the ICC Cricket
World Cup 2011 which
will be staged in
India, Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh from 19
February to 2 April.
Host Kenya won the
inaugural ICC WCL
Div.1 in Nairobi in
January 2007 when it
defeated Scotland in
the final by eight
wickets. Ireland,
which went on to
make the Super Eight
stage of the ICC
Cricket World Cup
2007, lost four
matches in the Kenya
event after a number
of thrilling
finishes.
But the experience
Ireland gained in
Nairobi helped it a
couple of months
later when it
produced its best
performance in a
global event to
date, defeating Full
Members Pakistan and
Bangladesh, as well
as tying with
Zimbabwe in the West
Indies.
Ireland bounced back
after the
disappointment in
the inaugural event
when it added the
ICC World Cricket
League title to its
growing collection
after defeating
Canada by nine
wickets in the 2009
final. The
tournament, which
was staged in South
Africa last year,
incorporated Pepsi
ICC World Cricket
League Division 2
sides and also
served as the ICC
Cricket World Cup
Qualifier (formerly
the ICC Trophy).
A total of 18
matches will be
played in this
year’s tournament
that will be staged
on a single-league
format with the top
two sides qualifying
for the final and
the other four teams
squaring-off in the
play-off matches on
the last day of the
tournament.
ICC World Cricket
League Division 1
The Netherlands
Seeding (based on
teams’ standing in
the ICC Cricket
World Cup Qualifier
2009): 1-Ireland,
2-Canada,
3-Netherlands,
4-Kenya,
5-Afghanistan,
6-Scotland.
Tournament schedule
(venues tbc)
Thursday 1 July –
Netherlands v
Scotland, Canada v
Afghanistan, Ireland
v Kenya
Saturday 3 July –
Canada v Scotland,
Ireland v
Afghanistan,
Netherlands v Kenya
Monday 5 July –
Kenya v Afghanistan,
Netherlands v
Canada, Ireland v
Scotland
Wednesday 7 July –
Ireland v Canada,
Kenya v Scotland,
Netherlands v
Afghanistan
Friday 9 July –
Netherlands v
Ireland, Afghanistan
v Scotland, Canada v
Kenya
Saturday 10 July –
Final, third-fourth
position play-off,
fifth-sixth position
play-off
The February issue
of the Pepsi
ICC Development
Programme -
Europe newsletter is
now online at www.icc-europe.org so
click on the link
below to see the
latest developments
in European cricket.
http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue107.pdf
Afghanistan takes top spot
at ICC World Twenty20
Qualifier
Will join India and
South Africa in Group C
while runner-up Ireland is
set to play West Indies and
England in Group D
Mohammad Shahzad leads
team to eight-wicket victory
as the Afghan dream
continues
Afghanistan will head to the
West Indies for the ICC
World Twenty20 2010 as the
top qualifier and will now
look forward to playing
India in St Lucia and South
Africa in Barbados in the
big event, which runs from
30 April to 16 May.
There was a crowd of about
6,000 at Dubai International
Cricket Stadium, the vast
majority of whom extremely
vocal in their support for
Afghanistan, cheering every
run scored or dot ball
bowled, and screaming for
boundaries and wickets.
In the end, Kabir Khan’s men
proved too strong again for
Ireland, batting with great
maturity and skill to knock
off Ireland’s competitive
total of 146. Mohammad
Shahzad finished unbeaten on
65 as Ireland failed to
reproduce the bowling form
that brought it through the
Super Four stage unbeaten
and ensured it qualified for
its third global ICC event
in succession.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon
Lorgat, who presented the
trophy to the winning
captain, congratulated both
teams on their qualification
for the ICC World Twenty20.
“It is a great achievement
for these teams to make it
through to the West Indies,”
he said.
“The quality of cricket on
display this week has been
very high and the
competition fierce so
Afghanistan and Ireland can
rightly feel proud of
themselves tonight.
“For Ireland this will be
another opportunity to show
the world what they can do
in an ICC global event while
for Afghanistan it will be
an adventure into the
unknown. Judging by what I
have seen during this
tournament, they will give
some of the Full Members
more than a few awkward
moments during the event.
“One of the memorable
aspects of this event has
been the passionate support
that Afghanistan and indeed
other teams have attracted
to this wonderful stadium in
Dubai. It has been fantastic
to see so many people at
Associate and Affiliate
cricket matches and it
completely surpassed our
expectations,” he said.
For the Afghans it will be
the first time it has made
it to the finals of a major
ICC tournament and
considering the Asian nation
was playing in Division 5 of
the Pepsi ICC World Cricket
League less than two years
ago, it has been a
remarkable journey.
For coach Kabir Khan he was
anxious not to underestimate
the effect this achievement
will have on the country.
“It’s a big thing for
Afghanistan, for the
cricketers and the nation,”
he said.
“It’s quite incredible that
18 months ago the side were
winning ICC World Cricket
League Division 5 and then
they managed ODI status,
they just missed out on the
ICC Cricket World Cup and
now they have just qualified
for the ICC World Twenty20
in the West Indies.
“It speaks for itself about
how great an achievement it
is for the side. For me
personally it’s my greatest
achievement as a coach so
far and I am extremely proud
for the team and for all of
Afghanistan.”
Middle-order batsman Raees
Ahmadzai added: “This really
is a great achievement for
Afghanistan cricket and
something I am extremely
proud and thankful for all
the help the ICC along with
the Asian Cricket Council
have given to Afghanistan
cricket in providing us with
facilities to play cricket.
He warned that his team will
not be heading to the
Caribbean merely to make up
the numbers.
“We will give the Full
Member countries a real test
out in the West Indies – we
won’t be going out there
just for fun. In Twenty20
cricket anything can happen.
It is a form of cricket we
know very well and we will
not be easy to beat,” said
Raees.
Ireland is a much more
familiar name at this level
having competed in the most
recent ICC World Twenty20 in
England and also in the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2007, the
last time a global ICC event
took place on the Caribbean
shores.
Once his side had secured
qualification Ireland
captain and ICC Associate
Player of the Year 2009
William Porterfield could
not hide his delight.
“It’s great for us and the
lads are on a bit of a high,”
he said.
“I think we showed some
great character to fight
back after losing the first
game of the tournament (against
Afghanistan). It’s been
pretty good and it’s what we
set out to do from the
start.
“We obviously talked about
who we thought would qualify
at the beginning of the
tournament and who the main
competitors were and
Afghanistan have played
great cricket throughout the
tournament and fair play to
them, I am happy for
Afghanistan.
“It’s obviously great to be
getting back out to the West
Indies, the people are great
out there, they love their
cricket and it’s a great
atmosphere when you’re out
there playing cricket. We
had great support out there
the last time which helped
as it was our first major
global event and we now
looking forward to getting
back out there and getting
the same kind of support.”
Saturday’s scores in
brief:
Super Four stage
Afghanistan beat UAE by four
wickets at Dubai
International Cricket
Stadium, Dubai Sports City
UAE 100-9, 20 overs (Saqib
Ali 24; Mohammad Nabi 3-17,
Mirwais Ashraf 2-15, Hamid
Hassan 2-21)
Afghanistan 101-6, 19.3
overs (Noor Ali 38 not out,
Asghar Stanikzai 26; Fayyaz
Ahmed 2-14, Silva 2-14)
Man of the match: Noor Ali
Ireland beat Netherlands by
65 runs at Dubai
International Cricket
Stadium, Dubai Sports City
Ireland 151-6, 20 overs
(Alex Cusack 65, Gary Wilson
29; Mark Jonkman 2-21)
Netherlands 86 all out, 15.3
overs (Ryan ten Doeschate
32; George Dockrell 4-20,
Trent Johnston 2-14, Peter
Connell 2-21)
Man of the match: Alex
Cusack
Final
Afghanistan beat Ireland by
eight wickets
Ireland 142-8, 20 overs (Nowroz
Mangal 3-23; Niall O’Brien
28, Alex Cusack 28)
Afghanistan 147-2, 17.3
overs (Mohammad Shahzad 65
not out, Karim Sadiq 34)
Man of the match: Mohammad
Shahzad
Player of the Tournament:
Alex Cusack (Ireland)
ICC proud of IOC
recognition
The International Olympic
Committee session in
Vancouver, Canada yesterday
approved its Executive
Board’s decision to convert
the ‘provisional’
recognition of the ICC to
‘full recognition’.
Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Chief
Executive, said: “The ICC is
extremely proud of the
recognition given to our
great sport by the IOC which
we always considered to be
our first step in becoming a
part of the Olympic family.
“At this stage no
consideration or decision
has been made regarding
participation or applying
for approval to participate
in the Olympic Games.”
UAE
qualifies for Super Four
stage as Afghanistan defeats
Scotland
Ireland and Kenya bounce
back with strong
performances
Obanda slams a 23-ball
half-century, O’Brien hits a
swashbuckling 50-ball 84 and
the UAE fast bowler Qasim
Zubair takes 5-24 against
the Netherlands
Afghanistan continued its
giant-killing run in the ICC
World Twenty20 Qualifier
when it defeated third-seed
Scotland by 14 runs to take
a big step forward in its
quest to qualify for the ICC
World Twenty20 2010 that
will be staged in the West
Indies from 30 April to 16
May.
After having accounted for
top-seed and defending
joint-champion Ireland by 13
runs on the opening day of
the tournament on Tuesday,
Afghanistan successfully
defended a 132-run target to
restrict Scotland to 117-9
and leave the European side
winless after two matches.
Opener Noor Ali scored 42
off 37 balls and Mohammad
Shahzad scored 30 as
Afghanistan collected 34
runs off the last 24 balls
to finish at 131-7. In turn,
Scotland recovered from 8-2
to 74-2 before it lost seven
wickets for 43 runs in just
six overs to finish at
117-9.
In another Group A match,
Ireland bounced back like a
true champion when it
hammered the United States
of America by 78 runs in Abu
Dhabi.
Boundaries rained as Ireland
batted the USA out of the
match by posting 202-4
having elected to bat first.
Niall O’Brien slapped 10
fours and two sixes in his
50-ball 84, Alex Cusack
clubbed two fours and two
sixes in a 30-ball 46 and
captain William Porterfield
belted five fours and a six
in a 28-ball 45.
Ireland’s fast bowler Peter
Connell then took three
wickets in six balls as the
USA slipped to 11-5 and then
25-6 before finishing at
124-6, thanks to Aditya
Thyagarajan’s 72 not out on
his debut and Orlando
Baker’s 28 not out as the
two batsmen added 99 runs
for the unfinished seventh
wicket in 83 balls.
Connell finished with
figures of 4-0-14-4 but
couldn’t deny O’Brien from
winning a well-deserved
man-of-the-match award.
These victories for
Afghanistan and Ireland have
set-up an intriguing last
day of Group A matches in
Dubai on Thursday when
Afghanistan takes on the USA
and Ireland faces Scotland.
If Afghanistan beats the USA
and Scotland defeats Ireland,
then the USA, Scotland and
Ireland will be locked on
two points each with net
run-rate deciding which team
joins Afghanistan in the
Super Four stage from Group
A.
However, if the USA beats
Afghanistan by a big margin
and Ireland defeats
Scotland, then the net
run-rate will again come
into play as Afghanistan,
the USA and Ireland will be
tied with two wins each.
After two matches,
Afghanistan is on four
points with a net run-rate
of +0.675 while Ireland and
the USA are on two points
each. However, Ireland has a
superior net run-rate of
+1.625 while the USA has a
net run-rate of -1.795.
Host the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) became the
first side to be sure of its
place in the Super Four
stage when it defeated
defending joint-champion the
Netherlands by six wickets
in Dubai.
An unbroken 101-run fifth
wicket partnership between
Naeemuddin Aslam and captain
Khurram Khan steered the UAE
to victory after the home
side was in dire straits at
67-4 off 7.3 overs while
chasing 165 for victory.
Naeemuddin scored an
unbeaten 60 off 49 balls
with two fours and two sixes
while Khurram remained not
out on 52 that came off 35
balls and included five
fours.
A highly entertaining 76
from Daan van Bunge was the
cornerstone of the
Netherlands’ 164-8 after it
had slumped from 65-2 to
66-5 in a space of six
deliveries. Van Bunge
dominated an 87-run sixth
wicket partnership with
captain Peter Borren who
scored 32 not out.
UAE’s fast bowler Qasim
Zubai bowled brilliantly at
the top and in the death
overs and was rewarded with
excellent figures of
4-1-24-5.
Kenya also recovered well
after suffering a shock
15-run defeat by the UAE on
the opening day on Tuesday
when it gave Canada a
cricket lesson while racing
to an easy nine-wicket
victory. The defeat also
ended Canada’s hopes of
earning a ticket to the West
Indies after it had lost to
the Netherlands by six
wickets on Tuesday.
Canada once again lost John
Davison in the first over
but recovered to reach 138-9
with captain Ashish Bagai
top scoring on 36.
The target proved too small
for a punishing Alex Obanda
and Steve Tikolo who put on
126 runs for the first
wicket off only 76 balls to
lay the foundation of a
convincing victory.
Obanda scored a 48-ball 79
that included 11 fours and a
six with his half-century
coming off only 23 balls.
Obanda joins Sanath
Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne
Dilshan of Sri Lanka, Chris
Gayle of the West Indies and
New Zealand’s Aaron Redmond
who share the record of the
quickest T20 International
half-century from 23 balls.
Tikolo was also ruthless
when he hit five fours and a
six in a 36-ball 50.
While the UAE has qualified
from Group B, the winner
from the Kenya and the
Netherlands match in Abu
Dhabi on Thursday afternoon
will decide which is the
other team that goes through
to the Super Four stage
which will played in Dubai
on Friday and Saturday.
Scores in brief:
Group A
Afghanistan beat Scotland by
14 runs at Sheikh Zayed
Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Afghanistan 131-7, 20 overs
(Noor Ali 42, Mohammad
Shahzad 30; Kyle Coetzer
3-25, Gordon Drummond 2-14)
Scotland 119-9, 20 overs
(Neil McCallum 38, Gavin
Hamilton 32; Hamid Hassan
3-32, Mohammad Nabi 2-27)
Ireland beat the USA by 78
runs at Sheikh Zayed Cricket
Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Ireland 202-4, 20 overs (Niall
O’Brien 84, Alex Cusack 46,
William Porterfield 45;
Timroy Allen 2-29)
USA 124-6, 20 overs (Aditya
Thyagarajan 72 not out;
Peter Connell 4-14, Trent
Johnston 2-17)
Group B
Kenya beat Canada by nine
wickets at Dubai
International Cricket
Stadium, Dubai Sports City
Canada 138-9, 20 overs (Ashish
Bagai 36, Rizwan Cheema 32,
Geoff Barnett 30; Nehemiah
Odhiambo 3-16, Jimmy Kamande
2-18)
Kenya 141-1, 14.5 overs
(Alex Obanda 79, Steve
Tikolo 50 not out)
UAE beat the Netherlands by
six wickets at Dubai
International Cricket
Stadium, Dubai Sports City
Netherlands 164-8, 20 overs
(Daan van Bunge 76; Qasim
Zubair 5-26)
UAE 168-4, 18.5 overs (Naeemuddin
Aslam 60 not out, Khurram
Khan 52 not out)
Ireland, Scotland and Kenya
suffer shock defeats on
opening day
Afghanistan, USA, the
Netherlands and the UAE make
winning starts
In an extraordinary opening
day in the ICC World
Twenty20 Qualifier in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
on Tuesday, Scotland, Kenya
and defending joint-champion
Ireland suffered shock
defeats which left their
chances of qualifying for
the main event in the West
Indies on a razor-sharp edge.
At the Sheikh Zayed Stadium
in Abu Dhabi, the United
States of America, which
entered the tournament as a
wildcard, stunned Scotland
by six wickets while in the
afternoon match host the UAE,
which had also been
specially invited to
participate in the
tournament, surprised Kenya
by 15 runs.
At Dubai International
Stadium in Dubai Sports
City, Afghanistan continued
its good form beating
Ireland by 13 runs in front
of several hundred very
vocal supporters while in
the final match of an
absorbing day, the
Netherlands, which shared
the trophy with Ireland when
the qualifier was staged in
Belfast in 2008, overcome
anxious moments to overpower
a spirited Canada by six
wickets.
After Tuesday’s results, all
the four beaten sides find
themselves in must-win
situations while they are
also aware of the fact that
even if they win their
matches on Wednesday,
Thursday will be judgement
day for them when Ireland
goes head to head with
Scotland in the late
afternoon match in Dubai and
Kenya takes on the
Netherlands in the early
afternoon match in Abu
Dhabi.
Besides all the talk about
Thursday, another loss on
Wednesday for any of these
four teams will mean the end
of their hopes to earn a
ticket for Caribbean where
Pakistan will defend its
title in the tournament to
be staged from 30 April to
16 May.
The USA put up a more
disciplined and purposeful
performance against
third-seed Scotland which
earned it what was a
comfortable six-wicket
victory. The margin of
victory could easily have
been eight wickets had it
not lost two wickets in
three balls when just seven
runs were required for
victory in 15 balls.
The architects of the USA’s
victory with five balls to
spare were opener Carl
Wright and Lennox Cush who
added 97 runs for the second
wicket in 82 balls after
Scotland had posted 120-7
after having won the toss
and electing to bat first.
Wright clubbed eight fours
in a 57-ball 62 while Cush
struck three fours and a six
in a 39-ball 41.
Earlier, Scotland’s 120-7
revolved around captain
Gavin Hamilton who top
scored with 41 that came off
53 balls and included three
fours.
Wright, who was later
adjudged man of the match,
said: “It was a collective
effort by us today and a
great achievement. The
bowlers made it much easier
for us to go out and get the
runs.
“I’m excited about my man of
the match but we have to
look to tomorrow, keep up
with our positive attitude
and move as a group for our
game against Ireland.”
Hamilton admitted his side
needed to win both remaining
group matches to progress to
the Super Four stage. “I
think credit should be given
where it is due. The USA
bowled well with the new
ball and our batting wasn’t
up to the standard against
them.
“Every game is now a
must-win. We’re going to
have a look at the team
tonight and we may well have
to do a bit of a reshuffle
in the side for our game
against Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan made Ireland pay
a heavy price for its sloppy
fielding and
uncharacteristic batting
when it coasted to a
comfortable 13-run victory.
Ireland dropped no less than
half a dozen catches in the
field, then slipped from
52-1 to 78-5 in its 140-run
chase and finally failed to
finish off the game when it
required 16 runs off the
last 11 balls with three
wickets standing.
For Afghanistan, it was its
third recent victory over
Ireland after it had earlier
beaten undoubtedly the best
Associate side in the
50-over format ICC World Cup
Qualifier 2009 in South
Africa by 22 runs in Stand
Friedman Oval, Krugersdorp,
then it won a four-day
first-class ICC
Intercontinental Cup match
by seven wickets in Dambulla
last month before winning in
the shortest version of the
game on Tuesday.
Afghanistan must be thankful
to Mohammad Nabi, who first
struck three fours and two
sixes in a rapid 25-ball 43
not out that lifted his side
to 139-8, and then picked up
2-25 to help Afghanistan
dismiss Ireland for 126 with
four balls to spare.
However, off-spinner Karim
Sadiq was the bowler who
broke the back of Ireland’s
batting when he took two
wickets in three balls to
finish with figures of 3-21.
It was his three-over spell
that brought his side back
in the game after William
Porterfield had looked to be
taking the game away from
it. Porterfield became one
of Sadiq’s scalps when he
bowled round his legs after
scoring 35 that came off 23
balls and included three
fours and two sixes.
Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan
was delighted with his
side’s performance. “It is
very heartening to beat a
top side like Ireland on a
consistent basis. This
reflects that we are
learning and learning fast.
“It is certainly a jump
start for my side as Ireland
is the best side in the
tournament. The victory has
given us a tremendous boost
and confidence,” he said.
Porterfield was disappointed
with the loss. He said: “It
is disappointing if you
can’t chase seven runs an
over and are bowled out in
20 overs. There is no doubt
that we didn’t play well but
let’s not forget that
Afghanistan also played well.
“The equation for us is
pretty simple and straight
now. We need to win the
remaining two matches to
progress to the Super Four
stage and get our ambitions
back on track.”
The UAE produced the third
upset of the day when it
defeated Kenya by 15 runs.
Chasing 166 for victory,
Kenya, which played the
semi-final of the ICC
Cricket World Cup in 2003 in
South Africa, finished at
150-5.
UAE opener Arfan Haider was
the star performer when he
belted five fours and two
sixes in a 44-ball 59 that
propelled the home side to
165-5. He received good
support from Saqib Ali (31)
with whom he added 61 runs
for the third wicket off 45
balls.
Kenya was never in the hunt
after it slumped to 49-3 in
eight overs though Maurice
Ouma (39) and Collins Obuya
(42 not out) managed to
narrow the margin of defeat.
The UAE captain Khurram Khan
was elated with victory over
Kenya. “Everything went
right for us today. Batting
first, we set ourselves a
good target and then bowled
and fielded well to restrict
Kenya.
“We’re very good at Twenty20
cricket and it’s something
we do well at. It’s really a
game where two overs can
change everything, whether
you’re batting or bowling.”
The Netherlands comfortably
chased a 143-run target to
beat Canada by six wickets.
Canada lost its star player
John Davison in the first
over of the match but
recovered to reach 142-7 due
to some useful contributions
in the middle of the innings,
especially from Geoff
Barnett who hit a 20-ball 36
that included six fours.
In turn, a 56-run first
wicket partnership between
Alexei Kervezee (39) and
Eric Szwarczynski (25) laid
the platform on which the
Netherlands built its
victory. Bas Zuiderent
finished as the top scorer
with 43 not out.
Scores in brief:
Group A
USA beat Scotland by six
wickets at Sheikh Zayed
Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Scotland 120-7, 20 overs (Gavin
Hamilton 41; Kevin
Darlington 2-19)
USA 121-4, 19.1 overs (Carl
Wright 62, Lennox Cush 41;
Ryan Watson 2-10)
Afghanistan beat Ireland by
13 runs at Dubai
International Cricket
Stadium, Dubai Sports City
Afghanistan 139-8, 20 overs
(Mohammad Nabi 43 not out,
Noor Ali 42; Trent Johnston
2-18, Andre Botha 2-25)
Ireland 126 all out, 19.2
overs (William Porterfield
35, Paul Stirling 21; Karim
Sadiq 3-21, Hamid Hassan
2-19, Mohammad Nabi 2-25)
Group B
UAE beat Kenya by 15 runs at
Sheikh Zayed Cricket
Stadium, Abu Dhabi
UAE 165-5, 20 overs (Arfan
Haider 59, Saqib Ali 31,
Khurram Khan 28; Lameck
Onyango 2-32, Nelson
Odhiambo 2-33)
Kenya 150-5, 20 overs
(Collins Obuya 42 not out,
Maurice Ouma 39; Ahmed Raza
2-17, Shadeep Silva 2-25)
Netherlands beat Canada by
six wickets at Dubai
International Cricket
Stadium, Dubai Sports City
Canada 142-7, 50 overs (Ian
Billcliffe 37, Geoff Barnett
36; Peter Seelaar 2-18)
Netherlands 146-4, 19.1
overs (Alexei Kervezee 39,
Bas Zuiderent 39 not out)
Watch out for UAE, says
coach Wells
No clear favourite to win
Group B of the ICC World
Twenty20 Qualifier
Eight teams to thrill
fans in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
from 9 to 13 February; Top
two win places at the WT20
2010 in the West Indies
Admission is free; Event
media guide now available
for free download
United Arab Emirates coach
Colin Wells thinks his side
could be the surprise
package of the ICC World
Twenty20 Qualifier, which
takes place in Dubai and Abu
Dhabi from 9 to 13 February.
Although the home side is
ranked seventh out of the
eight competing teams, the
49-year-old former England
batsman says his players are
coming into form at the
right time and are ready to
take on the best of the
Associate and Affiliate
cricket world.
“We are itching to get at
the other nations,” said
Wells.
“We are in excellent form.
We were runners-up to
Afghanistan at the ACC (Asia
Cricket Council) Twenty20
Cup in November and we had a
fantastic clean-sweep tour
to Namibia where we won the
ICC Intercontinental Shield
match and also two
one-dayers. We’ve also put
in some good wins against
Uganda.
“I know that on paper the
teams we’ll face in the
qualifier are stronger but
we have taken a lot of
confidence from recent
results and we won’t be easy
to beat. We will need to be
at our best to do well but
at the moment I am very
happy with the progress
we’ve made,” he said.
Since the disappointment of
missing out on a place at
the ICC Cricket World Cup
2011 and also not earning
ODI status at the CWC
Qualifier in South Africa
last year, Wells says the
team has developed
significantly.
“I’ve learned a lot about my
players and the right
combinations to use for the
right situations,” he said.
“Home advantage in this
event is going to be another
factor. It’s great that we
will get to play at home and
the boys are delighted with
that.
“It would mean everything to
the players to qualify for
the ICC World Twenty20. They
put so much effort into
cricket, juggling home life
and work life and the
commitment they show is very
impressive… For me, to
qualify for the West Indies
would be one of the
highlights of my cricket
life and certainly the
pinnacle of my coaching
career so far.”
To do that, the UAE will
have to emerge from a tricky
Group B that includes the
Netherlands, Kenya and
Canada. The Netherlands
shocked the cricketing world
last year by beating host
team England at Lord’s in
the opening match of the ICC
World Twenty20 2009 and it
will be harbouring ambitions
to qualify for this year’s
event so similar feats can
be performed against other
unsuspecting Full Members.
Although one of the heroes
of that tournament, Dirk
Nannes, is no longer
eligible for the Netherlands
and the then captain Jeroen
Smits has since retired, the
men in orange still have
plenty of firepower,
including the likes of Peter
Borren, Ryan ten Doeschate,
Tom de Grooth and Edgar
Schiferli.
With plenty of
pre-tournament matches
taking place in various
locations, no side seems to
be dominating, a fact that
points towards plenty of
tight finishes and closely
fought group tables.
Kenya lost to Scotland in an
ICC Intercontinental Cup
match in Nairobi recently
but then today (Thursday)
ran out a 10-wicket winner
against the same opposition
in a Twenty20 International
at the same venue. Nehemiah
Odhiambo did the damage with
the ball, taking five
wickets, before Steve Tikolo
(56 not out) and David Obuya
(65 not out) wrapped up a
comfortable victory.
Meanwhile, in two thrilling
matches Canada beat
number-one seed Ireland by
four runs in a T20I in
Colombo this week before
losing to Afghanistan two
days later by five wickets
with just one ball remaining.
Only the top two from this
eight-team qualifier will
join the top 10 sides in the
world at the ICC World
Twenty20 2010 in the West
Indies.
Group B: Netherlands, Kenya,
Canada, UAE
Associate and Affiliate
sides look ahead to the ICC
World Twenty20 Qualifier on
this week’s ICC Cricket
World audio show
Ireland coach Phil Simmons,
Scotland captain Gavin
Hamilton and USA coach
Clayton Lambert discuss
their teams’ prospects of
reaching the
ICC World Twenty20 2010 in
the West Indies
Podcast available for free
download and editorial use
from www.icc-cricket.com
On this week’s ICC Cricket
World special edition audio
show Ireland coach Phil
Simmons is joined by
Scotland’s Gavin Hamilton
and USA coach Clayton
Lambert to talk about the
Associate and Affiliate
sides’ prospects ahead of
the ICC World Twenty20
Qualifier 2010 to be played
in the United Arab Emirates
from 9 to 13 February.
Simmons, who has coached the
Ireland side since 2007,
says his team is rebuilding
after the ICC World Twenty20
in England last year but
hopes it will qualify for
what would be its second
World Twenty20 tournament.
“We hope to make a few new
discoveries during this
tournament since we’ve lost
three bowlers since the ICC
World Twenty20 in England
last year. Kyle McCallum has
retired and two other
bowlers in Regan West and
Boyd Rankin are both out
injured,” he said.
Simmons also spoke of his
side’s group which features
Afghanistan, USA and
Scotland: “All the matches
in our group are going to be
hard, like all Twenty20
cricket. We have to take
every game seriously and
play every game to win and
hopefully we can finish the
tournament without losing a
match.”
The show can be used in
whole or part by radio
stations that want cricket
content, while the public
can also download it
straight from the ICC
website at http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/media_interactive_zone/podcast.php.
Scotland captain Gavin
Hamilton says of Saltires’
chances of heading to what
would be its third
consecutive ICC World
Twenty20: “This current side
is a pretty inexperienced
one when it comes to
Twenty20 cricket since we’ve
only had the opportunity to
play Twenty20 in
high-profile competitions
like this one and the main
ICC World Twenty20.
“But some of the team has
been out practicing in
Pretoria ahead of the
tournament and also we’ll
have played in Kenya in a
quadrangular tournament so
we’ll give the qualifier our
best shot.”
The USA is the third side in
Group A and its coach
Clayton Lambert says: “We
had a camp in November and
trial matches and we had a
very good talent pool of 35
players to choose from and
it was our job to pick the
team of 14 players who we’ve
bought to the UAE.”
“It would be sad if we went
there and thought we
couldn’t win and qualify for
the ICC World Twenty20 in
the West Indies. The other
teams are more experienced
but we have some really
talented players and once
the team play as a unit we
play some really good
cricket.”
ICC
Europe announces Regional
Winners of
Pepsi ICC Development
Programme Awards for 2009
ICC Europe has today
announced the European
regional winners of the
Pepsi ICC Development
Programme Awards for 2009.
Cricket Espana was
awarded the Best Overall
Cricket Development
Programme Award, the first
time since 2002 that an
Affiliate Member has
received the top award. Run
predominantly by volunteers,
Spain’s national cricketing
programme has grown
dramatically in recent years
with 2009 seeing a
significant increase in the
number of junior and school
development programmes
initiated.
The prestigious Lifetime
Service Award was awarded to
Folmer Christiansen of
Denmark in recognition of
his 37 years of dedicated
service as Chairman of the
Herning Cricket Club, whilst
James (Jim) Bennett of
Ireland was awarded
Volunteer of the Year for
his tireless services to the
development of youth cricket
and cricket coach education
over the last decade.
Germany’s cricketing
association Deutsche Cricket
Bund (DCB) was awarded Best
Women’s Cricket Initiative
for their comprehensive
calendar of cricketing
events for girls and women
throughout 2009. Germany
also took home the best
Junior Cricket Initiative
for their staging of the
Bavaria Cup, an indoor
tournament featuring 19
teams from five European
countries.
The Spirit of Cricket Award
was awarded to the Israel
Cricket Association’s Cross
Border Cricket Programme
which introduced cricket as
a means of bringing together
Jewish and Bedouin children
in the Negev Desert to
promote co-existence and
tolerance amongst those
caught up in the Israel-Arab
conflict.
This year’s winners of the
Best Promotion and Marketing
Programme was the Estonian
Cricket Association (ECA)
for their successful filming
of a cricket documentary
which was broadcast
nationwide as part of a
current affairs programme
resulting in a 300% increase
in ECA membership soon after.
The number of registered
local Estonian players now
outnumbers expat players in
the country.
The Photo of the Year was
taken by Rob O’Connor of
Ireland. In the winning
photo, Leinster Province
players celebrate the
match-winning run out of
West Glamorgan's opening
batsman in the U13 Welsh
District Championships. The
photograph sums up what
youth cricket is all about:
enthusiasm, enjoyment and
friendship. (Compressed
version of winning
photograph is attached)
ICC Regional Development
Manager, Richard Holdsworth
commented: “These very well
deserved awards are in
recognition of the great
work which is going on in
our Associate and Affiliate
member countries. The
passion and enthusiasm for
the game continues to
increase and most of the
programmes and initiatives
have been organised by
dedicated volunteers. We
hope these special awards
will encourage others to get
involved in our great game.”
The Pepsi ICC Development
Programme Annual Awards,
which were first awarded in
2002, promote excellence in
cricket development and
recognise exceptional
performance and service to
the game in the ICC’s 94
Associate and Affiliate
Member countries.
Nominations were received
from national bodies, clubs,
associations, teams, schools
and individuals. The
European regional award
winners will now be put
forward for the Global Pepsi
ICC Development Programme
Awards to be announced on 28
February 2010.
Award Winners
Lifetime Service Award
Folmer Christiansen
(Denmark)
Volunteer of the Year
James Bennett (Ireland)
Best Overall Cricket
Development
Cricket Espana (Spain)
Best Women’s Cricket
Initiative
Deutsche Cricket Bund (Germany)
Best Junior Cricket
Initiative
Deutsche Cricket Bund (Germany)
Best Spirit of Cricket
Initiative
Israel Cricket Association
Best Cricket Promotion and
Marketing
Estonia Cricket Association
Photo of the Year
Rob O’Connor (Ireland)
Dawlat bowls Afghanistan to
stunning victory in Dambulla
Defeat ends defending
champion Ireland’s 18-match
unbeaten run since August
2004
Afghanistan leads the table
with 43 points while Ireland
stays in sixth position on
12 points
Fast bowler Dawlat Ahmadzai
took a career-best 5-52 to
bowl Afghanistan to a
stunning seven-wicket
victory over defending
champion Ireland on the
fourth and last day of the
first-class ICC
Intercontinental Cup 2009-10
match in Dambulla on Sunday.
Ireland had started the day
at 39-0 and still required
30 runs to wipe off the
first innings deficit. But
the reigning champion was
bowled out for 202 that left
Afghanistan an easy victory
target of 134 runs in a
minimum of 34 overs.
Afghanistan, after a slow
start, batted aggressively
to achieve victory in the
32nd over and with seven
wickets to spare. Opener
Noor Ali scored his second
half-century of the match
when he fell after scoring
57 from 75 balls that
included six fours and a six.
When Noor departed,
Afghanistan needed 34 runs
from a minimum of nine overs
for its second victory in
the tournament which it
achieved without any further
hiccups as Mohammad Shahzad
finished unbeaten on 42 and
captain Nowroz Mangal
remained 16 not out.
The defeat ended Ireland’s
18-match unbeaten run with
its only other defeat at
this level being in the
inaugural event in August
2004 when it lost to
Scotland by eight wickets.
In the 18 matches before
this game, Ireland had won
11 matches, including five
by an innings margin.
The star of the day was the
25-year-old Dawlat who had
gone wicketless in Ireland’s
first innings score of 404.
Dawlat rattled the top order
with pace and controlled
line and length to pick up
the prized scalps of William
Porterfield (14), Gary
Wilson (27), Alex Cusack
(4), John Mooney (18) and
Gary Kidd (0).
Dawlat was very well
supported by off-spinner
Mohammad Nabi who followed
up his 64 with the bat with
figures of 22.3-11-33-4.
Nabi’s victims included
Andre Botha (27), Kevin
O’Brien (three), Andrew
White (four) and last-man
Peter Connel (10).
It was Nabi’s brilliant
spell in the middle of the
innings which broke the back
of Ireland’s middle-order as
it lost four wickets for 10
runs in the space of 10
overs to slip from 91-3 to
101-7.
Ireland had looked dead and
buried when it was further
reduced to 143-9 to lead
Afghanistan by just 74 runs
with nearly half the day’s
play remaining.
At that stage, former
captain Trent Johnston held
the sinking ship together
and in association with
Connell not only added 59
runs for the 10th wicket but
also consumed 13 overs in 54
minutes which gave Ireland
an outside chance in the
match.
Johnston remained unbeaten
on 63, an innings that came
off 91 balls after 133
minutes of batting and
included seven fours and a
six. Connell, who had
featured in a 66-run 10th
wicket partnership with
Mooney in the first innings,
once again showed his
effectiveness with the bat
when he survived 36 balls
and in the meantime, hit two
fours.
Afghanistan earned a maximum
of 20 points from the match
which has put it on top of
the table with 43 points, 14
ahead of second-placed
Scotland which takes on
Kenya in its third match in
Nairobi from Monday.
In contrast, the defending
champion stays in sixth
place on 12 points from
three matches and in serious
danger of missing out on the
final of the tournament to
be played in November in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Scores in brief:
Ireland 405 all out, 98
overs (William Porterfield
78, John Mooney 58 not out,
Gary Wilson 53, Niall
O’Brien 66, Andrew White 43,
Alex Cusack 39; Samiullah
Shenwari 4-75, Hameed Hasan
3-91) and 202 all out, 75.3
overs (Trent Johnston 63 not
out; William Porterfield 27,
Andre Botha 27; Dawlat
Ahmadzai 5-52, Mohammad Nabi
4-33)
Afghanistan 474 all out,
153.2 overs (Mohammad
Shahzad 88, Shabir Noori 85,
Nowroz Mangal 84, Mohammad
Nabi 64, Noor Ali 53; Andrew
White 4-99, Andre Botha
3-44) and 137-3, 31.3 overs
(Noor Ali 57, Mohammad
Shahzad 42 not out, Shabir
Noori 21)
Result – Afghanistan won by
seven wickets
Points – Afghanistan 20,
Ireland 0
Umpires – TH Wijewardena and
Manmore Martinez
The January issue of the
Pepsi ICC
Development
Programme -
Europe
newsletter
is available
here as PDF
January issue.
Ireland goes
head to head
with
Afghanistan
in ICC
Intercontinental
Cup in
Dambulla
from
Thursday
Defending
champion
Ireland will
be aiming
for its
first
victory in
the four-day
first-class
ICC
Intercontinental
Cup 2009-10
when it goes
head to head
with
Afghanistan
in Dambulla
from
Thursday.
Ireland,
winner of
the
tournament
since 2005,
currently
sits in
sixth place
after
managing
just 12
points from
its two
previous
games. In
contrast,
first-time
entrant
Afghanistan
is in fourth
position on
23 points
from two
matches that
includes a
come-from-behind
one-wicket
victory over
the
Netherlands
in
Amstelveen
in August.
The two
sides last
met in the
Super Eight
stage of the
ICC Cricket
World Cup
2009
Qualifier in
Stand
Friedman
Oval,
Krugersdorp,
South Africa
when
Afghanistan
successfully
defended a
modest total
of 218 runs
to beat
eventual
champion
Ireland by
22 runs.
Looking
ahead at the
match,
Afghanistan
captain
Nawroz
Mengal said:
“Ireland is
an
experienced
side with
some quality
cricketers.
We respect
it as much
as we
respect each
and every
opponent but
the victory
in the ICC
World Cup
2009
Qualifier
has given us
a lot of
inspiration
and
confidence
that we can
do it again.
“We’ll try
to translate
that
confidence
by putting
up a
disciplined
performance
on the field
which will
strengthen
our position
not only in
the
tournament
but also in
world
cricket as
people do
take notice
of you when
you perform
or beat a
highly-placed
or more
experienced
side.”
Afghanistan
coach Kabir
Khan, a
former
Pakistan
Test fast
bowler, said:
“We’re still
in learning
stages and
good
performances
always
motivate a
young side
to do better
and we are
no different.
We are a
talented
side and if
we earn some
more
experience,
we will be
able to
regularly
challenge
the top
sides.
“The more we
will play
against
quality
oppositions
like Ireland,
the better
and quicker
we’ll learn.
Collectively
every team
and
individually
every player
have
something to
offer and
you just
need to be
smart enough
to learn
things that
you can
raise the
level of
your game.
“We arrived
here from
chilly
conditions
three weeks
ago and have
trained
extremely
hard. I’m
sure the
boys have
now
acclimatised
well which
will help
them produce
their best
performance.”
Ireland
captain
William
Porterfield
acknowledged
that the
prospect of
facing
Afghanistan
is now very
different to
what it
might have
been in the
past.
“We
certainly
respect
Afghanistan
as a team,”
said
Porterfield.
“They have
proven time
and again
over the
past couple
of years
that they
are a good
team and
they fully
deserve
their place
at this
level.
“They beat
us in the
one-day
format
during the
ICC Cricket
World Cup
Qualifier in
South Africa
so we will
not be
taking them
lightly.
Their
opening
bowling
attack is
more than
useful –
it’s capable
of taking
quick
wickets. And
they also
have some
good
spinners so
as batsmen
we’ll have
to be at the
top of our
game. We
don’t fear
Afghanistan
but we do
respect them.
“But we are
the
defending
champions.
We have won
this
tournament
on the past
three
occasions
and so we
will be
giving it
everything
we have to
make it four
in a row. We
are
confident
and our
preparation
for this
match has
been very
good. The
boys are
working hard
and so we’re
looking
forward to
what should
be a good,
tough,
hard-fought
game of
cricket.”
After the
ICC
Intercontinental
Cup match,
the two
sides will
remain in
Sri Lanka
and will be
also joined
by Canada as
part of
their
preparations
for the ICC
World
Twenty20
Qualifier
2010 which
will be
staged from
9 to 13
February in
the UAE at
Dubai
International
Cricket
Stadium,
Dubai Sports
City, and
Sheikh Zayed
Cricket
Stadium, Abu
Dhabi.
Teams:
AFGHANISTAN
(squad) -
Nawroz Khan
Mangal,
Mohamamd
Shahzad
Mohammadi,
Karim Khan
Sadiq,
Mohammad
Nabi
Eisakhil,
Merwais
Ashraf,
Raees
Ahmadzai,
Shahpoor
Zardan,
Shafiqullah
Shafaq,
Hamid Hasan,
Samiullah
Shinwari,
Noor Ali
Noori,
Mohammad
Asghar
Stanikzai,
Dawlat
Ahmadzai and
Obaidullah
Konary
IRELAND (squad)
- William
Porterfield
(captain),
Nigel Jones,
Niall
O’Brien,
Gary Wilson,
Trent
Johnston,
Andre Botha,
Kevin
O’Brien,
John Mooney,
Alex Cusack,
Andrew
White, Peter
Connell,
Phil
Eaglestone
and Gary
Kidd
UMPIRES – TH
Wijewardena
and Manmore
Martinez
ICC
Intercontinental
Cup 2009-10
fixtures
confirmed
The
International
Cricket
Council
today
confirmed
the
remaining
fixtures in
its
first-class
tournament,
the ICC
Intercontinental
Cup 2009-10,
with
everything
leading
towards next
November’s
final, which
will take
place in the
United Arab
Emirates.
The next
match to be
played will
start on 23
January
between
defending
champion
Ireland
facing
newcomer
Afghanistan
in a match
to be played
in Sri
Lanka. Two
days’ later,
second-placed
Kenya will
take on 2004
champion and
current
leader
Scotland in
a
top-of-the-table
clash.
Remaining
fixtures for
the
second-tier
ICC
Intercontinental
Shield have
also been
announced.
ICC
INTERCONTINENTAL
CUP
23-26 Jan –
Afghanistan
v Ireland,
Sri Lanka
25-28 Jan –
Kenya v
Scotland,
Kenya
17-20 Feb –
Afghanistan
v Canada,
UAE
10-13 Jun –
Netherlands
v Scotland,
Netherlands
11-14 Aug –
Scotland v
Afghanistan,
Scotland
11-14 Aug –
Ireland v
Netherlands,
Ireland
21-24 Aug –
Canada v
Zimbabwe XI,
Canada
1-4 Sep –
Canada v
Ireland,
Canada
1-4 Sep –
Netherlands
v Zimbabwe
XI,
Netherlands
2-5 Oct –
Kenya v
Afghanistan,
Kenya
6-9 Oct –
Zimbabwe XI
v Ireland,
Africa
13-16 Oct –
Zimbabwe XI
v Scotland,
Africa
25-29 Nov –
FINAL (five
days), UAE
ICC
INTERCONTINENTAL
SHIELD
20-23 Jan –
UAE v
Uganda, UAE
2-5 Apr –
Namibia v
Bermuda,
Namibia
5-8 Jul –
Bermuda v
UAE, Bermuda
18-21 Sep –
Uganda v
Namibia,
Uganda
25-28 Nov –
FINAL, UAE
The exact
venues for
these
fixtures
have not yet
been
finalised.
The latest
points table
for the
tournament
so far can
be found at
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/events_and_awards/intercontinental_cup/index.php.
There will
be a total
of
US$250,000
in prize
money for
the
Associate
and
Affiliate
teams taking
part in the
ICC
Intercontinental
Cup with
US$100,000
for the
winners and
US$40,000
for the
runners-up.
Having
previously
been
designed
around a
two-group,
three-day
format, the
event then
evolved into
an
eight-team,
round-robin
and truly
global
tournament
featuring
four-day
cricket
which gives
those teams
who do not
play Test
cricket the
chance to
experience
the longer
form of the
game.
This year’s
format
includes
seven teams
(Afghanistan,
Canada,
Ireland,
Kenya,
Netherlands,
Scotland and
Zimbabwe
XI), while
the new
competition,
the ICC
Intercontinental
Shield,
involves the
four teams
below that,
namely
Bermuda,
Namibia,
Uganda and
the United
Arab
Emirates.
Scotland won
the first
ICC
Intercontinental
Cup in 2004,
beating
Canada in
the final,
while
Ireland has
been
victorious
in all three
events since
then,
beating
Kenya in the
2005
decider,
Canada in
the 2006-07
event and
Namibia in
2007-08.
For more
information
go to:
www.icc-cricket.com
The November
issue of the
Pepsi ICC
Development
Programme -
Europe
newsletter
is now
online at
www.icc-europe.org
so click on
the link
below to see
the latest
developments
in European
cricket.
http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue104.pdf
Schedule
confirmed
for ICC U19
Cricket
World Cup
2010
ESS will
broadcast 10
of the
matches live
around the
globe
The match
schedule for
the ICC U19
Cricket
World Cup
2010 has
been
confirmed.
This 16-team
tournament,
which is
seen as an
important
breeding
ground for
the next
generation
of senior
international
cricketers,
will take
place in New
Zealand from
15 to 30
January.
Defending
champion
India will
open its
campaign
against
qualifier
Afghanistan
in front of
the ESPN
Star Sports
(ESS)
cameras at
Bert
Sutcliffe
Oval, near
Christchurch
on the
opening day
of the
competition
with
Pakistan
facing the
West Indies
in
Palmerston
North and
2008 beaten
finalist
South Africa
taking on
Ireland in
Queenstown.
In total,
the ICC’s
broadcast
partner ESS
will
televise 10
matches,
including
both
semi-finals
and the
final, and
beam the
action live
around the
world.
The 16 teams
are split
into four
groups with
Groups A and
C being
based in and
around
Christchurch,
Group B
teams
playing
their
matches in
Queenstown
and Group D
games taking
place in
Napier and
Palmerston
North. In
addition to
the 10 Full
Members,
there are
six
Associate
and
Affiliate
teams taking
part, having
won through
their
respective
regional
qualifying
tournaments
as well as
the global
qualifier,
which was
held in
Canada in
September.
The top two
teams from
each group
will qualify
for the
quarter-finals
with the
remainder of
the teams
taking part
in the plate
competition.
The groups
are as
follows:
Group A:
India,
England,
Afghanistan,
Hong Kong
Group B:
South Africa,
Australia,
Ireland, USA
Group C: New
Zealand, Sri
Lanka,
Zimbabwe,
Canada
Group D:
Pakistan,
Bangladesh,
West Indies,
Papua New
Guinea
Schedules of
the event
matches and
the
pre-tournament
warm-up
games are
attached and
more
information
is available
at
www.icc-cricket.com.
The ICC U19
Cricket
World Cup is
the leading
development
tournament
for
international
cricket’s
stars of the
future and
takes place
every two
years. The
previous
winners of
the event
have been
Australia
(1988 and
2002),
England
(1998),
India (2000
and 2008)
and Pakistan
(2004 and
2006).
Leading
senior
players that
have
appeared at
the ICC U/19
Cricket
World Cup
include
Inzamam-ul-Haq,
Brian Lara,
Graeme
Smith,
Sanath
Jayasuriya,
Yuvraj Singh
and many
others.
From the
2008 event
in Malaysia
several
players have
already made
the
breakthrough
to senior
international
cricket
including
Wayne
Parnell of
South Africa,
Philip
Hughes of
Australia,
Virat Kholi
and Ravindra
Jadeja of
India and
New
Zealand’s
Tim Southee
among others.
Cricket
mourns the
death of
David
Shepherd
ICC
President:
“He was a
true
gentleman of
the game”
International
match
officials
pay tribute
to one of
the great
umpires of
all time
ICC
President
David Morgan
has
expressed
his sadness
at the death
of one of
the great
umpires of
all time,
David
Shepherd,
who has
passed away
at the age
of 68.
“David was a
true
gentleman of
the game,”
said Mr
Morgan upon
hearing the
news.
“He was a
fine player
and a match
official of
the very
highest
quality. He
will be
remembered
fondly by
players,
spectators
and
administrators
who saw him
as a great
entertainer
but also as
one of the
best umpires
the game has
ever seen,”
he said.
“The example
he set as
someone who
took the art
of umpiring
very
seriously
while also
enjoying
what he did
immensely
will leave a
lasting
legacy for
the game. He
was an
engaging
character
which meant
players and
other
umpires were
always
delighted to
be around
him. We have
lost someone
whose
positive
influence on
our great
sport has
been immense.”
Born in
Devon,
England,
Shepherd
played
first-class
cricket for
Gloucestershire,
scoring 12
centuries
and 55
half-centuries
in his
15-year
career.
But it will
probably be
as an umpire
that he will
be longest
remembered.
In a
magnificent
career as a
match
official, he
stood in 92
Test matches
and 172 ODIs
including
three
Cricket
World Cup
finals. He
was a vital
part of the
Emirates
Elite Panel
of ICC
Umpires from
the time it
was formed
until his
retirement
in 2005.
He endeared
himself with
spectators
and
television
viewers all
over the
world with
his various
idiosyncrasies,
most
famously his
superstition
of hopping
whenever the
score
reached
Nelson or
its multiple
(111, 222,
333 and so
on).
The current
international
umpires have
issued a
moving
collective
tribute to a
former
colleague
who was
universally
respected
within their
number.
“Shep was
one of the
truly great
cricket
umpires that
we have seen
but more
importantly
he was one
of the true
gentlemen of
the game of
cricket. The
international
umpires will
fondly
remember his
smiling face,
his warm
personality
and his ever
helpful
demeanour,”
says the
statement.
“Shep helped
so many
umpires in
so many ways
and
contributed
to numerous
umpiring
careers –
many are
indebted to
him. Every
time we see
Nelson on
the
scoreboard,
we will be
thinking of
Shep’s
little jig
and saying a
quiet ‘thank
you’ for
having him
as one of us.
“As Shep
would always
say to every
umpire he
worked with
on the way
out to the
middle, we
now say to
him: ‘Good
luck mate,
and may your
God go with
you.’ Shep
may have
left us but
his legacy
of excellent
people-management
and
top-class
umpiring
will remain
with us
forever.”
The October
issue of
the Pepsi
ICC Development
Programme -
Europe newsletter
is now
online at www.icc-europe.org so
click on the
link below
to see the
latest
developments
in European cricket.
http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue103.pdf
TV show highlighting
global development
of cricket available
for free download
and use by
broadcasters and
websites
A high-quality TV
documentary about
the ongoing global
development of
cricket has been
produced and
released on behalf
of the ICC.
The 25-minute
programme, brought
together by
production company
Three Feet High in
association with the
ICC, is aimed at
highlighting the
work of the Pepsi
ICC Development
Programme and
showing just how far
the great game is
spreading around the
world within the
ICC’s 94 Associate
and Affiliate
Members.
Within the
documentary, ICC
Chief Executive
Haroon Lorgat says:
“It’s important that
we spread cricket
across all corners
of the world. It’s
amazing how much
interest there is in
the game and
therefore we have an
obligation in some
sense to provide
people with the
opportunity to
access it. So from
every respect,
including a
strategic objective
of the ICC, the
global growth of the
game is very
important.”
The international
success of Ireland
in recent years has
been well documented
and is highlighted
further in the
documentary. Cricket
Ireland Development
Manager Brían
O’Rourke recalls
that interest in
cricket wasn’t
always so high in
Ireland and that the
Pepsi ICC
Development
Programme has played
a key role in the
game’s expansion
there.
“The ICC has been
brilliant since 1998
when we were very
much starting out,”
says Mr O’Rourke in
the programme.
“We didn’t have any
equipment or any
sources of getting
any but a lot of
assistance then came
through their
Development
Programme. We
received simple
things like
materials for
schools, posters, as
well as equipment,
and more recently
have been able to
send our better
players to (ICC)
academies. So now we
are able to move
from a participation
focus and
concentrate more on
performance,” he
adds.
Cricket’s popularity
in East Africa is
also featured in the
documentary, with
particular focus
given to the 40,000
cricket participants
in Uganda. National
team captain Junior
Kwebiha talks about
cricket’s rise in
his country.
“ICC has helped
cricket develop a
lot in Uganda, right
from the grass roots
to the national
teams,” he says.
“Crowds are building
as people get to
know more about the
game, and we are
working with the ICC
to have more
cricket, more teams
and more tours. We
want to blow the
crowds away and keep
changing the way
people look at
cricket in Uganda.”
The show is free to
use for all
broadcasters and
websites around the
world and can be
downloaded from
www.nuview.tv. On
that site click on
‘Pepsi Development’
within the green
FEATURED bar at the
top of the page.
There are also
broadcast-quality
three-minute and
five-minute cut-down
versions of the show
available. These are
also being shown on
the ICC website at
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/media_interactive_zone/broadcast.php.
This TV programme is
being provided free
of charge by the ICC
in order to promote
and highlight the
amount and quality
of cricket played
around the world,
outside of the ICC’s
Full Member
countries.
The next step to ICC
Cricket World Cup
2015 begins on
Saturday
Six teams ready for
Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League
Division 6
Former Test
players-turned-coaches
Chappell and Kamal
have high hopes for
their teams
ICC Emirates Elite
Panel umpire Simon
Taufel will stand
during tournament
The next step to the
ICC Cricket World
Cup 2015 begins this
Saturday in
Singapore with six
teams competing in
the Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League
Division 6 (WCL Div.
6).
The hosts will begin
the tournament as
favourites, although
it is hard to
predict who will
finish in the top
two and gain
promotion to
Division 5 due to be
held in Nepal in
February next year.
The other teams
taking part in the
tournament are a
diverse bunch,
namely Bahrain,
Botswana, Guernsey,
Malaysia and Norway.
The matches are to
be hosted on three
grounds for the
tournament – Kalang,
Singapore Cricket
Club (SCC) and the
Indian Association.
Singapore coach and
former Australia
player Trevor
Chappell is
confident his side
can do the business.
“I think we’re
fairly confident for
this event,
particularly since
we’re the home
side,” he said.
“However, we can’t
underestimate our
opposition. We only
really know Malaysia
as a team, and we
had a look at
Guernsey during its
warm-up match, but
we’ve got to
concentrate on our
strengths, one of
which is knowing the
conditions for
playing here in
Singapore.
“We have a strong
batting line-up and
I feel our bowlers
have the ability to
do well here.”
Winner of WCL Div. 7
Bahrain is also
brimming with
confidence ahead of
the tournament after
securing a solid win
against a
representative
Singapore Cricket
Club XI.
Its coach, former
Pakistan Test and
ODI fast bowler
Mohsin Kamal, has a
good feeling about
the tournament.
“We’ve had a good
two and half months
since winning the
last event in
Guernsey and we’ve
come here with only
two changes to the
tournament winning
side from Division
7,” said Mohsin.
“With the humidity
here it was
important we came in
early to acclimatise
as it is different
to Bahrain but I
feel it won’t affect
us too much as a
side.
“There are some good
teams here, but
we’re only aware of
Guernsey who we
played in Division 7
so all the other
matches will be new
to us but we’re
confident we can
make the grade and
win promotion to the
next division.”
Fellow WCL Div. 7
qualifier Guernsey
also arrived early
for the tournament
to acclimatise while
Botswana comes into
this tournament
having played a
series of warm-up
games in Sri Lanka.
The side played two
matches against the
Sri Lanka Cricket
Academy and one
match against the
Sri Lanka Western
Districts U23 side.
Botswana’s newly
appointed captain
Omar Ali is looking
forward to the event
and hopes the Sri
Lanka tour has given
the side some sort
of an advantage
ahead of its first
game on Saturday
against Norway.
Omar said: “Having
been in Sri Lanka
we’ve got used to
humid conditions so
it should help us
here in Singapore.
“We’ve also faced
Singapore before in
Division 5 so we’ve
got a decent
knowledge of their
side. However, I
think the dark
horses of this
tournament will be
the Division 7
qualifiers, Bahrain
and Guernsey.”
Simon Taufel from
the Emirates Elite
Panel of ICC Umpires
and five-time winner
of the Umpire of the
Year at the LG ICC
Awards will be one
of nine umpires
officiating at the
event, which will be
overseen by match
referee Brian
Aldridge.
The full schedule
and teams for the
Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League
Division 6 is as
follows:
Fixtures
28 Aug – Practice
and meetings
29 Aug – Botswana v
Norway (Kalang),
Singapore v Guernsey
(SCC), Malaysia v
Bahrain (Indian
Association)
30 Aug – Bahrain v
Guernsey (Kalang),
Norway v Malaysia (SCC),
Botswana v Singapore
(Indian Association)
1 Sep – Malaysia v
Botswana (Kalang),
Singapore v Bahrain
(SCC), Guernsey v
Norway (Indian
Association)
2 Sep – Norway v
Singapore (Kalang),
Bahrain v Botswana (SCC),
Guernsey v Malaysia
(Indian Association)
4 Sep – Singapore v
Malaysia (Kalang),
Botswana v Guernsey
(SCC), Norway v
Bahrain (Indian
Association)
5 Sep – Final (Kalang),
third/fourth-place
play-off (SCC),
fifth/sixth-place
play-off (Indian
Association)
Squads:
BAHRAIN: Yaser Sadeq
(captain), Fahad
Sadeq, Mirza Azeem
Ul Haque, Mohammed
Adil Hanif, Zafar
Zaheer, Mirza Ashraf
Yaqoob, Imran Sajjad,
Shahzad Ahmed,
Mohammad Tahir Dar
Mohammed Qamar Saeed,
Vivek Subramanya,
Halal Abbasi,
Mohammed Naeem Amin,
Asghar Abdul Majeed.
BOTSWANA: Omar Ali (captain),
Tshepo Mhozya,
Karabo Modise, Mosa
Gaolekwe, Faisal
Rana Rasheed,
Gaolape Mokokwe,
Denzil Sequeira,
Karan Kapoor, Abdul
Patel, Indika Perera,
James Moses, Shah
Zaib Khan, Taroesh
Trivedi, Noor Ahmad,
Vanesh
Seganathirajah.
GUERNSEY: Stuart Le
Prevost (captain),
Lee Savident, Stuart
Bisson, James Warr,
Thomas Kimber, Gary
Rich, Kristoffer
Moherndl, Blane
Queripel, James
Nussbaumer, Lee
Ferbrache, Ross
Kneller, GH Smit,
Jeremy Frith,
Jonathan Warr.
MALAYSIA: Suhan
Kumar Alagaratanam (captain),
Ahmad Faiz Mohammad
Noor, Suresh
Navaratnam, Rakesh
Madhavan, Muthuraman
Sockalingam,
Mohammad Shafiq,
Mohammad Sharif,
Faris Almas Lee
Rosmanizam, Aminudin
Ramly, Manrick Singh
Varick Singh, Damith
Kushan Warusavithana,
Hassan Ghulam
Muhammad, Thushara
Prabath Kodikara,
Mohammad Shukri
Abdul Rahim, Muhamad
Nik Azril Arifin.
NORWAY: Zaheer Ashiq
(captain), Syed
Munawar Ahmed,
Zeeshan Muhammad
Ali, Aziz Ataul,
Mubasshar Ahmad
Bhatti, Mohammad
Shabbas Butt, Zeshan
Ahmed Rauf, Shahid
Ahmad, Safir Hayat,
Umran Shahzad, Aamir
Waheed, Iram Dawood,
Adeel Ibrar,
Iftakhar Hussain.
SINGAPORE: Chetan
Ramchandra
Suryawanshi (captain),
Narender Reddy
Bonguram, Munish
Arora, Rohan
Tripathi, Chaminda
Ruwan Kumarge,
Buddhika Mendia
Yange Oshan,
Christopher Janik,
Anish Edward Param,
Mohamed Shoib Abdul
Razak, Mohamed Omar
Mizran Faizal,
Dharmichand Mulewa,
Vivek Vedagiri, Saad
Khan Janjua, Pramodh
Raja Vijai Sri Ranga
Singaraja.
Afghanistan aims
for further
improvement
“Our zeal and
talent will make
sure we challenge
the best,” says
coach Kabir
Netherlands makes
five changes from
the side that
escaped defeat
against Canada
Live scorecard and
photographs will be
available at
www.icc-cricket.com
and may be used free
of charge with
appropriate credit
All eyes will be
focused on opener
Noor Ali as
Afghanistan takes on
the Netherlands in
the four-day
first-class ICC
Intercontinental Cup
match at the VRA
ground in Amstelveen
on Monday.
In a remarkable
effort, the
21-year-old opener
became only the
fourth batsman after
Arthur Morris (New
South Wales v
Queensland, 1940),
Nari Contractor (Gujarat
v Baroda, 1952) and
Aamir Malik (Lahore
A v Pakistan
Railways, 1980) to
score a century in
each innings on his
first-class debut.
Noor achieved the
feat when he scored
130 and 100 not out
against a Zimbabwe
XI in Mutare last
week in a drawn
match which earned
Afghanistan nine
points.
Afghaistan coach
Kabir Khan, a former
Pakistan Test fast
bowler, believes
Noor is set to score
more runs against
the Netherlands.
“Every time I think
I have seen the best
of him, he proves me
wrong by producing
something special
and extraordinary.
With the form he’s
enjoying, I’m sure
he will score more
runs in Amstelveen.
“But these are early
days for Noor and
the side. The more
the boys will play,
the more they’ll
learn about the
demands and rigours
of first-class
cricket with fitness
being the key.
“Nevertheless, we
have shown flashes
of our talent and
potential in the
tournament opener
and if we show the
same commitment and
zeal, I’m sure we
will be able to
challenge the top
Associate sides in
the not too distant
future.
“I want Noor to
enjoy this time and
continue to play the
way he’s playing.
I’m sure he’ll learn
when he’ll play
against different
oppositions and in
different conditions.
But these are his
happy days and he
deserves to enjoy
them without
forgetting that he
has raised the bar
of expectation and
to meet those
expectations he’ll
be required to work
and train harder,”
said Kabir.
Noor was not the
only shining star in
Afghanistan’s
first-ever
first-class match
last week.
Middle-order batsman
Mohammad Nabi
produced a quality
all-round
performance when
scored a
well-constructed
century, hitting 12
fours and two sixes
in his 139-ball 102
and recorded match
figures of 5-144.
Wicketkeeper-batsman
Mohammad Shahzad was
the other good
performer when he
chipped in with a
valuable 79.
“I think Afghanistan
has given a very
good account of
itself in the
tournament opener.
I’m sure the
opponents will take
us seriously, come
hard at us which, I
think, will help us
to play our best
cricket.
“It is a long road
to number one with
no short cuts.
There’ll be
successes and
disappointments and
we have to quickly
learn to handle them
both. But a good
start is always
essential and I
think we got
something in Mutare
to build on,” said
Kabir.
The Netherlands had
a difficult
tournament opener
against Canada last
month but it did
well to escape with
a draw.
All-rounder Daan van
Bunge put his side
ahead of his maiden
first-class century
when he guided the
Netherlands to a
highly respectable
draw by finishing
unbeaten on 98. The
Netherlands had
resumed its second
innings on the
fourth day at 120-5
while chasing 368
for victory. But it
slumped to 220-8
with 43 balls in the
match remaining
leaving Bunge to
face most of the
deliveries and
defend the number-10
batsman Pieter
Seelaar.
The draw meant the
Netherlands gained
nine points from the
match, including six
for the first
innings lead.
The Netherlands has
made five changes to
the side that played
against Canada.
All-rounder Mudassar
Bukhari,
wicket-keeper Atse
Burrman, batsmen
Alexei Kervezee and
Bas Zuiderent and
seamer Edgar
Schiferli have been
recalled for the
game in place of
Wesley Barresi, Bart
Schilperord, Berend
Westdijk and Jeroen
Brand.
It will be the
first-ever time the
two sides have faced
each other at senior
level. After the
four-day match, the
two sides will also
go head to head in
two ODIs to be
played on 30 August
and 1 September in
Amstelveen.
NETHERLANDS (squad):
Peter Borren (captain),
Mudassar Bukhari,
Daan van Bunge, Atse
Buurman, Tom de
Grooth, Mark Jonkman,
Alexei Kervezee,
Edgar Schiferli,
Pieter Seelaar, Nick
Statham, Eric
Szwarczynski, Bas
Zuiderent.
AFGHANISTAN (squad):
Nawroz Mangal (captain),
Khaleqdaad Noori,
Karim Khan Sadiq,
Mohammad Nabi
Eisakhil, Mirwais
Ashraf, Rais
Ahmadzai, Dawlat
Ahmadzai, Mohammad
Shahzad Mohammadi,
Hamid Hassan,
Samiullah Shinwari,
Ahmad Shah Ahmadi,
Noor Ali Noori,
Asghar Stanikzai,
Shahpoor Zadran.
UMPIRES: Nadeem
Ghauri of the
Emirates
International Panel
of ICC Umpires and
Niels Bagh of the
ICC Associates and
Affiliates Umpires’
Panel.
The August issue
of the Pepsi ICC Development
Programme -
Europe newsletter is
now online at www.icc-europe.org so
click on the link
below to see the
latest developments
in European cricket.
http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue103.pdf
Young Associates vie for
remaining places in ICC U19
Cricket World Cup
Squads and final
schedule confirmed as six
spots on offer at global
qualifier
The final step on the road
to qualification for the ICC
U19 Cricket World Cup will
be taken next month as the
global qualifying event
takes place in Canada from 1
to 13 September.
This intensive 10-team event
involves each side playing
nine matches in 13 days with
the top six making it
through to the ICC U19
Cricket World Cup 2010 which
will take place in New
Zealand from 16 to 30
January.
In all there will be six
grounds used in and around
Toronto with Maple Leaf
Cricket Club in King City
providing four of them. The
other venues being used are
Malton and Sunnybrook with
five matches taking place in
total per day.
Of course, the 10 hopeful
teams have already enjoyed
some success having made it
through their respective
regional qualifiers earlier
in the year. The competing
teams are: Afghanistan, Hong
Kong (Asia), Canada, USA
(Americas), Ireland,
Netherlands (Europe), Sierra
Leone, Uganda (Africa),
Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu
(East Asia-Pacific).
“The fact we now have
regional and global
qualifying stages for this
event shows how much cricket
is developing at age-group
level around the world,”
said David Richardson, ICC
General Manager – Cricket.
“This is a great opportunity
for these young players to
experience tournament
cricket and pitch their
skills against teams from
other parts of the world and
against styles of play that
they might not be familiar
with.
“The ICC U19 Cricket World
Cup has traditionally been a
stepping stone for the
world’s top players and I
expect this year’s event to
be no different. There has
also been success for some
of the Associate teams
against Full Members so it
will be interesting to see
who emerges from the global
qualifier to claim their
places in New Zealand,” said
Mr Richardson.
The full match schedule is
attached.
The event website goes live
tomorrow (Tuesday) at
www.iccevents.yahoo.com. On
the site during the
tournament there will be
regular score updates from
around the grounds.
The 10 squads are:
AFGHANISTAN: Shir Mohammad
Shirzai (captain), Noor ul
Haq Malekzai, Mahbob Shah
Ayan Aminzai, Zard Ali,
Iqbal Maliki, Ayoub Ahmadzai,
Ayoub Khan, Asgar Hussain
Hotak, Khoshal Rasuli, Aimal
Wafa, Afsar Zazai, Zakiullah
Zaki, Izatullah Dawlatzai,
Jawid Ahmadi.
CANADA: Rustum Bhatti (captain),
Hiral Patel, Usman Limbada,
Riyazkhan Pathan, Darius
D’Souza, Arsalan Qadir, Asif
Manjira, Abishek
Krishnamoorthy, Ruvindhu
Gunasekara, Nitesh Kumar,
Hamza Tariq, Zain Mahmood,
Maninder Jill Singh Aulakh,
Hardik Kotak.
HONG KONG: James Atkinson (captain),
Irfan Ahmed, Niaz Ali,
Mohammad Aizaz Khan, Zuiad
Khan, Ashish Gadhia, Aditya
Kanthan, Nizakat Khan
Mohammad, Waqas Barkat,
Shivang Baid, Vikash Vaswani
Vinod Gope, Gurjant Singh,
Asif Khan, Shakeel.
IRELAND: Andrew Balbirnie (captain),
Ben Ackland, Adrian D’Arcy,
George Dockrell, Shane
Getkate, Graeme McCarter,
Graham McDonnell, Lee
Nelson, Stuart Poynter,
Eddie Richardson, James
Shannon, Paul Stirling,
Stuart Thompson, Craig
Young.
NETHERLANDS: Alexei Kervezee
(captain), Floris Kingma,
Timothy Gruijters, Quirijn
Gunning, Lucas Brouwers,
Philip van den Brandeler,
Paul van Meekeren, Okke
Olivier Klaus, Ferdi Vink,
Vinoo Baldewpersad Tewarie,
Gagandeep Singh, Thomas
Sebastiaan Braat, Dennis
Coster, Tobias Visee.
PNG: Tony Pala Ura (captain),
Vagi Oala, Charles Amini,
John Boge Reva, Steven Eno,
Raymond Charles Haoda,
Rogeauka Benjamin Roge,
Jonathan Diho, Heni Siaka,
Jason Kila, Mea Daniel Ao,
Lega Tau, Sese Bau, Toua
Tom.
SIERRA LEONE: Abubakar
Kamara (captain), Ibrahim
Kamara, Ibrahim Mansaray,
Emmanuel Pessima, Jacob
Mansaray, Balowa Mansaray,
Mohamed Alie Bangura,
Ibrahim Kabia, Julius Quee,
Bami Williams, Osman Kamara,
Edward Marrah, Brima
Ansumana, Musa Ganda.
UGANDA: Ahmed Yakub (captain),
Daniel Batuwa, Hamu Kayondo
Bagenda, Andrew Ochan,
Emmanuel Nakana, Dennis
Tabby, Ahmad Sangau, Moses
Okwera, Geoffrey Nyero,
Henry Ssenyondo, Brian
Masaba, Abraham Oduch,
Suliman Abdul Hamid,
Deusdedit Muhumuza.
USA: Shiva Vashishat (captain),
Abhijit Joshi, Muhammad Asad
Ghous, Saami Muneeb Siddiqui,
Salman Rashid Ahmad, Henry
Wardley, Naseer Jamali,
Regis Burton, Azurdeen
Mohammed, Ryan Corns, Talha
Zamir, Yash Dipak Shah,
Kavishwar Bridgepaul, Hammad
Shahid.
VANUATU: Simpson Obed (captain),
MacDonald Obed, Karl Laau,
Trevor Langa, Patrick
Matautaava, Tommy Tastuki,
Jelany Chilia, Lazaro Carlot,
Nalin Nipiko, Samson Worford
Kalworai, Niko Unavalu,
Steven Lynch, Kendy Kenneth,
Kenny Tari.
More details on ICC U/19
Cricket World Cup 2010 can
be found at:
www.icc-cricket.com
Defending champion Ireland
issues ominous message
“We want it even more
this time,” says veteran
McCallan on eve of his
side’s opening match as old
enemy Scotland stands in the
way at historic Mannofield
Meanwhile, Bermuda hosts
Uganda in first-ever ICC
Intercontinental Shield
match
Live scorecards will be
available at
www.icc-cricket.com;
Photographs from both
matches will also be
available and may be used
free of charge with
appropriate credit
The historic cricket ground
at Mannofield, Aberdeen has
been the scene of some great
moments over the years. It
is famously the venue of a
Don Bradman century when the
Australian “Invincibles”
visited Scotland at the
tail-end of the 1948 Ashes
tour.
The host club Aberdeenshire
CC has attracted plenty of
other top players over the
years including the
brilliant Bermudans Alma
Hunt and Nigel Hazel as well
as the great West Indies
batsman Rohan Kanhai, who
scored more than 4,000 runs
for ACC in just three
seasons at the club.
It has also been the scene
of some great battles
between two of the oldest
and fiercest rivals in the
game, Scotland and Ireland.
The latest chapter in that
ongoing history book will be
written this week as William
Porterfield’s Ireland
travels across the Irish Sea
to take on a Scotland team
that has begun its ICC
Intercontinental Cup 2009-10
campaign impeccably.
One player who is relishing
the prospect of the next
Hiberno-Caledonian showdown
is Kyle McCallan, a man who
should know what to expect
when the four-day match
begins on Monday given he is
a veteran of 23 such matches
in all forms of cricket.
“Our games with Scotland
over the years have always
been battles, and I expect
the game in Aberdeen to be
no different. They seem to
be in something of a
transition period but they
got a great result last
month against Canada and we
would never take them
lightly.
“One of the most dramatic
games of cricket I’ve ever
been involved in was in this
competition here in Aberdeen
in 2005, when we won by just
three runs. That sparked off
our great run in the ICC
Intercontinental Cup, and
we’ve been in the ascendancy
ever since,” said the
veteran off-spinner who
celebrates his 34th birthday
later this month.
Ireland is certainly the
team to beat in this
competition having won it on
the previous three occasions.
But there are no signs from
McCallan that the winning
streak is about to end.
“The lads really enjoy this
format of the game. The
batsmen can build an innings
while the bowlers can get
into a good rhythm with long
spells and attacking fields.
“It’s funny but despite
winning the trophy three
times, we probably want it
even more this time. We’ve
got a real desire to show
the world we’re the best
Associate team at all levels,
and winning this is one of
the best ways to do it.
We’ve some fantastic
memories over the past few
years.”
A former Ireland captain,
McCallan was preparing for
another game in charge due
to the absence of
Porterfield but the
Gloucestershire opener was
released at the last minute
by his county for this game
and so will skipper the side
again, a huge boost to what
is already a strong squad
that includes proven
performers Trent Johnston,
Jeremy Bray and Andrew White
as well some younger talent
in the form of seamer Shane
Getkate and hard-hitting
top-order batsman Paul
Stirling.
Scotland will not be short
on confidence having started
the competition well with an
outright win over Canada at
the same venue. The squad
shows four changes from that
match. Dougie Lockhart
replaces the injured Simon
Smith as the
wicketkeeper-batsman.
Lockhart is currently the
top Scottish batsman in the
national leagues and has
been in great form both in
front of and behind the
stumps for his club, West of
Scotland.
Gordon Goudie returns after
a serious shoulder injury
and replaces Calum MacLeod,
with left-arm spinner Ross
Lyons being selected ahead
of leg-spinner Moneeb Iqbal.
Stewart Chalmers is rewarded
for his recent excellent
form with his first four-day
call-up, to fill the
all-rounder position vacated
by the injured Jan Stander.
Mathew Parker and Alistair
Evans complete the squad,
which is captained by
all-rounder Gordon Drummond
in the absence of Gavin
Hamilton.
Play starts each day at 1100
(local time) and admission
is free.
Scotland (squad): Gordon
Drummond (captain), Fraser
Watts, Dougie Lockhart,
Qasim Sheikh, Ryan Watson,
Euan Chalmers, Neil McCallum,
Richie Berrington, Stewart
Chalmers, Majid Haq, Ross
Lyons, Gordon Goudie, Mathew
Parker, Ally Evans.
Ireland (squad): William
Porterfield (captain), Andre
Botha, Jeremy Bray, Andrew
Britton, Alex Cusack, Shane
Getkate, Trent Johnston,
Kyle McCallan, Kevin
O’Brien, Andrew Poynter,
Paul Stirling, Regan West,
Andrew White, Gary Wilson.
Umpires: Ian Ramage and Paul
Baldwin (ICC Associates and
Affiliates Umpires’ Panel)
Meanwhile, Bermuda plays
host to Uganda in the
first-ever match in the ICC
Intercontinental Shield,
which incorporates the four
teams below those playing in
the Cup competition with
Namibia and the United Arab
Emirates being the other two.
Bermuda’s preparation for
the match has been hampered
by the late withdrawal of
Chris Douglas and OJ Pitcher
and selectors have not yet
named their replacements.
But Uganda, too, will be
without some front-line
players. Joel Olweny,
Kenneth Kamyuka, Junior
Kwebiha, Nehal Bibodi and
Patel Nandikshor will all be
absent giving the David
Hemp-led home side a good
opportunity to get the
campaign off with a victory.
BERMUDA: David Hemp (captain),
Stephen Outerbridge, Irving
Romaine, Terryn Fray, Rodney
Trott, Tamauri Tucker, Jekon
Edness, Fiqre Crockwell,
Malachi Jones, Jordan De
Silva, Kevon Fubler.
UGANDA (squad): Mirza Akbar
Baig (captain), Benjamin
Musoke, Roger Mukasa, Fred
Isabirye, Laurence Sematimba,
Jonathan Sebanja, Frank
Nsubuga, Raymond Otim,
Assadu Seiga, Daniel Ruyange,
Arthur Kyobe, Charles Waiswa,
Davis Arinaitwe, Ronald
Ssemanda, Dennis Tabby.
Umpires: Roger Dill of the
ICC Associates and
Afilliates Umpires’ Panel
and a local appointment.
Settled Canada ready to take
control
Home team stung by draw
in Rotterdam – now looks to
take it out on Kenya
Having been thwarted by a
combination of rain and some
resilient Netherlands
batting, the Canada team
feels it is time to put the
record straight and register
its first win of the ICC
Intercontinental Cup 2009-10
campaign.
The four-day game against
Kenya begins in King City on
Friday and there is an air
of expectancy around the
2007 finalist that it can
overcome the men from east
Africa.
Last month, Canada coach
Pubudu Dassanayake took his
men to Rotterdam and
although it was a game he
feels it should have won,
there is encouragement to be
taken from the fact that
some of his key players are
in good form.
Veteran left-hander Sunil
Dhaniram hit a
second-innings 144 in that
match to make sure the Dutch
were set an unlikely target.
On a final day severely
shortened by rain, the home
team survived with just two
wickets remaining thanks to
a marathon 294-ball innings
by Daan van Bunge, who
finished unbeaten on 98.
Left-arm swing bowler Umar
Bhatti also performed well
in Rotterdam while there
were wickets, too, for
Sandeep Jyoti and Khurram
Chohan.
“It was disappointing not to
come away with full points
from that game and certainly
there were areas we could
have done better but what it
did was give us confidence,”
said Dassanayake.
“We now go into the Kenya
game knowing we can win and
we will be going all out to
do just that. Last year the
team was a bit unsettled but
now there is a good feeling
of stability about us. There
are still areas for
improvement but we are
definitely heading in the
right direction,” he said.
Canada stalwarts John
Davison, Geoff Barnett and
Ian Billcliff are not
available which makes way
for three members of the
under-19 team that won the
Americas Championship.
Under-19 captain Rustam
Bhatti has been picked in
the squad as the understudy
wicketkeeper in a side
captained by Ashish Bagai
but there may be a starting
place for the player of that
under-19 series, opening
batsman Hiral Patel, and
also the exciting prospect
15-year-old Nitesh Kumar.
Dassanayake describes Kumar
as “one of the best batsmen
I have ever seen at that
age” and so expect the
teenager from Toronto to
make his senior debut
batting at six or seven.
The experience of those
youngsters being involved at
senior level will also be
good preparation for the ICC
U/19 Cricket World Cup
Qualifier which takes place
in Ontario next month.
Meanwhile, the Kenya squad
is full of familiar faces
with Steve Tikolo, Collins
Obuya, Thomas Odoyo and
Hiren Varaiya all still
available. Nineteen-year-old
Seren Waters will more than
likely open the batting and
there is also a recall for
right-arm seamer Alfred
Luseno but there is no place
for wicketkeeper-batsman
Kennedy Otieno.
Maurice Ouma will lead the
team and, almost certainly
will take the gloves as well
in the absence of Otieno.
Canada (squad): Ashish Bagai
(captain), Umar Bhatti,
Qaiser Ali, Rustam Bhatti,
Rizwan Cheema, Khurram
Chohan, Sunil Dhaniram,
Jimmy Hansara, Sandeep Jyoti,
Shaheed Keshvani, Nitesh
Kumar, Hiral Patel, Abdool
Samad, Henry Osinde, Zameer
Zahir.
Kenya (squad): Maurice Ouma
(captain), Jimmy Kamande,
Alex Obanda, Steve Tikolo,
Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo,
Nehemiah Odhiambo, Lameck
Onyango, Peter Ongondo,
Hiren Varaiya, Rakep Patel,
Elijah Otieno, Seren Waters,
David Obuya, Alfred Luseno.
Umpires: Norman Malcolm and
Karran Bayney
Match referee: David Jukes
The ICC Intercontinental Cup
has quickly grown in stature
and profile since its
inception five years ago and
now the ICC’s premier
first-class tournament is an
integral part of the
Associate Members’ cricket
schedule.
Having previously been
designed around a two-group,
three-day format, the event
then evolved into an
eight-team, round-robin and
truly global tournament
featuring four-day cricket
which gives those teams who
do not play Test cricket the
chance to experience the
longer form of the game.
This year’s format will
include seven teams
(Afghanistan, Canada,
Ireland, Kenya, the
Netherlands, Scotland and
Zimbabwe XI) while a new
competition, the ICC
Intercontinental Shield will
involve four teams below
that, namely Bermuda,
Namibia, Uganda and the
United Arab Emirates.
Scotland won the first ICC
Intercontinental Cup in
2004, beating Canada in the
final, while Ireland has
been victorious in all three
events since then, beating
Kenya in the 2005 decider,
Canada in the 2006-07 event
and Namibia in 2007-08.
The
next step to ICC Cricket
World Cup 2015 begins at the
end of the month
Fixtures and teams
released for six-team Pepsi
ICC World Cricket League
Division 6
With the conclusion of Pepsi
World Cricket League
Division 7 in Guernsey in
May, the next step to
qualifying for the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2015
begins at the end of this
month, with six teams
competing in the Pepsi ICC
World Cricket League
Division 6 (WCL Div. 6).
The event, the second step
on the road to Australia and
New Zealand, will see WCL
Div. 7 qualifiers Bahrain
and Guernsey join Botswana,
Malaysia, Norway and
Singapore to battle it out
in the second tournament of
a new Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League structure
that will reach its climax
at the next ICC Cricket
World Cup Qualifier which is
scheduled for 2013.
The top two sides at this
event, which will be played
from 29 August to 5
September in Singapore, will
win promotion to the WCL
Div. 5 to be played in Nepal
in February.
The sides are to be hosted
on three grounds for the
tournament - Kalang,
Singapore Cricket Club (SCC)
and the Indian Association.
Following on from
Afghanistan’s successful
campaign at the ICC Cricket
World Cup Qualifier, which
saw it obtain ODI status
following a remarkable
qualifying story where it
won the WCL Div. 5, 4 and 3
titles, before finishing
fifth in the final
qualification event, teams
will be looking to follow in
its footsteps and progress
through the competition
structure.
The full schedule and teams
for the Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League Division 6 is
as follows:
Fixtures
28 August – Practice and
Meetings
29 August – Botswana v
Norway (Kalang), Singapore v
Guernsey (SCC), Malaysia v
Bahrain (Indian Association)
30 August – Bahrain v
Guernsey (Kalang), Norway v
Malaysia (SCC), Botswana v
Singapore (Indian
Association)
1 September – Malaysia v
Botswana (Kalang), Singapore
v Bahrain (SCC), Guernsey v
Norway (Indian Association)
2 September – Norway v
Singapore (Kalang), Bahrain
v Botswana (SCC), Guernsey v
Malaysia (Indian
Association)
4 September – Singapore v
Malaysia (Kalang), Botswana
v Guernsey (SCC), Norway v
Bahrain (Indian Association)
5 September – Final (Kalang),
third/fourth-place play-off
(SCC), fifth/sixth-place
play-off (Indian
Association)
Squads:
BAHRAIN: Yaser Sadeq (captain),
Fahad Sadeq, Mirza Azeem Ul
Haque, Mohammed Adil Hanif,
Zafar Zaheer, Mirza Ashraf
Yaqoob, Imran Sajjad,
Shahzad Ahmed, Mohammad
Tahir Dar Mohammed Qamar
Saeed, Vivek Subramanya,
Halal Abbasi, Mohammed Naeem
Amin, Asghar Abdul Majeed
BOTSWANA: Omar Ali (captain),
Tshepo Mhozya, Karabo Modise,
Mosa Gaolekwe, Faisal Rana
Rasheed, Gaolape Mokokwe,
Denzil Sequeira, Karan
Kapoor, Abdul Patel, Indika
Perera, James Moses, Shah
Zaib Khan, Taroesh Trivedi,
Noor Ahmad, Vanesh
Seganathirajah
GUERNSEY: Stuart Le Prevost
(captain), Lee Savident,
Stuart Bisson, James Warr,
Thomas Kimber, Gary Rich,
Kristoffer Moherndl, Blane
Queripel, James Nussbaumer,
Lee Ferbrache, Ross Kneller,
GH Smit, Jeremy Frith,
Jonathan Warr
MALAYSIA: Suhan Kumar
Alagaratanam (captain),
Ahmad Faiz Mohammad Noor,
Suresh Navaratnam, Rakesh
Madhavan, Muthuraman
Sockalingam , Mohd Shafiq
Mohd Sharif
Faris Almas Lee Rosmanizam,
Aminudin Ramly, Manrick
Singh Varick Singh, Damith
Kushan Warusavithana, Hassan
Ghulam Muhammad, Thushara
Prabath Kodikara, Mohd
Shukri Abdul Rahim, Muhamad
Nik Azril Arifin
NORWAY: Zaheer Ashiq (captain),
Syed Munawar Ahmed, Zeeshan
Muhammad Ali, Aziz Ataul,
Mubasshar Ahmad Bhatti,
Mohammad Shabbas Butt,
Zeshan Ahmed Rauf, Shahid
Ahmad, Safir Hayat, Umran
Shahzad, Aamir Waheed, Iram
Dawood. Adeel Ibrar,
Iftakhar Hussain
SINGAPORE: Chetan Ramchandra
Suryawanshi (captain),
Narender Reddy Bonguram,
Munish Arora, Rohan Tripathi,
Chaminda Ruwan Kumarge,
Buddhika Mendia Yange Oshan,
Christopher Janik, Anish
Edward Param, Mohamed Shoib
Abdul Razak, Mohamed Omar
Mizran Faizal, Dharmichand
Mulewa, Vivek Vedagiri, Saad
Khan Janjua, Pramodh Raja
Vijai Sri Ranga Singaraja
Busy
times for top Associates
Exciting fixtures coming
up in August as Ireland
takes on England, Scotland
faces Australia and
Afghanistan travels to
Zimbabwe
The top Associate and
Affiliate teams have a busy
month coming up with
Afghanistan, Bermuda,
Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the
Netherlands, Scotland and
Uganda all in action.
The highlights of the month
will possibly come during
two ODIs towards the end of
the month when Ireland takes
on England in Belfast on 27
August and Scotland welcomes
Australia to Edinburgh a day
later.
This will be the second time
Ireland will have played its
nearest Full Member
neighbour in an official ODI.
In 2006, Marcus Trescothick
scored 113 and Ian Bell 80
as the Andrew Strauss-led
England beat the home team
in a close match at the
picturesque Stormont ground,
the same venue for this
year’s showdown.
The last time Scotland came
face-to-face with Australia
in an ODI was during the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2007 when
Ricky Ponting scored 113 and
Glenn McGrath took 3-14 as
the champion won
convincingly in St Kitts.
“As the top Associate and
Affiliate teams develop and
improve it is important that
they are constantly
challenged,” said ICC High
Performance Manager Richard
Done.
“These ODIs against Full
Members are part of that
process and I know Ireland
and Scotland will gain a lot
from those games. The ICC is
committed to ensuring that
all our Members enjoy
meaningful competition and
the expansion of the ICC
Intercontinental Cup into a
second division gives more
teams the chance to play
competitive cricket against
similarly ranked teams
regardless of their location
in the world,” said Mr Done.
Also in August, Zimbabwe XI
and Afghanistan will make
their ICC Intercontinental
Cup debuts as the Africans
host the surprise package of
the past 18 months in a
four-day game at Mutare. The
Afghans will then move on to
Amsterdam to face the
Netherlands – conquerors of
England on the opening night
of the ICC World Twenty20 in
June – in another ICC
Intercontinental Cup match
and two ODIs.
In other interesting
match-ups, Ireland and
Scotland continue their
121-year rivalry as these
fierce competitors clash in
Aberdeen for an ICC
Intercontinental Cup match
followed by two ODIs.
Ireland has had the better
of recent exchanges between
the two teams, both in the
four-day and one-day
formats, so Gavin Hamilton
and his men will be keen to
set the record straight
against the defending ICC
Intercontinental Cup
champion.
Canada will host Kenya for
an ICC Intercontinental Cup
match followed by a
three-ODI series in King
City while Uganda will
travel to Bermuda for an ICC
Intercontinental Shield
match, two 50-over matches
and a Twenty20 match in the
National Stadium, Hamilton.
“August is going to be a
hectic time for our top
Associate and Affiliate
teams and it is an exciting
opportunity for them,” said
Mr Done. “We have seen great
progress in recent times and
fixtures such as these will
keep them moving in the
right direction.”
For more information about
the ICC Intercontinental Cup
and ICC Intercontinental
Shield go to:
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/events_and_awards/intercontinental_cup/index.php
Upcoming fixtures:
14-17 Aug – Canada v Kenya
(ICC Intercontinental Cup),
King City, Ontario
16-19 Aug – Zimbabwe XI v
Afghanistan (ICC
Intercontinental Cup),
Mutare
17-20 Aug – Scotland v
Ireland (ICC
Intercontinental Cup),
Aberdeen
17-20 Aug – Bermuda v Uganda
(ICC Intercontinental Shield),
Hamilton
19 Aug – Canada v Kenya (ODI),
King City, Ontario
21 Aug – Canada v Kenya (ODI),
King City, Ontario
22 Aug – Scotland v Ireland
(ODI), Aberdeen
22 Aug – Bermuda v Uganda
(50-over match), Hamilton
23 Aug – Canada v Kenya (ODI),
King City, Ontario
23 Aug – Scotland v Ireland
(ODI), Aberdeen
23 Aug – Bermuda v Uganda
(50-over match), Hamilton
24 Aug – Bermuda v Uganda
(Twenty20), Hamilton
24-27 Aug – Netherlands v
Afghanistan (ICC
Intercontinental Cup), VRA
Amsterdam
27 Aug – Ireland v England (ODI),
Belfast
28 Aug – Scotland v
Australia (ODI), Edinburgh
30 Aug – Netherlands v
Afghanistan (ODI), VRA
Amsterdam
1 Sep – Netherlands v
Afghanistan (ODI), VRA
Amsterdam
Umar
Bhatti praises van Bunge
after bad weather denies
Canada victory in ICC
Intercontinental Cup in
Rotterdam
Canada was all praise
for the Netherlands
all-rounder Daan van Bunge
after weather denied it a
certain victory in the ICC
Intercontinental Cup 2009-10
match in Rotterdam.
Almost three hours of play
was lost on the final day as
the Dutch, resuming the day
at 112-5 while chasing 368
runs for victory, escaped
with a highly respectable
draw. Only 59 overs of play
was possible on the last day
in which the Netherlands
added 121 runs to its
overnight score and lost
three wickets to finish at
233-8.
The Dutch collected nine
points (six for a 52-run
first innings lead and three
for a draw) from the match
while the North Americans,
who were sighting 13 victory
points, had to settle with
just three points for a draw.
Canada captain Umar Bhatti
praised van Bunge’s
match-saving effort, saying:
“It was an excellent batting
performance by (van) Bunge
as he put the team first and
batted with tremendous
responsibility. Even the
sight of a maiden
first-class century couldn’t
distract him. I think his
knock has been an example
and a lesson for many
batsmen.”
Van Bunge had walked on to
the pitch on the third
afternoon after the
Netherlands was reduced to
11-2 which soon became 77-5.
But when the match ended, he
had faced 294 balls while
scoring 98 not out that
included 10 fours and a six.
Van Bunge had a good game
overall. Besides scoring a
match-saving 98 not out, he
also had match figures of
6-120, including 3-11 in the
first innings.
“(Van) Bunge dug in deep and
really played well. We tried
everything and used all the
resources that were at our
disposal but the Dutch
proved to be more determined
and finished out on top of
us.
“It is disappointing to lose
valuable points which looked
just round the corner when
play ended on Friday. It was
even more frustrating
sitting in the dressing room
and waiting to go out there
and push for victory.
“But I think we batted below
our potential in the first
innings which probably cost
us the match. But we bounced
back strongly by first
restricting the Netherlands
to 233 and then scoring
419-9 in the second innings
and that too at a decent
scoring-rate to set
ourselves a good victory
chance. We would have
achieved victory if we had a
full day’s play on Saturday,”
Bhatti said.
“Sunil (Dhaniram) batted
brilliantly in the second
innings and put us back on
course. He showed that we
were getting there and with
the match against Kenya
coming up in the next couple
of weeks, I’m sure we’ll be
able to put up a more
improved performance and
will hopefully be able to
add a few more points to our
name,” said Bhatti.
Dhaniram was the mainstay of
Canada’s second innings. He
scored a superlative 144
that helped Canada declare
its second innings at 419-9
to secure a 367-run lead. It
was Dhaniram’s second
first-class century that
came off 178 balls and
included 17 fours and two
sixes.
Bhatti was optimistic that
his side would play better
cricket in the forthcoming
first-class matches. “This
is just the beginning of a
long season and I’m sure
we’ll be able to translate
whatever we have learnt on
this tour into those
matches. Ideally, we would
have been happier with a few
more points against our
names but we still have
matches in hand and we’ll
try to bag maximum points
from the Kenya match.”
Canada, on the two-week
European tour, played two
ICC Intercontinental Cup
2009-10 matches and four
One-Day Internationals. It
lost to Canada by 29 runs
but drew the two-match ODI
series with both the sides
winning one match piece.
Against the Dutch, its
four-day match ended in a
draw while the second ODI
was washed out after it had
lost the opener by 50 runs.
Looking back at the tour,
Bhatti said: “The tour has
proved to be an excellent
learning curve to our team
and specially the youngsters.
Obviously we would have
liked to win a few more
matches but playing in
different conditions and
against different
oppositions has provided to
boys to understand what to
expect at this level and how
we can improve our
performances for upcoming
matches.
“I’m sure when we’ll tour
European next time, we’ll be
able to put up an improved
performance.
“Captaining Canada has been
a pleasure and honour. I
have enjoyed the tour
thoroughly even though we
had good days and bad days
but every minute of it was
worth it. I’m extremely
proud to have led Canada on
this tour,” Bhatti said.
Scores in brief
Canada 177 all out, 65.4
overs (Sandeep Jyoti 37,
Ashif Mulla 28; Daan van
Bunge 3-11, Peter Borren
3-37, Peter Seelaar 3-54)
and 419-9d, 100 overs (Sunil
Dhaniram 144, Qaiser Ali 61,
Geoff Barnett 37, Ashif
Mulla 40, Khurram Chohan 36
not out, Umar Bhatti 36,
Sandeep Jyoti 35; Berend
Westdijk 4-85, Daan van
Bunge 3-19)
The Netherlands 229 all out,
81.3 overs (Nick Statham 57,
Tom de Grooth 36, Wesley
Barresi 31, Peter Borren 24,
Jeroen Brand 20; Sandeep
Jyoti 3-59, Rizwan Cheema
2-10, Zameer Zahir 2-31) and
233-8 (Daan van Bunge 98 not
out, Bart Schilperoord 27,
Umar Bhatti 4-32, Khurram
Chohan 2-55)
Points: The Netherlands 9,
Canada 3
Scotland showed its
character in thrilling win,
says Drummond
Captain says the match
sets the tone for an
exciting ICC
Intercontinental Cup 2009-10
Canada skipper Umar Bhatti
counts positives, praises
fast bowler Khurram Chohan
Gordon Drummond celebrated
his first match as Scotland
captain when he inspired his
side to a see-saw 29-run
victory over Canada in the
ICC Intercontinental Cup
2009-10 opener with a day to
spare at Mannofield Park,
Aberdeen on Saturday.
Drummond, who became the
third Scottish captain this
year after Ryan Watson and
Gavin Hamilton, excelled
more with the bat than with
the ball when he was
involved in crucial
partnerships in both the
innings that turned out to
be the decisive factors in
the context of a strange
match that produced 739 runs
with just two half-centuries
in less than three days of
play at the cost of 39
wickets in 256.2 overs.
Drummond, in association
with wicketkeeper Simon
Smith, added 83 runs for the
ninth wicket to help his
side recover from 102-8 to a
first innings total of 185.
He then put on 69 runs for
the eighth wicket with
debutant Jan Stander to
carry Scotland from 99-7 to
199 in the second innings.
Drummond playing in only his
fourth first-class match,
showed no signs of his
limited experience of the
format when he smartly
marshaled his troops by
making calculated bowling
changes and excellent field
placing as Canada was bowled
out for 142 runs in its
first innings to concede a
43-run first innings lead
and was then dismissed for
213 while chasing 243 for
victory.
While Drummond scored 52 and
34 in the match, the bowling
honours for Scotland were
shared between fast bowlers
Calum MacLeod, who recorded
match figures of
32.4-7-102-6, and Stander,
who finished with figures of
30-5-91-5 to support his
second innings contribution
of 64 runs which was the
highest score of the match.
“It has been a dream start
for me and I am delighted to
have contributed to my
team’s success in the first
match of the tournament.
It’s always important to
start on a winning note and
I am delighted to help my
team have achieved it,” said
Drummond.
“It was time for me to take
more responsibility with the
bat and build partnerships
so that we could give
something to our bowlers to
defend. It was all about
staying at the crease
because we had a long
batting line-up and we knew
if we managed to hang in
there, we would be able to
post a respectable score on
the board,” said the fast
bowler, who also took 2-22
in the first innings.
Reflecting on the conditions,
Drummond said: “I think the
conditions were good for
cricket. And if 39 wickets
fell in three days, it was
more due to a combination of
lack of discipline by the
batsmen and quality bowling
by the bowlers than terrors
on the wicket.
“It was an exciting game and
I am proud of my team which
showed character, stayed
calm and stuck to basics.
However, I do believe both
the sides were a bit rusty
and as all the teams in the
tournament are almost of
equal strength, it will be
down to be how quickly the
teams can adapt to the given
conditions and deliver
winning performances.
“Credit must be given to the
Canadian boys who fought all
the way. The first match of
the tournament has set the
trend of what I think will
be an exciting and
hard-fought event,” said the
captain.
Despite losing the close
match, Canada captain Umar
Bhatti was upbeat and
satisfied with his side’s
performance. “I think we
played reasonably good
cricket. Yes, our batting
let us down but overall we
showed a good account of
ourselves,” said the fast
bowler who took 2-67 in the
match.
“The batting was a bit rusty
as we were playing our first
four-day match after a long
time and the batsmen found
it hard to switch from the
one-day mode to the longer
version. The batsmen tried
to play too many strokes
when the need of the hour
was to occupy the crease and
stay in the middle as long
as possible.
“Despite our batting
failures, I think we can
draw a lot of positives out
of this match. The fielding
was top class as we held
everything that came our way
except for one catch while
the bowling of Khurram
Chohan was outstanding.
“As far as I am concerned,
Khurram was the player of
the match. He was very
unlucky to miss out on a
10-wicket haul. He used the
new ball very intelligently
and severely tested the
batsmen all through the
match by bowling in the
corridor of uncertainty,”
Bhatti said.
Chohan, the 29-year-old who
has played first-class
cricket in Pakistan and has
also represented Pakistan at
the U/19 level, followed up
his 6-37 in the first
innings with 3-50 in the
second for match figures of
34.4-13-89-9.
Bhatti confirmed it was his
team’s batting rather than
the conditions that led to
the defeat. “I agree that
the conditions favoured the
bowlers more than the
batsmen but that doesn’t
mean conditions were
difficult for batting.
“I think some of the batsmen
showed that runs could have
been scored if they had
applied themselves, showed a
little more caution and
selected the right balls to
play their strokes.
“When lots of wickets fall
in a match like this, a
partnership is always
waiting to happen. Scotland
managed to put together two
handy partnerships of 83
runs and 69 runs while our
best partnership of the
match was 64 (in the second
innings). I think if we had
managed to produce one more
partnership of 50 odd runs,
the result of the match
might have been different,”
said the 25-year-old Bhatti.
Canada and Scotland will now
go head to head in a two-ODI
series on Tuesday and
Wednesday in Aberdeen after
which Canada will travel to
Rotterdam where it will take
on the Netherlands from 15
July while Scotland will
play traditional rival and
defending champion Ireland
from 17 August.
Scores in brief:
At Aberdeen
Scotland 185 (Gordon
Drummond 52, Ryan Watson 37,
Simon Smith 29 not out,
Fraser Watts 21; Khurram
Chohan 6-37, Kenry Osinde
2-63) and 199 (Jan Stander
64, Gordon Drummond 34;
Rizwan Cheema 3-39, Khurram
Chohan 3-50, Shaheed
Keshvani 2-20)
Canada 142 (Rizwan Cheema
24, Khurram Chohan 23 not
out; Calum MacLeod 4-66, Jan
Stander 3-43, Drummond 2-22)
and 213 (Sandeep Jyoti 47,
Geoff Barnett 31, Khurram
Chohan 28, Ashif Mulla 27,
Shaheed Keshvani 34; Moneeb
Iqbal 2-31, Calum MacLeod
2-36, Richie Berrington
2-20, Jan Stander 2-48)
Result: Scotland won by 29
runs
ICC Intercontinental Cup
2009-10 underway next month
The International Cricket
Council’s first-class
tournament, the ICC
Intercontinental Cup
2009-10, gets underway next
month with many of the
heavy-hitters from the
competition in action.The
tournament begins in
Scotland as the 2005
champion takes on the
2006-07 finalist Canada at
Mannofield, Aberdeen from 2
to 5 July. When that match
is over Scotland and Canada
will play a two-ODI series
at the same venue. Canada
will then head to the
Netherlands for two ODIs on
11 and 12 July at VRA
Amstelveen. Then Canada will
face the Dutch in an ICC
Intercontinental Cup match
at VOC Rotterdam from 15 to
18 July.
Meanwhile, defending
champion Ireland will host
Kenya from 3 to 6 July at
Eglinton in the island’s
north-west. There will then
be a three-ODI series at
Clontarf, Dublin with those
matches taking place on 9,
11 and12 July.
Ireland will travel to
Aberdeen to take on Scotland
in an Intercontinental Cup
(17-20 August) and ODI
series (22 and 23 August),
continuing a rivalry between
the two teams that has
flourished since 1888.
"The ICC Intercontinental
Cup has quickly grown in
stature and profile since
its inception five years ago
and now the ICC’s premier
first-class tournament is an
integral part of the
Associate Members’ cricket
schedule," said ICC Global
Development Manager Matthew
Kennedy.
"This competition has played
a crucial role in the
leading Associates’
development as team units
and in challenging and
improving the skills of both
established and emerging
individual players at these
national levels. It has
surely contributed
significantly to some of
their successes in recent
years against Full Members
in the shorter forms of the
game.
"Currently Ireland is top of
the pile having won the
title on the previous three
occasions but I know the
other teams will be keen to
end that domination and so
it won’t be easy for them to
retain the trophy.
"The addition of prize money
this year is another way in
which the ICC
Intercontinental Cup is
being enhanced and is a sign
of our commitment to our
Associate and Affiliate
Members," said Mr Kennedy.
There will be a total of
US$250,000 in prize money
for the Associate and
Affiliate teams taking part
in the ICC Intercontinental
Cup with US$100,000 for the
winners and US$40,000 for
the runners-up.
Having previously been
designed around a two-group,
three-day format, the event
then evolved into an
eight-team, round-robin and
truly global tournament
featuring four-day cricket
which gives those teams who
do not play Test cricket the
chance to experience the
longer form of the game.
This year’s format will
include seven teams
(Afghanistan, Canada,
Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands,
Scotland and Zimbabwe XI),
while a new competition, the
ICC Intercontinental Shield
will involve four teams
below that, namely Bermuda,
Namibia, Uganda and the
United Arab
Emirates.Scotland won the
first ICC Intercontinental
Cup in 2004, beating Canada
in the final, while Ireland
has been victorious in all
three events since then,
beating Kenya in the 2005
decider, Canada in the
2006-07 event and Namibia in
2007-08.
Upcoming Associate team
fixtures are:
2-5 Jul –Scotland
v Canada (ICC
Intercontinental Cup),
Aberdeen
3-6 Jul
–
Ireland v Kenya (ICC
Intercontinental Cup),
Eglinton, Derry
7 Jul
–
Scotland v Canada (ODI),
Aberdeen
8 Jul
–
Scotland v Canada (ODI),
Aberdeen
9 Jul
–
Ireland v Kenya (ODI),
Clontarf, Dublin
11 Jul
–
Ireland v Kenya (ODI),
Clontarf, Dublin
11 Jul
–
Netherlands v Canada (ODI),
VRA Amstelveen
12 Jul
–
Netherlands v Canada (ODI),
VRA Amstelveen
12 Jul
–
Ireland v Kenya (ODI),
Clontarf, Dublin
15-18 Jul
–
Netherlands v Canada (ICC
Intercontinental Cup), VOC
Rotterdam
17-20 Aug
–
Scotland v Ireland (ICC
Intercontinental Cup),
Aberdeen
22 Aug
–
Scotland v Ireland (ODI),
Aberdeen
23 Aug
–
Scotland v Ireland (ODI),
Aberdeen
27 Aug
–
Ireland v England (ODI),
Stormont, Belfast
28 Aug
– Scotland v Australia (ODI),
Grange, Edinburgh
More fixtures in this year’s
event will be announced in
due course.
For more information go to:
www.icc-cricket.com
UAE to stage expanded ICC
WT20 2010 Qualifier in
October
Host and USA to join the top
six Associate and Affiliate
teams in race
for two places at the main
event in the Caribbean
ICC Chief Executive Haroon
Lorgat: “I’m thrilled by the
ICC Development
Committee’s innovative
approach”
“The tournament will be a
great chance for the UAE to
showcase its
cricket facilities and
generate interest in our
great sport”
“A wonderful opportunity for
the USA to move towards a
brighter future
and exploit its potential”
“With its player base,
development potential and
cricket broadcast
interest, now backed with a
new professional
administration set-up, the
USA has obvious potential
and a top-two finish will
see it qualify for
the main event in its own
region”
The United Arab Emirates
(UAE) has been invited to
host the ICC World
Twenty20 2010 Qualifier
later this year.
The event, which is
currently scheduled to take
place in late October,
will also be expanded from
its previous staging, in
Ireland in 2008.
In addition to featuring the
six Associate and Affiliate
teams with ODI
status – Ireland, Canada,
Kenya, the Netherlands,
Afghanistan and
Scotland – it will also
include the host team and
the United States of
America (USA).
The top two sides from the
tournament will go forward
to join the 10 ICC
Full Members in next year’s
main event, set to take
place in the West
Indies in April and May at
three locations – Barbados,
Guyana and St
Lucia.
These decisions were made by
the ICC Development
Committee, which has
been meeting this week in
Dubai.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon
Lorgat said: “I am thrilled
that the ICC
Development Committee has
again taken an expansive and
innovative
approach to promoting our
great sport by inviting the
UAE and USA to
join the top six Associate
and Affiliate teams at the
ICC World Twenty20
Qualifier later this year.
“It follows on from its
previous decision that the
ICC Intercontinental
Cup will expand to two
divisions in 2009-10 with
the addition of two
more Associate teams and the
possibility of including a
team from
Zimbabwe.
“The committee has given the
chance for the top six
Associate and
Affiliate teams to qualify
for the ICC World Twenty20,
something they
had the chance to do in the
equivalent event in Ireland
last year,
while, at the same time,
creating two additional
invitational slots for
this event.
“The concept of invitations
is common in some other
sports and, in this
instance, it fits the bill
perfectly.
“For the UAE, ranked seventh
in the list of Associate and
Affiliate
one-day teams, hosting and
taking part in the qualifier
will be a great
chance to showcase its
excellent cricket facilities
and to generate
additional interest in the
game within the country.
“And for the USA the
tournament represents a
wonderful opportunity to
move towards a brighter
future and exploit its
potential after a period
on the fringes following
previous suspensions and
demotions because of
administrative issues.
“The ICC has strategic plans
to target and strengthen the
game in
potential growth markets and
the USA, with its player
base, development
potential and cricket
broadcast interest, now
backed with a new
professional administration
set-up, has obvious
potential in all these
areas.
“The team is currently in
the Pepsi ICC World Cricket
League Division 5
but the players showed their
abilities in winning last
November’s ICC
Americas Championship,
finishing ahead of Canada
and Bermuda in the
process.
“Twenty20 is the perfect
vehicle for cricket to
excite the USA and the
carrot for its players and
administrators is that a
top-two finish will
earn it a place in the main
event which is to be held in
its own region.
“We trust the Emirates
Cricket Board and the United
States of America
Cricket Association will
embrace this opportunity and
will prepare
squads of the highest
standard.
“And we are sure Ireland,
Canada, Kenya, the
Netherlands, Afghanistan
and Scotland will all be up
for the challenge, in what
we believe will
be a great event.”
The ICC Development
Committee also decided on
the following locations
for other upcoming events:
* The Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League Division 5
(due to take
place in January 2010) will
be held in Nepal.
* The Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League Division 4
(due to take
place in June 2010) will be
held in Italy.
* Canada will host the ICC
U/19 CWC Global Qualifier in
September
2009, which will see 10
Associate and Affiliate
teams (two from each of
the ICC’s five regions)
battle for five places in
the ICC U/19 CWC 2010.
The binding decisions of the
ICC Development Committee in
relation to
these events are all subject
to the finalisation of
logistical and
budgetary arrangements with
the prospective hosts.
The ICC Development
Committee meets twice each
year and is made up of
the following people:
Haroon Lorgat (chairman) ICC
Chief Executive
Theo Cuffy Americas
representative
Tim Kumalo Africa
representative
P.Krishnasamy Asia
representative
Geoff Tamblyn East
Asia-Pacific representative
Roger Knight Europe
representative
Samir Inamdar (Kenya)
Associate representative
Mark Stafford (Vanuatu)
Affiliate´representative
Keith Bradshaw MCC
representative
Betty Timmer ICC Women’s
Committee chairwoman
Justin Vaughan (New Zealand)
Full Member representative (unable
to attend)
ICC Intercontinental Cup to
be expanded to two divisions
for 2009-10
Team from Zimbabwe to take
part, subject to its
agreement with the ICC
Prize money on offer for the
first time, total of
US$250,000 at stake
ICC Chief Executive Haroon
Lorgat: “I’m delighted the
Development Committee has
been so positive and
expansive in its approach to
the ICC Intercontinental
Cup”
The 2009-10 edition of the
ICC Intercontinental Cup
will be expanded to two
divisions and include as
many as 11 teams, it was
announced today.
The multi-day tournament
that features the leading
Associate teams will also
see prize money awarded for
the first time.
These decisions were made by
the ICC Development
Committee, which has been
meeting this week in Dubai.
The line-ups for the fifth
staging of the event that
began in 2004 will see
Ireland, Canada, Kenya, the
Netherlands, Afghanistan and
Scotland – the six
Associates with ODI status –
in the top division in the
battle for the ICC
Intercontinental Cup.
A team from Zimbabwe will
line up alongside them,
subject to agreement between
Zimbabwe Cricket and the
ICC. This follows on from a
recommendation made by the
task team set up to examine
cricket in Zimbabwe that
reported to the ICC Board in
April.
The United Arab Emirates,
Namibia, Bermuda and Uganda
– the four other Associate
teams that are part of the
Gatorade ICC High
Performance Programme – will
play each other for the ICC
Intercontinental Shield.
For Afghanistan and Uganda
it will be their first
exposure to multi-day action
after impressing in the
one-day format.
There will be a total of
US$250,000 in prize money
for the Associate teams with
US$100,000 for the winners
of the ICC Intercontinental
Cup and US$40,000 for the
runners-up.
The winners of the ICC
Intercontinental Shield will
collect US$25,000 with the
runners-up pocketing
US$10,000 and matches in
both divisions will have the
prize of US$3,000 for an
outright win.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon
Lorgat said: “I’m delighted
the Development Committee
has been so positive and
expansive in its approach to
the ICC Intercontinental
Cup, the flagship multi-day
event for teams below Test
level.
“This new format will allow
the top six Associate teams
to maintain a high standard
of even competitiveness.
“And by creating an
additional division we have
been able to offer all our
Gatorade ICC High
Performance Programme
countries multi-day cricket
which helps them develop the
skills needed to perform at
a higher level.
“Following the task team
recommendations, we are in
discussions with Zimbabwe
Cricket for it to field a
team in the competition and
if it does so then I believe
that will benefit all
concerned.
“It will see the top six
Associate teams come up
against good quality,
professional opposition and
provide the Zimbabwean
players with additional
opportunities to play
multi-day cricket, something
essential for them to chart
a course back to the Test
arena.
“I am also delighted that,
for the first time, the
event has prize money for
the Associate teams. It will
assist in their ongoing
process to professionalise
their operations and that,
in turn, will help them
continue to raise their
playing standards.”
The 2009-10 ICC
Intercontinental Cup and ICC
Intercontinental Shield will
not feature promotion and
relegation.
Fixtures for the tournament
will be announced in due
course.
Ireland is the defending
champions having won the
previous three editions of
the ICC Intercontinental
Cup, in 2005, 2007 and 2009.
The other team to have
lifted the trophy was
Scotland, which won the
inaugural event in 2004.
All 10 Associate teams set
to take part in the ICC
Intercontinental Cup and ICC
Intercontinental Shield form
part of the Gatorade ICC
High Performance Programme (HPP).
The HPP was launched in 2001
to assist the leading
Associate Member countries
prepare for the 2003 ICC
Cricket World Cup. The
Programme played a similar
role in assisting the six
Associate qualifiers in the
lead-up to the 2007 ICC
Cricket World Cup, and there
are now 10 HPP countries.
The ICC High Performance
Manager, Richard Done,
assists the HPP countries to
produce their own high
performance programmes,
player development pathways
and administrative
structures, all of which are
directed at improving the
on-field performances of
their national teams at
senior and junior levels.
The HPP countries also
receive an annual grant of
US$350,000 from the ICC to
assist in the implementation
of these plans.
Four qualifiers for ICC
Cricket World Cup 2011
finalised
Ireland, Canada, Keyna and
Netherlands will join the
Full Members at 14-team
event
ODI status and place in ICC
Intercontinental Cup also
goes to Afghanistan and
Scotland; Kenya legend Steve
Tikolo says he will not play
in what would be his fifth
World Cup; Post-match quotes
from Tikolo, White (Ireland),
Bagai (Canada) and Smits (Netherlands)
as well as Afghanistan coach
Kabir Khan
Live ball-by-ball scoring
from all matches throughout
the 19-day tournament is
offered on the event
website; free-to-use photos
available from Kenya v
Ireland while Getty Images
attended the Canada v
Netherlands game; video
clips available on event
website and highlight
packages on http://www.nuview.tv
<http://www.nuview.tv/>
The four teams that will
join the 10 Full Members in
the ICC Cricket World Cup
2011 were finalised today
with Ireland, Canada, the
Netherlands and Kenya
booking their places.
Having already done enough
to qualify on Wednesday, it
mattered little to Ireland
that it went down to Kenya
by six wickets at LC de
Villiers Oval but that win
secured Steve Tikolo’s team
its place in the big event.
Meanwhile, Netherlands beat
Canada at WITS University to
draw level with the North
Americans and Kenya but
Jeroen Smits and his men
stay in fourth place once
the net run-rate is taken
into account leaving Canada
to contest Sunday’s final
with Ireland.
Defending champion Scotland,
which has underperformed
most of the way through this
event, managed to cling on
to its ODI status for
another four years at least
by beating the United Arab
Emirates at Benoni, thus
finishing in fifth position
and consigning the UAE to
seventh spot.
Afghanistan continues its
amazing story by beating
eighth-place Namibia at
Krugersdorp and so ending
the tournament in sixth
position and gaining ODI
status until 2013 at least.
Ireland all-rounder Andrew
White said: “That’s part of
the job done for us. The
initial goal for us was to
get through to the World Cup
but having done so well
since the last World Cup our
overall goal was to try and
win the tournament. So we
still have to do that.
“We believe we are the best
Associate team around but in
order to prove that again we
need to win this tournament.
So although we have
qualified for the World Cup,
to an extent it’s still job
not finished. It’s important,
for our own well being, that
we prove we are the best
Associate in all formats.
“We have played consistently
throughout the tournament
and we’ll back ourselves to
go out and put in another
good performance in the
final and hopefully that
will be good enough on the
day.”
Up against Ireland will be a
Canada side that has played
well throughout most of this
19-day tournament so far,
even without talisman John
Davison, who suffered an
injury half-way through.
Captain Ashish Bagai says
although it has been a
tiring few weeks, his boys
are ready for one more
challenge.
“It has been a good effort
by everyone in the squad. We
have played pretty
consistently and I am really
looking forward to the final
now. We are delighted to
have qualified for the World
Cup but we want to win this
trophy.
“It has been a long tour for
us and everyone is tired but
we will keep it going for
one more game and we will
get a good rest after that.
Then, once we have recovered,
we will set out our plan for
the World Cup 2011 so that
we prepare as well as
possible and come into that
tournament playing as good
cricket as we possibly can,”
said Bagai.
Kenya skipper Steve Tikolo,
who has played in four World
Cups, said afterwards that
he would not be around for a
fifth.
“My legs are going now and
I’m getting a little too
slow. I think it’s time to
let the youngsters come
through,” said 37-year-old
Tikolo, who has been the
heart of the Kenya team for
the best part of 15 years.
“I will probably play until
the end of this season but I
will not be around for the
next World Cup. There is
plenty of young talent
coming through in Kenya so I
think the time is right for
me to step away.
“I am very happy we
qualified – that was our
main goal coming here so
that is good enough for me.
I think we outplayed Ireland
today. The guys came to the
ground today very determined
and we wanted it badly so
that was encouraging,
especially considering our
poor performance against
Namibia two days ago.”
Netherlands captain Jeroen
Smits, whose side easily
overcame Canada in WITS, was
clearly delighted with his
team’s fourth-place finish.
“I’m feeling very happy and
excited that we are through
to another World Cup,” said
Smits.
“We played in 2003, 2007 and
now we have made it to
another one. I think we
deserve to be there. We had
a few hiccups along the way
but basically our batting
lineup has been solid
through the tournament and
we have a good mix of youth
and experience. It all came
together nicely today and we
showed just how well we can
play.”
For Afghanistan coach Kabir
Khan, the fact his team now
has ODI status is a big
boost to cricket in his
country.
“When we came into the Super
Eight we weren’t in a very
good position to qualify,
but the way the boys played
showed how much courage and
talent they have got winning
some much tougher matches… I
am sure we will play in a
World Cup one day.
“My first goal when we came
into this tournament was to
get into the Super Eight as
we didn’t want to be
relegated. I thought it
would be very hard to make
the World Cup, playing
against so many top sides in
this qualifier, but
finishing in the top six is
an excellent result for us.
“It will help develop the
cricketing culture in
Afghanistan and there will
be more cricket and we will
have the opportunity to play
four-day cricket (in the ICC
Intercontinental Cup).We are
not going home empty-handed
from the tournament – we
have managed to achieve our
ODI status.
“I think four-day cricket
brings out the true
cricketer in everybody as in
one-day cricket players may
play bad shots against you
chasing runs, but in
four-day cricket you have to
get the batsman out with
your own qualities and
skills.
“We will also benefit from
the support from the ICC in
preparing for these
competitions. Our team is
also very good in the
short-form of the game and
in Twenty20 they will be
challenging a lot of the big
teams.
All their life in
Afghanistan they have played
20 or 25-over cricket, so
their games are well suited
to this,” said Kabir.
Final Super Eight standings
Team
P W
L Pts
NRR
Ireland*
+ 7 5
2 10
+0.689
Canada*
+ 7 4
3 8
+0.686
Kenya*
+ 7 4
3 8
+0.035
Netherlands* + 7
4 3
8 +0.025
Scotland
+ 7 3
4 6
-0.139
Afghanistan
+ 7 3
4 6
-0.209
UAE
7 3
4 6
-1.080
Namibia
7 2
5 4
-0.078
*qualified for the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2011
+ODI status for four years
and a place in ICC
Intercontinental Cup and
ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier
Scotland on the brink of
elimination as Afghanistan
strikes again
Ireland becomes first
team to qualify for ICC
Cricket World Cup 2011
Tournament thrown wide open
with another series of
surprise results
Live ball-by-ball scoring
from all matches throughout
the 19-day tournament is
offered on the event
website; free-to-use photos
available from Netherlands v
Ireland while Getty Images
attended the Namibia v Kenya
game; video clips available
on event website and
highlight packages on
http://www.nuview.tv
<http://www.nuview.tv/>
Defending champion Scotland
is on the verge of failing
to qualify for the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2011 after
becoming Afghanistan’s
latest victim at the
qualifying tournament in
South Africa.
Having previously made it
through to the World Cup in
1999 and 2007, Ryan Watson’s
team must now win its final
game against the United Arab
Emirates on Friday and then
hope other results go its
way if one of those magical
four places can be theirs.
And although it remains a
long shot, Afghanistan can
still achieve what many
considered to be the
impossible and get through
to the World Cup
2011 for the first time in
the country’s history.
Considering less than one
year ago it was playing in
Division 5 of the Pepsi ICC
World Cricket League along
with the likes of Jersey,
Japan and Vanuatu, it is a
truly remarkable turn around,
not only to be competing at
this level but now to have
beaten arguably the two
strongest Associate teams of
the past five years,
Scotland and Ireland.
Having lost the toss and
invited to bat,
Afghanistan’s openers made
Watson live to regret that
decision as they put on 57
for the first wicket and 48
for the second in fairly
smart time.
Top-order batsman Karim
Sadiq was the hero of the
day for the Afghans as he
hit 92 off 101 balls, a
knock that included 10 fours
and two sixes as he punished
any wayward bowling the
Scots sent his way. Karim’s
contribution got his team to
279, a total that was always
going to be a tough ask,
particularly for a Scotland
top order that had not been
firing during this
tournament.
Losing Majid Haq with just
one run on the board did not
help confidence levels among
the Scottish ranks and when
Watson fell for just 14 many
would have thought the game
was up. But Ryan Coetzer and
Gavin Hamilton then put on
133 runs for the third
wicket to swing the game
back in favour of the
champion.
Re-enter Karim Sadiq. Not
content with his bat doing
the talking, the right-arm
off-spinner then removed
both Coetzer and Hamilton as
the Scots went into freefall,
losing their last eight
wickets for just 50 runs,
eventually being dismissed
for 237, some 42 runs adrift.
“I am very happy at the
moment that my team won
against a team like
Scotland, who are one of the
big teams in the tournament
and who have played in two
World Cups,” said Karim
afterwards.
“It was very hard batting
today and I was very
disappointed to miss out on
my century. But it was good
to get two wickets as well.
I am hoping that I can score
a century on Friday as I
want to give Afghanistan a
big chance of getting to the
World Cup,” he said.
Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan
added: “We are acting like a
giant killer in this
tournament. I am very proud
of my boys and it shows that
it wasn’t a fluke that we
got through the World Cup
qualifying rounds.
“I have always had faith in
my batting order and I have
always maintained they are
very good batters. They are
very quick learners and in
the first round they saw how
the top players play an
innings under pressure and
that is what they are doing
in the Super Eight stage.
“We are making some really
good scores against the top
teams and if we keep playing
the way we are playing then
we can beat Namibia,” said
Kabir.
This defeat for Scotland
means the defending champion
is now last in the Super
Eight table, behind
Afghanistan and Namibia on
net run-rate.
At the other end of the
table, though, Scotland’s
traditional rival Ireland
became the first team to
confirm its place in the
World Cup 2011 after beating
the Netherlands by six
wickets at LC de Villiers
Oval in Pretoria.
Man of the match William
Porterfield (78) and Eoin
Morgan (76 off just
62 deliveries) did most of
the damage in knocking off
the runs after Ireland’s
bowlers restricted the
Netherlands’ batting lineup
to 222 all out. Only Alexei
Kervezee (77) was able to
resist the tight and
incisive bowling of Alex
Cusack (3-26), Boyd Rankin
(3-48), Peter Connell (2-35)
and friends.
The two points from this
victory puts Porterfield’s
men at the top of the Super
Eight table on 10 points and
Ireland will now certainly
take its place as one of the
14 participating teams at
the 2011 World Cup.
The worst Ireland can now do
in the tournament is second
place meaning it will
definitely be one of the
teams in the final, which
takes place in Centurion on
Sunday 19 April.
Just who will join the Irish
in the final or in the Asian
sub-continent for the big
event is less clear. Such is
the competitive nature of
this event, we are down to
the last round of Super
Eight matches on Friday and
there are still three spots
up for grabs and no team is
definitely out of contention.
Starting the day on the
bottom of the table, Namibia
kept its slim hopes of
qualification alive with a
comprehensive and hugely
impressive victory over
Kenya at WITS University. At
the top of the innings, JB
Burger struck 125 off just
96 balls (16 fours, three
sixes) to take the game away
from Namibia’s African
rivals right from the start.
Burger received good support
from Raymond van Schoor
(61), Craig Williams (34)
and Deon Kotze (24 off 18
balls) as Namibia posted the
formidable total of 305.
In reply Kenya crumbled to
104 all out with Sarel
Burger (4-29), Louis
Klazinga (3-27), Gerrie
Snyman (2-31) making sure it
was a good day for the
Namibia bowlers as well as
its batsmen. This win lifts
Namibia to sixth position
with four points and
crucially also gives its
flagging net run-rate a
significant boost.
The UAE gave its supporters
something to cheer about in
Krugersdorp as it beat
Canada by five wickets.
Spinners Khuram Khan and
Saqib Ali did most of the
damage for the UAE as the
north Americans could only
manage
194 all out.
Khuram (53) and Saqib (37)
were also to the fore with
the bat as UAE passed
Canada’s total with five
wickets and 18.4 overs to
spare.
What will happen on day 17
of this amazing tournament
on Friday we will just have
to wait and see. The way
things have gone over the
past two weeks or so, most
pundits have given up trying
to predict it.
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