Namibia T20 Quadrangular Results

The hosts Namibia have prevailed in this T20 Quadrangular tournament also featuring the Netherlands, Kenya and a South Africa Emerging XI. They beat Kenya in the final by 5 wickets, in a tight finish after Nicolaas Scholtz hit the winning runs off the final ball. This will give Namibia some confidence going into the World Twenty20 Qualifiers later this year. With 6 teams qualifying, they would really fancy themselves to qualify for the WT20 in Bangladesh early next year. Considering their disappointing performances to date in the WCL Championship, their T20 form is a consolation.

The other finalists Kenya were also quite impressive, with Namibia the only team they lost to. After finishing 9th in the last World Twenty20 qualifer behind the likes of Nepal and PNG, they will be looking for an improved performance this time around in the UAE later in the year.

Netherlands beat the South Africa Emerging XI by 42 runs, but they will be disappointed in this tournament with that being their only win. This includes losing the only T20 International of the tournament against Kenya, as well as losing an additional T20I to Kenya before the tournament started. Nonetheless their two critical wins in the WCL Championship mean they are on the brink of qualifying for the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

Kudos to South Africa for sending a team over to this tournament. With South Africa being the only major competitive nation in the Africas region, they have a responsibility to help out the associates and affiliates. Hopefully Cricket South Africa will be willing to help out in a similar way in the future.

Results:
20th April: Kenya defeated the Netherlands by 7 wickets*
20th April: South Africa Emerging Players defeated Namibia by 7 wickets
21st April: Kenya defeated South Africa Emerging Players by 5 wickets
21st April: Namibia defeated the Netherlands by 45 runs
23rd April: South Africa Emerging Players defeated the Netherlands by 22 runs
23rd April: Namibia defeated Kenya by 8 wickets

24th April: Third place playoff - Netherlands defeated South Africa Emerging Players by 42 runs
24th April: Final - Namibia defeated Kenya by 5 wickets

*T20 International (T20I); all the other fixtures were just T20 status matches

Netherlands tour of Namibia begins

Netherlands' two week tour of Namibia began overnight with Day 1 of the Intercontinental Cup Match. Netherlands are currently languishing in 7th place, while Namibia are in 4th. It was a close tussle on the first day, with the visitors perhaps just coming out on top. Namibia made 264/7 with Raymond van Schoor scoring a hundred. Him and captain and Sarel Burger rescued the African side after being perilously placed at 53/4 at one stage. The two put on 163 for the fifth wicket with van Schoor making 110 and Burger 71. No-one else for the home side managed to do anything of note, with the Dutch bowlers impressing. In particular Timm van der Gugten picked up his first five wicket haul in first class cricket. Van der Gugten actually plays for New South Wales in Australian state cricket. Therefore along with opener Tom Cooper, the Netherlands side continues to have a strong Australian influence, after Dirk Nannes pulled on the orange jersey a couple of years ago in the World T20.

The most important part of the tour is undoubtedly the two World Cup qualifying matches. The two teams' current rankings are reversed from the four day competition - with the Netherlands in fourth, and Namibia in 7th. Namibia really need a 2-0 series win to keep alive any hope of securing one of the two automatic qualifying spots available. Netherlands meanwhile would love to win both games, which would springboard them up to 2nd, with a three point buffer on the chasing pack of Scotland and Afghanistan. With only 2 rounds remaining, this could prove crucial.

There has been a change made to the T20 portion of the tour which has only been averted to my attention. Instead of a two match T20 series between the two teams, a four team T20 quadrangular has been organised. Namibia (the hosts) will clash with the touring Netherlands, fellow African side Kenya, as well as a South Africa Emerging XI. I think this is a extremely positive idea, especially with a South Africa XI, which will allow the associate sides to face some talented youngsters from the full member country. With the all important World Twenty20 Qualifier coming up later this year in the UAE, and with six teams to qualify, the more match practice for the teams, the better.

Full Tour Fixtures:
11th April - 14th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
ICC Intercontinental Cup Match (First Class)

16th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
WCL Championship Match (List A)

18th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
WCL Championship Match (List A)

20th April: Kenya VS Netherlands
T20 International

20th April: Namibia VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

21st April: Kenya VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

21st April: Namibia VS Netherlands
T20

23rd April: Netherlands VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

23rd April: Namibia VS Kenya
T20

23rd April:Third place playoff
T20I/T20

23rd April: Final
T20I/T20

*All matches played at Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek 

World Cricket Live Update

Apologies for the break in posts so below I have summarised the most recent results on the international cricket scene:

• New Zealand and England drew Test Series 0-0
• India whitewashed Australia 4-0 to end a horrendous tour for the visitors
• Sri Lanka secured a 1-0 series victory in their home test series against Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka lead their ODI series against the same team 1-0 with one match to play, after the second encounter was rained out
• West Indies completed their series whitewash with a 2-0 result in the test matches, after a 3-0 and 2-0 win in the ODI and T20I series respectively
• South Africa won the deciding game to seal a close ODI series with Pakistan 3-2

 

• Ireland clean-swept their tour of the UAE with a win in their Intercontinental Cup match, two World Cup Qualifiers and single T20I
• Kenya won both both WCL Championship matches against Canada, as well as the first class match, while the T20I series was drawn 1-1
• Scotland were smashed by Afghanistan with the Afganistan team winning the two WCQ's, the Intercontinental Cup match and the two T20I's

World Cricket Live Update

Plenty of cricket going on at the moment so here is an update on live world cricket!

1st Test: New Zealand VS England 
Match Drawn
New Zealand 460 drew with England 167 and 421/6
England despite being dominated by New Zealand in the first test have managed to hold on for a draw. After letting New Zealand get a lead of 293, England came back strong with both openers Cook and Compton scoring centuries. For Compton it was his first test century and would have helped silence some of the doubters. Nightwatchman Steven Finn managed to stick around the next morning to make his highest test (and first-class) score of 56. Trott also contributed and made 52. Neil Wagner again impressed with a three wicket haul. If the first day wasn't washed out, New Zealand would have really had a great chance to push for a win. Nonetheless they would be impressed with the way they played. England would be happy that they managed to escape with a draw after their inept batting display in the first innings. With the series still 0-0, the next test starts on the 14th.

Full scorecard here: http://www.espncricinfo.com/new-zealand-v-england-2013/engine/current/match/569243.html

1st ODI: South Africa VS Pakistan
South Africa won by 125 runs
South Africa 315/4 and Pakistan 190 
Apologies for not posting a series preview for this; I just haven't had the time. In summary for South Africa it is an important series as it is their last major matches before the Champions Trophy. After their loss to New Zealand they will be hoping for an improved performance. They have slipped to 4th in the rankings so will be hoping to get back near the top. For Pakistan they will be hoping to put on a better show after a 3-0 whitewash in the test series. They are ranked in 6th in ODI's and they will be also be wanting to put in a good performance ahead of the Champions Trophy in a few months.

Back to this match, and South Africa really dominated. They piled up 315/4 off their 50 overs with Colin Ingram making an unbeaten 105*. De Villiers made a run a ball 65. They took their batting powerplay immediately in the 11th over which was a nice change from the usual in ODI cricket of wating until the 36th over. Pakistan were never really in the hunt and were struck out for 190 in 36.2 overs. Rory Kleinveldt took four wickets in a good spell.

The next match is in four days.

Full scorecard here: http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-pakistan-2013/engine/current/match/567368.html

1st Test: Sri Lanka VS Bangladesh
Bangladesh lead Sri Lanka by 27 runs
Bangladesh 638 and Sri Lanka 570/4dec and 41/1

On the road of a pitch in Galle, Bangladesh piled up their highest test score of 638. Mohammad Ashraful could not go on to make a double (he was dismissed on 190), but it was his captain Mushfiqur Rahim who did going on to make an exact 200. It really was a unbelievable innings and he became the first Bangladesh batsman in test history to score a double century. Nasir Hossain coming in at no.7 picked up where Ashraful left off and even managed to score a ton himself. The Sri Lankan bowlers were ineffective but they did manage to restrict Bangladesh's lead to 68.

Shahadat Hossain has picked up the early wicket of Karunaratne but unless something unthinkable happens this test will end up drawn.

Current scorecard and Cricinfo commentary here: http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-bangladesh-2013/engine/current/match/602472.html

1st ODI: Kenya VS Canada
Canada 227/8 (50.0 overs)
Both of these teams lie in the bottom three of the World Cricket League Championship. Although it is still mathematically possible, it is virtually impossible for these teams to finish in the top two to automatically qualify for the World Cup. In all honesty both Kenya and Canada will need to focus on keeping their ODI status by finishing in the top four of next year's Cricket World Cup qualifier, or even by just finishing in the top eight and keeping their High Performance Program funding.

Canada managed to score 227/8 on the back of a 72 by opening batsman Ruvindu Gunasekera. Raza-ur-Rehman also scored a 70 in his ODI debut. Elijah Otieno picked up 4/33, while Nelson Odhiambo secured two wickets, including of dangerous batsman Rizwan Cheema for 2. Kenya will like their chances of chasing down the total, but it will be close.

Full scorecard here: http://www.espncricinfo.com/wcl-championship-2011-13/engine/current/match/592266.html