Holland got their World Cricket League Division 1 campaign off to a flying start with a comprehensive 8 wicket win over Canada in Nairobi.
Chasing 201 to win, Bas Zuiderent led the way with an unbeaten 77 with support from Darren Reekers (39), Lucas Van Troost (38) and Ryan ten Doeschate (37no).
The target was achieved in 35 overs as Holland put down a marker for the tournament with a win right up there in the same bracket as Kenya's ten wicket destruction of Bermuda yesterday.
Canada were bowled out for 200 with Ashish Bagai top scored with 74 as only four batsman made it into double figures with the next best coming from wicket-keeper Ashif Mulla (37).
Ryan ten Doeschate picked up figures of 4-31 off of his seven overs, and William Stelling took 3-41.
Meanwhile, the other match played today between Celtic rivals Ireland and Scotland went the way of the Scots.
Set 281 to win, a century from Neil McCallum paved the way to victory with his 102 backing up the efforts of Majid Haq and Colin Smith, who both scored 51. His century was his highest one-day international effort.
Earlier, Jeremy Bray hit 116 as Ireland racked up a total of 280.
Ireland won the toss, chose to bat and were off to a good start despite the early loss of William Porterfield, caught behind off of Paul Hoffmann for 11. Eoin Morgan contributed 41 to a stand of 71 before three quick wickets from Majid Haq slowed the Irish down.
At 206-6, Bray was joined by captain Trent Johnston, and a run a ball 45 pushed the Irish score past the 250 mark.
Tuesday, 30 January 2007
Monday, 29 January 2007
World Cricket League underway...
...and it's the same old story: Kenya dominate at home. A ten wicket win over Bermuda was exactly the sort of start the World Cup 2003 semi-finalists would have wanted and the match lasted only 12 overs past lunch.
Yes, Kenya have home advantage, and yes, Bermuda have had little time to acclimatise what with the game being moved but even so this was a thrashing in anyone's book.
For Kenya, it will be proof for some that their loss against Canada last week was a mere blip, although the Canadians are quietly confident of repeating that success. For Bermuda, however, the problems continue as their World Cup preparations are in danger of being derailed.
Tomorrow we see Canada take on the Netherlands in a repeat of the Intercontinental Cup match where Ryan ten Doeschate scored a double hundred, and Ireland play Scotland in an all-Celtic affair.
Yes, Kenya have home advantage, and yes, Bermuda have had little time to acclimatise what with the game being moved but even so this was a thrashing in anyone's book.
For Kenya, it will be proof for some that their loss against Canada last week was a mere blip, although the Canadians are quietly confident of repeating that success. For Bermuda, however, the problems continue as their World Cup preparations are in danger of being derailed.
Tomorrow we see Canada take on the Netherlands in a repeat of the Intercontinental Cup match where Ryan ten Doeschate scored a double hundred, and Ireland play Scotland in an all-Celtic affair.
Wednesday, 24 January 2007
ICC Tri-Series (Mombasa) Review
Today saw the conclusion of the ICC Tri-Series in Mombasa between three of the teams that we will see in action in the World Cup later in the year. Kenya, to no-one's great surprise topped the table, as they should for a team with a higher World Cup seeding than Test-playing rivals Bangladesh, although not without losing to fellow Group C minnows Canada in the final game.
It had all started off so well for Kenya, with a hammering of Scotland in the first game with returnee Ravi Shah one of four Kenyan players to pass fifty before the bowlers wrapped up victory by 190 runs. We feared the worst for Scotland, and there was talk of them conceding 500 when they play Australia in March. They couldn't have answered us critics better; a wondeful unbeaten century from Ryan Watson took them to a nail-biting two-wicket win over Canada.
That performance won Watson the Cricket World ® Player Of The Week Award and we have no reason to contend with head coach Peter Drinnen's view that he is the best batsmen in Scotland at the moment. Then came a moment of history when a virus swept through the Canadian and Scottish camp before their next games against Kenya.
Canada couldn't raise a team causing a first ever forfeiture of a match for this reason. Scotland played their match, but missing a number of regular players and with those who played in a terrible state, they performed valiantly and only lost by 6 runs. The highlight of that game was a well compiled century from Ravi Shah for Kenya. His return has beefed up the Kenyan middle-order and with most of their batsmen scoring runs at some point in the tournament, they look a confident outfit heading to the World Cricket League.
Scotland then repeated their victory over Canada, first bowling well to restrict the North Americans to 208, then batting poorly to put themselves at risk of an unlikely defeat before John Blain came to the rescue with an unbeaten 30 to ensure a 2 wicket win.
Then came the final twist - there was to be no victory parade for Kenya as Canada spoiled the party with a superb bowling effort to win by 69 runs and in so doing salvage some pride. Their success was again based around the batting of John Davison, but Kevin Sandher was the key man with the ball, taking 3 wickets to derail the run chase and engender a collapse which saw the previously solid Kenyan middle order collectively go missing.
For Canada, it marked a comeback equal to that of Scotland and will be a huge confidence boost ahead of the World Cricket League and the World Cup, where they will face Kenya again early on. Both Canada and Scotland can rightly argue that the virus stopped them playing their best cricket, and Kenya made the most of home advantage, so it is difficult to really gauge where these teams are in the run up to the World Cup. It seems that all three are capable of beating the others on their day, and therefore that no associate nation is consistently better than all the rest. Perhaps the World Cricket League will show us otherwise.
Final table:
It had all started off so well for Kenya, with a hammering of Scotland in the first game with returnee Ravi Shah one of four Kenyan players to pass fifty before the bowlers wrapped up victory by 190 runs. We feared the worst for Scotland, and there was talk of them conceding 500 when they play Australia in March. They couldn't have answered us critics better; a wondeful unbeaten century from Ryan Watson took them to a nail-biting two-wicket win over Canada.
That performance won Watson the Cricket World ® Player Of The Week Award and we have no reason to contend with head coach Peter Drinnen's view that he is the best batsmen in Scotland at the moment. Then came a moment of history when a virus swept through the Canadian and Scottish camp before their next games against Kenya.
Canada couldn't raise a team causing a first ever forfeiture of a match for this reason. Scotland played their match, but missing a number of regular players and with those who played in a terrible state, they performed valiantly and only lost by 6 runs. The highlight of that game was a well compiled century from Ravi Shah for Kenya. His return has beefed up the Kenyan middle-order and with most of their batsmen scoring runs at some point in the tournament, they look a confident outfit heading to the World Cricket League.
Scotland then repeated their victory over Canada, first bowling well to restrict the North Americans to 208, then batting poorly to put themselves at risk of an unlikely defeat before John Blain came to the rescue with an unbeaten 30 to ensure a 2 wicket win.
Then came the final twist - there was to be no victory parade for Kenya as Canada spoiled the party with a superb bowling effort to win by 69 runs and in so doing salvage some pride. Their success was again based around the batting of John Davison, but Kevin Sandher was the key man with the ball, taking 3 wickets to derail the run chase and engender a collapse which saw the previously solid Kenyan middle order collectively go missing.
For Canada, it marked a comeback equal to that of Scotland and will be a huge confidence boost ahead of the World Cricket League and the World Cup, where they will face Kenya again early on. Both Canada and Scotland can rightly argue that the virus stopped them playing their best cricket, and Kenya made the most of home advantage, so it is difficult to really gauge where these teams are in the run up to the World Cup. It seems that all three are capable of beating the others on their day, and therefore that no associate nation is consistently better than all the rest. Perhaps the World Cricket League will show us otherwise.
Final table:
P W T NR L BP Pts NRR
Kenya 4 3 0 0 1 1 13 0.85
Scotland 4 2 0 0 2 0 8 -0.91
Canada 4 1 0 0 3 1 5 0.36
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