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The Associate Cricket thread

aloo paratha

aloo paratha

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As we know, the ICC have reduced the next World Cup to 10 teams basically excluding the associates! This means that the associates don't get as much exposure as before. It's a shame saying that some associate games can be thrillers such as Afghanistan VS Scotland in the World Cup and just recently Afghanistan VS Hong Kong in the T20 Qualifiers!

But the facts are the facts and the ICC is probably not going to expand it's teams for the World Cup anymore! So the associates need some other way to get exposure. During the past 2 weeks we've had the T20 Qualifiers going on which is a good way to show us the minnows game and their passion for the game of Cricket! But now as the next T20 World Cup is in 2020 another qualifier means a wait of 4 years.

But what if we can keep a tournament like this every 2 years called the Associate Cup? It would alternate every edition between T20s and ODIs! For example we've had one in 2015 but the next one will be in 2017 as an ODI cup, then another T20 edition in 2019 and so on. The ODI editions will not have be a qualifier but the T20 ones in 2019 ,2023, etc, will be qualifiers for the next T20 World Cup where the top 6 will go on to the T20 World Cup. The tournaments should be televised (not all matches have to but more important matches like the qualifier going on right now) and the hosts could go in a cycle as now is Scotland and Ireland the next few hosts could be USA and Canada and then could be UAE and any other country's that want to host. The format for these tournaments would be the exact same as the ongoing T20 Qualifiers. This tournament will show us the associate game and will give the players more opportunity to play for their country!

How can we get bigger teams to face associates outside a World Cup? We can do this by making teams that are touring one country have a match against these smaller, neighboring country's. For example if New Zealand is touring England instead of giving the NZ team 4 day warm-up matches against county teams the New Zealand team could play an ODI or 4 day match against Scotland and Ireland! If the teams have the status for that format it could count as a ODI, T20(no team will have test status but could count as First-Class game) but if they don't it could just count as a List-A or Twenty20 match just like any warm-up game would. This wouldn't necessarily have to be scheduled by ICC, it could be scheduled by ECB and Scotland and Ireland boards. This gives the associate teams a few fixtures as they don't get many!

The suggestions above will help teams, but how can we help individual associate players? Big leagues such as IPL, BBL and CPL could implement a rule which forces every single team to sign at least one associate player. This way these players can play alongside some big names and learn some lessons from them! To avoid teams from signing a player then making them warm the bench there should be another rule where the player needs to be given at least 3 chances for their team. We've seen a little bit of this in the ongoing CPL where 2 teams have signed a player from Canada and USA! These rules can also be included for premier domestic one-day competition such as the Matador Cup(Australia) and the Royal London One-Day Cup(England),etc.

If these suggestions were implemented into the game of Cricket for associates we would definitely see improvement in the associate game!
 
Namibian team plays in SA domestic league but it is between states and not the actual domestic teams.But there is no need for this because these players would not get a chance to play big teams
 
Its pretty simple.

Regular games, a realistic shot at a WC which isnt a restrictive event, (12 teams minimum), and increased funding for the TAPP sides. Something like 5 million for the top 6-8 sides is pocket change in cricket yet it'd make a massive difference to most boards at this level and allow them to turn fully professional and invest in their domestic structure and targeting more series, and long term the investment could pay off ten fold.

And encourage full member boards to admit a nearby Associate into their domestic (provided the Associate can pay their own costs). Namibia benefit massively from being in SA's structure as do Ireland from the county system. Imagine how much better Nepal could be if they started off at the lower levels of India's system. Long term it'd be invaluable.

PNG get great help in this regard as well. No coincidence that Ireland,Namibia,Netherlands,Scotland,PNG, all sides who are or have been part of a neighbours system are at the upper levels of the game here, just playing regular decent standard cricket is of paramount importance, something a lot of sides lack.

And warm up games are something that have always irked me. Rather than play club sides they could play an Associate who'd actually have a point to prove and add context to an otherwise pointless game

An Associate Cup is a neat idea but I cant see it happening, and it just reinforces the second class citizen status we have. 6 ODI's or t20's a year at least for the top Associates is not a lot to ask, especially when most are in close proximity to major test sides.

Englands tour of the UAE for example, rather than shoe in 2 worthless t20's at the end why not have a quadrangular t20 series with UAE and Afghanistan? Little initiatives like that should be encouraged,

The recent news of an ODI fund is a welcome step in the right direction and worth applauding assuming it goes ahead, things like that are good and worth noting. Just a shame in the larger context its dwarfed by other harmful decisions...
 
The Big 3 have no interesting in expanding or developing the game beyond its current remit. They are consolidating profits and funnelling it to a select few.

Morons like WI and BD who accepted Big 3 terms in the hope of receiving crumbs from India in the form away tours to India. What a weak position to leave yourself in, at the mercy of others.

Pakistan has always been a strong advocate of associate cricket and reaching out to uncharted territory. We are currently actively assisting UAE, Afghanistan, China and Hong Kong. Heavily influenced ICC to give BD test status and toured Ireland with a view to have them tour Pakistan.

Pakistan warned the others about the Big 3 and what it means for cricket. Nobody listened. They called us names.

You can see now, series are arranged ad-hoc, there is no consistency in scheduling. Big 3 share all the major tournament hosting rights. Tournament formats are changed around at will and scraped at will.

Cricket is a mess. Pakistan wanted equality for all and a fair system run by an independant body but what we got is a theocracy thanks to SA, BD and WI who accepted for a pat on the back, a few crumbs and broken promises.
 
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I completely agree with [MENTION=62431]A[/MENTION]looparatha on this one.

Even if the big 3 thinks that revenue will not be generated by playing minnows, hopefully by scheduling associate championships (teams ranked lower than 10) their game and standard will rise and hopefully they will breach the minnow barrier one day.

Furthermore, I love the idea of having one associate player in the team. But it sounds unrealistic that big ipl teams will buy into it.

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I actually just realized - and Donal probably will disagree - that the ICC is moving not only in an inevitable manner but also one which is realistically speaking, the "best" for the Associates.

The reality is that the big 3 create most of the cricketing income. I disagree wholeheartedly with "India makes 70% of the money" I think thats grossly miscalculated. But the BCCI probably does generate 50% of the money.

Now if Donal considers that as anti-expansionist the ICC seems to be, Associates today get way more support by design as well as by grace than they used to in the past.

1) Addition of a whole new format (T20) allows Associates extra revenue by way of the WT20 that Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka didn't have access to as Associates. Not sure how much money Associates get, but I'd be surprised if it was less than $1 million USD.

2) World Cricket League gives Associates a fair amount of exposure to various conditions around the world against similar strength opposition against which real development can occur.

3) Although bilateral fixtures between Associates and Test nations is rare, rare is better than non-existant which it was with BD, ZIM, SL.

4) As long as ZIM is a turmoil-hit side, Associates can bank on at least one "guaranteed" spot at top 10 events.

5) The new ODI fund is a great idea as is the Test Challenge.

6) Asia Cup may include Associates from now on.

Personally here is what I would love to see:

1) World Cup to have 12-14 teams so that 2-4 Associates are guaranteed. Right now I'm leaning towards 14.

2) ODI Asia Cup to include Afghanistan. T20 AC should include HK, UAE, NEP.

3) AFG and IRE added to ODI FTP and get 4-6 fixtures against Test sides per year. Scotland should get 3-4 ODIs.

4) give IRE test status. SCO/AFG could then compete with IRE/ZIM in the Test Challenge.

5) at least 12 Test nations by 2025. 15 by 2050 (emphasis on USA, China).

6) Real attempt to make cricket a mid major sport in the US by 2025 akin to what soccer is now.

7) Focus on developling countries like Nepal and PNG who have native cricket interest instead of expat teams like UAE/HK/Oman.
 
Flat_Track_Bully said:
The Big 3 have no interesting in expanding or developing the game beyond its current remit. They are consolidating profits and funnelling it to a select few.

Morons like WI and BD who accepted Big 3 terms in the hope of receiving crumbs from India in the form away tours to India. What a weak position to leave yourself in, at the mercy of others.

Pakistan has always been a strong advocate of associate cricket and reaching out to uncharted territory. We are currently actively assisting UAE, Afghanistan, China and Hong Kong. Heavily influenced ICC to give BD test status and toured Ireland with a view to have them tour Pakistan.

Pakistan warned the others about the Big 3 and what it means for cricket. Nobody listened. They called us names.

You can see now, series are arranged ad-hoc, there is no consistency in scheduling. Big 3 share all the major tournament hosting rights. Tournament formats are changed around at will and scraped at will.

Cricket is a mess. Pakistan wanted equality for all and a fair system run by an independant body but what we got is a theocracy thanks to SA, BD and WI who accepted for a pat on the back, a few crumbs and broken promises.
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Who are "they" and what names did they call you.
 
I also had an idea which is probably more fantasy and never really gonna happen but I had the idea that Pakistan was planning on calling over a International XI for Pakistan to play against in Pakistan but I thought maybe we could also call over some sort of Associate XI and to avoid them from getting thrashed we could make them face Pakistan A and possibly have them face some First-Class sides!
 
USA Cricket Association seems to be making major strides, including appointing Asif Mujtaba as junior level coach a couple weeks ago.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">😍 Stunning footage of the AirHogs Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas that will now be repurposed to become a dedicated world-class cricketing facility.😍 <br><br>FULL DETALS➡️: <a href="https://t.co/jIwLJ1fff0">https://t.co/jIwLJ1fff0</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MajorLeagueCricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MajorLeagueCricket</a>🏏 <a href="https://t.co/f3PynNPAZU">pic.twitter.com/f3PynNPAZU</a></p>— USA Cricket (@usacricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/usacricket/status/1329076969183481857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Maybe Sami really got a good offer. Perhaps USA cricket is looking to expand and are recruiting. Wouldnt be surprised to see a few more "hard done by the system" Becharas leaving for a better living. At least we would have a new competitive associate nation.
 
KoyoAli said:
Maybe Sami really got a good offer. Perhaps USA cricket is looking to expand and are recruiting. Wouldnt be surprised to see a few more "hard done by the system" Becharas leaving for a better living. At least we would have a new competitive associate nation.
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Liam plunkett got the call as well, I’m sure a few more will be tempted away for a life in the USA, could be one too look out for in the future team of expats
 
Thunderbolt14 said:
USA Cricket Association seems to be making major strides, including appointing Asif Mujtaba as junior level coach a couple weeks ago.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&#55357;&#56845; Stunning footage of the AirHogs Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas that will now be repurposed to become a dedicated world-class cricketing facility.&#55357;&#56845; <br><br>FULL DETALS➡️: <a href="https://t.co/jIwLJ1fff0">https://t.co/jIwLJ1fff0</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MajorLeagueCricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MajorLeagueCricket</a>&#55356;&#57295; <a href="https://t.co/f3PynNPAZU">pic.twitter.com/f3PynNPAZU</a></p>— USA Cricket (@usacricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/usacricket/status/1329076969183481857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Click to expand...

That's really stunning stadium
 
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today welcomed its newest Member countries, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Switzerland at the ICC’s 78th Annual General Meeting.

The meeting, which was conducted virtually, welcomed Mongolia and Tajikistan as the 22nd and 23rd Members of the Asia region, whilst Switzerland is Europe’s 35th Member, with the ICC now comprising 106 Members in total, including 94 Associates.

The Mongolian Cricket Association (MCA) which was established in 2007 became the official national administrator of the sport in 2018. There is a growing junior cricket structure in place primarily through school cricket with a coaching programme ongoing in 16 schools - and the sport was officially accepted into the National Youth Games in 2019. Women’s cricket is a priority for Mongolia with females accounting for 39% of all participants playing school cricket. In addition, Mongolia is due to host the International Youth Green Games in September 2021 where cricket has been selected as one of the participating sports.

President of Mongolia Cricket Association Mr. Battulga Gombo said: “Joining the ICC is fundamental in the establishment of a coherent structure for cricket in Mongolia. I am happy to see this noble game helping the young people here, contributing valuable experiences and giving them skills and ethics that they can take into other areas of their lives. The MCA’s focus will continue to be the Schools’ Outreach Programme both in Ulaanbaatar and in the provinces, on inter-school competition and inter-province competition in the National Youth Games. We see this as the best way to sow the seed of cricket so that the sport becomes part of Mongolian life.”

Cricket was first played in Switzerland in 1817 and Cricket Switzerland (CS) was inaugurated as an association in 2014. Over the past seven years CS has led the unification of the sport following the expulsion of the Swiss Cricket Association in 2012. The new Federation currently comprises 33 active clubs, organises three domestic men’s competitions and competes regularly in Central European tournaments and has a highly active juniors programme.

Cricket Switzerland President, Alexander Mackay said: “We are immensely proud and excited to have been accepted as an Associate Member of the ICC. This is reward for all the people involved in cricket in Switzerland that have helped develop the game from a mainly ex-pat sport just ten years ago, to the established Swiss national sport that it is today. This latest step will help us develop cricket further in Switzerland and to become a driving force in European cricket at all levels.”

Finally, the Tajikistan Cricket Federation was officially formed in 2011 with the support of the Ministry of Sports and Olympic Committee that has led the development of infrastructure and the building of a domestic cricket structure a focusing on women and junior cricket. This significant work has so far accomplished 22 men’s teams and 15 women’s teams across four affiliated member associations.

President of Tajikistan Cricket Federation Mr. Najibullohi Ruzi said: “The Tajikistan Cricket Federation is delighted to be accepted as an Associate Member of the ICC, having fulfilled all the membership requirements and we are very confident that we can successfully grow cricket in Tajikistan. This is a great incentive for us to focus on further accelerating the development work on our existing facilities, increase our capabilities in the areas of coaching and umpiring. The other areas on our priority list are high-performance programs for juniors and seniors’ both men and women”.

ICC General Manager – Development, William Glenwright said: “We are delighted to be welcoming three new Members into the ICC family, which reflects the growth and potential of the global game. All three applications demonstrated an impressive commitment to growing the game – particularly amongst women and youth – and we look forward to assisting them in achieving their potential. As cricket activity begins to emerge from the pandemic, we are at an exciting stage of cricket’s growth with ambitious plans and projects to deliver in partnership with our Members to not only navigate the impact of COVID-19 but to also help achieve transformative growth for the sport globally.”

In addition, Zambia, having had their Membership suspended at the ICC AGM in 2019, are no longer a Member of the ICC due to continued non-compliance with ICC Membership Criteria 2.2(a)(i), 2.2(b)(i) and 2.2(b)(ii). Russia have been suspended due to continued non-compliance with ICC Membership Criteria 2.2(a)(i), 2.2(b)(i) and 2.2(b)(ii) and have until the time of the next AGM to demonstrate compliance or risk having its membership of ICC terminated with immediate effect.
 
Regularly playing against B team from The Big 3 would help them.

Also more of the occasional series against tier 2 teams like South Africa and Pakistan
 
Doesn't help when an Associate captain does this:

==

Hong Kong cricket team captain Aizaz Khan has landed himself in controversy. As per reports from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Aizaz was recently arrested from his home for insurance fraud.

Aizaz Khan is allegedly involved in an HKD 3 million (₹2.8crore) insurance fraud. It is believed the cricketer had claimed insurance after being injured in an automobile accident. However, Aizaz was spotted playing in various sports competitions afterwards, suggesting a plot to defraud the insurance company.

Lam Chun-hong, a senior inspector of the Hong Kong police’s commercial crime bureau, told the SCMP:

"He (Aizaz Khan) claimed the injuries he suffered in the accident have caused him to lose his ability to work. [However], our investigation showed the man continued to take part in 10 or more sports competitions to receive income after the traffic accident. He was then suspected of defrauding a huge sum of money in compensation from the insurance company."

The all-rounder has made 19 ODI appearances for Hong Kong, including one against India in the 2018 Asia Cup. Aizaz Khan accounted for the wicket of Shardul Thakur in that encounter and returned figures of 1-41 in his eight overs. With the bat, he was dismissed for a first-ball duck as India won the game by 26 runs.

Aizaz Khan was appointed as the skipper of the Hong Kong cricket team in 2019.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket...edly-defrauding-insurance-company-of-2-8crore
 
Donal Cozzie said:
Its pretty simple.

Regular games, a realistic shot at a WC which isnt a restrictive event, (12 teams minimum), and increased funding for the TAPP sides. Something like 5 million for the top 6-8 sides is pocket change in cricket yet it'd make a massive difference to most boards at this level and allow them to turn fully professional and invest in their domestic structure and targeting more series, and long term the investment could pay off ten fold.

And encourage full member boards to admit a nearby Associate into their domestic (provided the Associate can pay their own costs). Namibia benefit massively from being in SA's structure as do Ireland from the county system. Imagine how much better Nepal could be if they started off at the lower levels of India's system. Long term it'd be invaluable.

PNG get great help in this regard as well. No coincidence that Ireland,Namibia,Netherlands,Scotland,PNG, all sides who are or have been part of a neighbours system are at the upper levels of the game here, just playing regular decent standard cricket is of paramount importance, something a lot of sides lack.

And warm up games are something that have always irked me. Rather than play club sides they could play an Associate who'd actually have a point to prove and add context to an otherwise pointless game

An Associate Cup is a neat idea but I cant see it happening, and it just reinforces the second class citizen status we have. 6 ODI's or t20's a year at least for the top Associates is not a lot to ask, especially when most are in close proximity to major test sides.

Englands tour of the UAE for example, rather than shoe in 2 worthless t20's at the end why not have a quadrangular t20 series with UAE and Afghanistan? Little initiatives like that should be encouraged,

The recent news of an ODI fund is a welcome step in the right direction and worth applauding assuming it goes ahead, things like that are good and worth noting. Just a shame in the larger context its dwarfed by other harmful decisions...
Click to expand...

This.


Plus ICC should push little more for Olympic and Commonwealth participation. Many gov's around the world have grants for medal sports.
 
Zimbabwe, Ireland and Associate Cricket.

I'm a keen follower of associate cricket and also of Zimbabwe and Ireland, I've seen other more famous and bigger nations having independent thread for different topics on Pak passion but updates on associates, Zimbabwe and Ireland keeps getting posted on completely irrelevant threads.

Creating this thread so that we can use it for updates and discussion on Zimbabwe, Ireland and Associate Cricket.

I hope the mods will agree on this. Good thing too with the T20 WC coming and we might see some of these nations spring a surprise.
 
ARAVIND SHINES IN UAE’S WIN OVER IRELAND WHILST AZIZ CLAIMS A FIVE-FOR IN BAHRAIN’S VICTORY OVER GERMANY

Career-best performances by UAE youngster Vriitya Aravind and Bahrain’s Junaid Aziz steered their respective teams to victory in the Group B matches of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11 on the opening day at Al Amerat on Friday.

A dream spell by leg-spinner Aziz, who picked five wickets in ten balls and a captain’s knock by Sarfaraz Ali, who smashed an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls, led Bahrain to a six-wicket win over Germany at the Oman Academy ground 2.

For UAE, the stars of their 18-run win over Ireland were the team’s young pair – 19-year-old Aravind and 21-year-old Karthik Meiyappan.

Aravind missed a deserving maiden century by just three runs, staying unbeaten on 97 off 67 balls in his team’s total of 157. His well-timed innings comprised 13 boundaries and a six while Meiyappan picked three for 16 in his three-over spell as Ireland were restricted to 139 for nine.

Chasing a target of 158, Ireland openers Paul Stirling and skipper Andy Balbirnie made a cautious start to take their side to 50 for no loss at the end of power play overs.

Meiyappan struck in the very first ball of his spell as he had Stirling caught by Muhammad Waseem in the deep for 32. Balbirnie left soon after and Gareth Delany was Meiyappan’s second wicket, who also accounted for Simi Singh to leave Ireland struggling at 66-4.

George Dockrell and Shane Getkate got off to starts but got out earlier in a bid to accelerate the run-rate as Ireland stuttered to 111-6 in 16 overs. Lorcan Tucker’s innings of 25 ended when he was caught by
Basil Hameed off Zahoor Khan, who also had Craig Young leg before wicket. Ireland was restricted to 139 for nine with experienced Rohan Mustafa bagging two late wickets.

Earlier, 20-year-old Aravind displayed maturity beyond his age as he shouldered the responsibility of shepherding the team to a challenging target. Coming into bat with the team’s total reading 20-2, Aravind paced his innings in style. The wicketkeeper-batter tackled the middle overs with tact before launching an attack in the death overs.

The last five overs were the most productive for UAE as Aravind displayed his range of strokes and along with Zafar Farid (12) and fetched 63 valuable runs.

Ireland’s Craig Young’s last over cost him 14 and Mark Adair’s penultimate over of the innings went for 14 as Aravind hammered two successive boundaries. Joshua Little got the back of Farid off the second ball in the inning’s final over before Aravind launched a blitz with a six, followed by two back-to-back cuts behind square for boundaries as UAE finished at 157 for five.

Adair had claimed the wicket of opening batter Chirag Suri in the very first over to give Ireland a dream start. Aravind came in to join Muhammad Waseem and the duo took the score to 20 in four overs. Young broke the standoff the first ball of the fifth over when he removed Waseem. Unperturbed Aravind then counter-attacked Young as he hit two successive fours in the same over.

Aravind and Mustafa steadied the ship further as the scoring rate fell with the team able to score 58-2 at halfway stage. Simi Singh got the breakthrough Ireland wanted in the next over as he dismissed but Basil Hameed and Aravind got together to share a 34-run crucial stand. Hameed’s exit left Aravind and Farid to take the team to a total they could defend.

Ahmed Raza, Captain of UAE was pleased with the win. He said: “We had a good quadrangular series here and I am glad at the momentum we have right now. Vriitya [Aravind] played an amazing innings and glad to watch the team’s young members doing well. He and Karthik [Meiyappan] are just 19- and 21-year-olds.”

Ireland Captain, Andy Balbirnie said: “The three quick dismissals pushed us back and though the later order batsmen should have stayed longer, it didn’t happen. We now have to win the next two games and hopefully we will to reach semi-finals.”

Coming out to bat after Bahrain had won the toss, Germany put up a score of 106 with 20 balls to spare. They lost six wickets in 14 balls, while adding 7 runs to the scoreboard. Vijay Shankar with a solid 43 ball 50, was the top scorer. After getting off to a steady start in the first five overs, opener Justin Broad and Michael Richardson were dismissed in back-to-back overs. A flurry of wickets in quick succession undermined their efforts as Dylan Blignaut and Faisal Mubashir were dismissed in consecutive deliveries of the ninth over.

Shankar and captain Venkat Ganesan were able to rebuild the innings with a priceless 44-run partnership before the latter was dismissed as part of a three-wicket over by Aziz. Germany lost Shankar in the first ball of the very next over, their fourth wicket in five deliveries.

In response, a confident and mature knock from skipper Ali helped Bahrain reach their target. Dieter Klien picked two wickets in the first over for Germany. But a 57-run partnership between Ali and Aziz put their side back in total control.

Aziz was dismissed in the tenth over but by the time Germany picked up their next wicket, Bahrain needed 15 from 6 overs. Ali stayed until the end to see the win through, and Bahrain got over the line with four overs to spare.

Venkat Ganesan, Captain Germany said: “We really can’t explain the collapse as we lost six wickets for almost seven runs. That sealed the game for us. We tried hard, I thought we bowled quite well to defend that score, but that collapse lost us the game. We needed to come in and fight hard to defend. Obviously, we knew that the total was not big enough. We started well but I think it was a good inning from the Bahrain captain. He hit us for some sixes as well, so his wicket was the key one. If we had got him early on, we could have had a chance.”

Sarfaraz Ali, Captain Bahrain said: “I was enjoying batting out there, just connecting bat on ball as much as possible felt really good. The whole team is enjoying the opportunity to come here and showcase their talents and it is really a big platform for us.”

Player of the Match, Junaid Aziz was delighted with his performance. He said: “It was my day today. I just kept bowling and kept getting wickets, so it was a great feeling. We will be going up against big teams and game by game we will be looking to give all of them a tough time.”

Germany will have the chance to make amends in tomorrow’s game against the UAE. Bahrain on the other hand will face Ireland.
 
Canada, Nepal, UAE, and Bahrain got their first points on board on the opening day of The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream11.

Watch every match of the #T20WorldCup Qualifier A LIVE on FanCode (in the subcontinent), Himalaya TV (in Nepal) and ICC.tv (rest of the world).

CANADA VS PHILIPPINES – Canada won by 118 runs

Put in to bat first, Canada's Rayyan Pathan made the team's intentions clear from the very first ball of the match, smashing a six to set the ball rolling in the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier A. Debutant Matthew Spoors wasn't to be left behind as Canada raced to 64/0 in the Powerplay.

The carnage continued even after the fielding restrictions were lifted with both Pathan and Spoors got to their half-centuries in 32 and 34 balls respectively. Canada were going at almost 10 runs per over for 15 overs before Huzaifa Mohammed finally broke the opening stand of 149, dismissing Pathan for a 44-ball 73.

Pathan's wicket was the only respite for Philippines as Spoors and captain Navneet Dhaliwal (26* off 11) took the attack to the bowlers in the death overs. Spoors finished on 108* off 66 balls, the highest score by a debutant in T20Is, as Canada posted 216/1 in 20 overs.

Philippines' chase got off to a poor start as they lost Richard Goodwin and captain Jonathan Hill in the first two overs, which forced them to go into a shell. Canada were accurate with the lines and lengths as well, and did not allow Philippines to break loose. Daniel Smith was their top run-scorer with a run-a-ball 34 as Philippines batted through the 20 overs to post just 98/5 and fell short by 118 runs.

Player of the Match Matthew Spoors said: “Rayyan and me knew our roles well. We had a few practice games here and we have bonded well and that has worked well.

“I am happy. It was a good win, and we hope to continue the form in the upcoming games.”

NEPAL VS OMAN – Nepal won by 39 runs
Oman made full use of the hot and sunny conditions at home after winning the toss and opting to field first.

Bilal Khan put Nepal on the backfoot with a wicket apiece in his first two overs. Aarif Sheikh was the glue that held the batting together with Nepal losing wickets at regular intervals. He strung important partnerships with Lokesh Bam and Sandeep Lamichhane. Sheikh was dismissed off the last ball of the innings for a 37-ball 38. Khawar Ali was the pick of the bowlers and finished with figures of 3/30, restricting Nepal to 117/8.

In reply, Oman lost three wickets in the Powerplay, including that of their star batter Jatinder Singh. His run-out triggered a mini-collapse as Oman lost three wickets in the next three overs and were reduced to 35/6 at the end of nine overs.

Naseem Khushi was the only batter to get to double-digits for Oman, scoring an 18-ball 24, but could not save them from a loss in their first game as they were bowled out for 78. All the bowlers chipped in with wickets for Nepal, with Kamal Airee leading the way with 3/15 in three overs.

Reflecting on a disappointing loss, Zeeshan Maqsood said: “We didn’t click as a batting unit. No one could stay at the wicket for long and losing wickets at regular intervals made it very difficult. We will come back strongly tomorrow [vs Canada] and take forward the positives from this match.”

IRELAND VS UAE – UAE win by 18 runs

UAE were in early trouble after opting to bat against Ireland. They lost the experienced Chirag Suri in the very first over before fellow opener Muhammad Waseem followed him to the pavilion.

Walking in at No.3, Vriitya Aravind put on a one-man show and single-handedly dragged UAE to a competitive total. He stitched a vital 38-run stand with Rohan Mustafa to bail the team out of trouble.

Aravind was on 58 off 50 at the end of the 16th over with UAE at 100/4 before he teed off in the final four overs. He smashed the bowlers to all parts and added 39 more runs in 17 deliveries to finish on 97* off 67, helping UAE reach 157/5.

With a competitive target to scale, Ireland began with intent, taking the UAE bowlers to the cleaners. Paul Stirling looked in his usual terrific form, pairing with Andrew Balbirnie to race to 50/0 in six overs. But things rapidly spiralled out of control when Karthik Meiyappan removed Stirling for 32 on the first ball of the seventh over.

He then dismissed Gareth Delany in his next over for 3 and then cleaned up Simi Singh in the next for 4. Having slipped to 66/4 from 50/0, Ireland needed a solid stand to boost them.

The Ireland middle order did play some wonderful shots, but the UAE bowlers ensured that Ireland were kept in check. Shane Getkate (17) and Lorcan Tucker (25) tried to revive the Irish innings but the UAE bowlers had the last laugh. In the end, the target proved too daunting as Ireland were restricted to 139/9, losing the match by 18 runs.

GERMANY VS BAHRAIN – Bahrain won by 6 wickets

Asked to bat first by Bahrain, Germany openers Vijay Shankar and Justin Broad provided a solid platform with a 29-run opening stand. However, the wicket of Broad brought three more in quick succession, with Waseeq Ahmed getting two in two.

At 55/4, Shankar and skipper Venkatraman Ganesan came to Germany's rescue with a 44-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Just when the two looked settled at the crease heading into the final six overs, the introduction of Junaid Aziz turned the game on its head.

Aziz picked up three wickets in four balls, including the wicket of Ganesan, before Shankar departed after a fifty. Aziz returned to clean up the tail and finished with figures of 5/5 as Germany folded for 106, losing their last six wickets in 14 balls.

Bahrain had a horror start to their chase, losing two wickets in the first over. At 2/2, they looked in all sorts of trouble but Sarfaraz Ali and Junaid Aziz kept them afloat.

Sarfaraz not only steadied the ship but hit some lofty shots to chip away at the modest target. Muslim Yar finally dismissed Junaid in the 10th over. With more than half of the target already scaled, Sarfaraz, now partnered by David Mathias, continued to plunder runs.

By the time Germany managed a breakthrough, Bahrain needed only 16 more runs to win – they knocked that off quickly to secure a six-wicket win with 26 balls to spare. Sarfaraz finished with a brilliant 38-ball 69*, studded with four fours and six sixes.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2490577
 
UAE INCH CLOSER TO A SEMI-FINAL SPOT; IRELAND DEFEAT BAHRAIN IN GROUP B GAMES ON DAY 2

UAE move closer to a berth in the semi-final with a 24-run win over Germany while Ireland beat Bahrain by 21 runs in the Group B games of day 2 at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11 on Saturday. UAE’s second win on the trot gave them four points. They now play against Bahrain in their concluding game on Monday.

Ireland, who had stumbled against the UAE on Friday, picked up an important victory to stay on course for a place in the semi-final. The take on Germany in their concluding Group B game, also on Monday.

At Oman Academy 1 ground, Germany exhibited their fighting spirit in good measure against UAE.

Chasing 192 to win, Germany finished at 167-9. Opener Justin Broad led the chase with a 62 off 42.

There were significant contributions coming from the other players like Vijay Shankar (17) and Dylan Blignaut (13) keeping them in the hunt. Faisal Mubashir’s 12-ball blitz of 23 did raise the team’s hopes but the UAE bowlers came back to pick wickets at regular intervals to restrict them.

Kashif Daud was the most successful bowler with four for 32 while Rohan Mustafa and Junaid Siddiqui took two wickets apiece.

Earlier, Chirag Suri’s 81 and Muhammad Waseem’s 50 laid the foundation for UAE. Opting to bat first, openers - Suri and Waseem - milked runs at ease. Waseem was severe on any loose deliveries and struck a 30-ball 50 that included four boundaries and equal number of sixes.

Suri was not far behind showcasing his repertoire of strokes. A 20-run over off Germany’s Dieter Klien set the tone in the Power play as UAE reached 57 without loss. Muslim Yar got the much-needed breakthrough in the ninth over when he claimed Waseem’s wicket, after his previous deliveries were hammered for a four and a six. Germany reaped fruit of their excellent fielding as Basil Hameed was run out and UAE were 85/2.

Vriitya Aravind, UAE’s batting hero in their win over Ireland, joined Suri as the youngster’s good form continued. The partnership blossomed as they put on 95 before the stand was broken in the last over as Aravind was run out. His 29-ball 40 was another key knock for UAE, who had reached 191 for five.

Germany’s Fayaz Khan claimed two wickets in the final over as Suri departed for a 54-ball 81 that was studded with nine boundaries and two hits over the ropes.

Ahmed Raza, Captain UAE said, “The match went much closer than we expected. Having put up a good total on board, we possibly were a bit complacent. Germany fought hard but glad that we have got the second win under our belt.”

Venkat Ganesan, Captain Germany said: “I am proud of my team. Taking the match so close is an achievement for us. UAE are the best side in the tournament. At one stage, we thought that the target could be achieved. For us, it is a learning experience, and we continue to benefit each day with our maiden participation in the global qualifiers.”

Ireland prevail over debutants Bahrain

Gareth Delany’s unbeaten half-century (51) guided Ireland, who chose to bat first, to a competitive total of 158/5 against debutants Bahrain. Openers Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie put together a solid 62-run opening partnership to place Ireland in early command.

But Junaid Aziz followed up his five-wicket haul from the previous game by dismissing both in quick succession. Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker departed soon to leave Ireland at 100/4 after 15 overs.

A 54-run fifth-wicket partnership took the Irish past 150. George Dockrell notched up a quickfire 24, a knock that included one four and two maximums to go nicely with the two late sixes that Delany smashed. It was these runs that eventually made all the difference. In response, Bahrain could only manage 137/5, with a three-wicket spell from Craig Young doing the trick. The top and middle order batters contributed too. David Mathias’s 28 took 27 balls and Veerapathiran Sathaiya blitzed his way to a 14-ball 33 at the death, but his four sixes proved too little too late in the end.

Andy Balbirnie, Captain Ireland said: “It was a tough test for sure. We fought it out. Gareth Delany and George Dockrell kept us in the game. And on the bowling side, it was a slow wicket, so definitely, it was hard to take ten wickets. I think we did quite well to restrict them. Craig Young's spell was crucial. He has been bowling brilliantly the last couple of years for us. He takes wickets that are so crucial in this format. He was really good again today.”

Sarfaraz Ali, Captain Bahrain, said, “This was the first time we were playing against a Test side. Hopefully we will learn and get better next time. We did well till the 15th over but the final five overs we leaked runs aplenty and that cost us.”
 
<b>Unbeaten half-centuries by Kashyap Prajapati and skipper Zeeshan Maqsood powered hosts Oman to a nine-wicket win over Canada in the Group A match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, at the Oman Academy ground in Al Amerat on Saturday.</b>

In the second game of the morning session, Nepal strolled to a 136-run win over Philippines to top the group with four points after their back-to-back victories.

Canada and Oman have two points each now.

Oman’s win helped them bounce back to keep their hopes alive for a spot in the semi-finals.

The top-two teams in each group will advance to the knockout round.

Chasing a target of 156 to win, hosts lost opening batter Jatinder Singh in the fifth over with the total at 30.

Maqsood joined Prajapati in the middle and the pair exhibited some fine strokes all around the park.

The duo took the attack to the bowlers to share a 129-run unbroken partnership to secure a comfortable win with 12 balls to spare.

Prajapati was unbeaten for 74 off 56 balls.

His knock was studded with five boundaries and four sixes.

Maqsood displayed more attacking intent to race to his 76 off just 44 balls, with six boundaries and five maximums.

Jatinderpal Matharu’s second over cost him 19 runs as Maqsood hammered three fours and a six.

Along with Prajapati, the skipper continued the attack as they smashed the bowling attack for a total of 47 runs in just three overs to wrap up the win.

Rayyan Pathan and Matharu went for plenty in their spell as they gave away 24 and 23 runs respectively in their two-over spells.

Earlier, Ravinderpal Singh anchored Canada’s innings with a partnership with Saad Zafar to guide the team to 83 before Maqsood broke the stand.

Canadian opening pair Rayyan Pathan and Matthew Spoors – got off to a bright start.

Pathan was in fine form as he found the early boundaries in the Power play but was run out in the fifth over for 26 that included four boundaries.

Matthew Spoors, who made century on his T20I debut on Friday, followed his partner in the pavilion soon as Kaleemullah came up with a splendid wicket-maiden sixth over.

Canadian skipper Navneet Dhaliwal departed in the next over to leave the side at 43-3. Singh and Zafar revived the innings with a 42-run stand.

Oman bowlers restricted their opponents to a 62-3 at the halfway mark. Hamza Tariq and Singh gradually accelerated the run-rate as they took 12 off Syed Aamir Kaleem’s 14th over. Singh finally fell in the 17th over caught brilliantly by Prajapati off Bilal Khan.

Dilllon Heylinger struck some hits in the death overs, blasting a six and two successive boundaries in the 18th over to stay unbeaten on 21 off ten balls.

Tariq ended Canada’s innings with a six to help the team’s total of 155 for six.

Navneet Dhaliwal, Captain Canada said, “Catches win matches is an age-old saying. We dropped some big catches, of their opener [Kashyap Prajapati]. If we had taken those chances, the match could have gone differently. We only have ourselves to blame. I think Oman bowled really well, so credit goes to them. But we were quite happy with the total we put up.”

Ahead of their must-win match against Nepal on Monday, Dhaliwal said: “We know it is a big game. The good thing is we are not out of the tournament yet so we will try our best.”

Zeeshan Maqsood, Captain Oman said: “We really needed this win, and it was great to achieve it.

After Jatinder got out, coach [Duleep Mendis] supported my decision to come out at one down.

“The way KP (Kashyap) played was crucial. We were getting runs on both the ends so that put pressure on Canada. I was also happy that we could restrict Canada to 155. We had a complete performance and the way we won underlines it.”


<b>Bhurtel ton in Nepal’s victory</b>

Kushal Bhurtel slammed an unbeaten 61-ball century as Nepal defeated the Philippines by 136 runs in the second game at Oman Academy 2 ground on Saturday.

Coming out to bat after the Philippines won the toss, Nepal scored 218/3 in their 20 overs.

Opener Aasif Sheikh was sent back for a duck in the second over and soon after, Kushal Malla followed.

A 171-run fourth-wicket stand between Bhurtel and experienced Dipendra Singh Airee (83 off 47) meant that Philippines went into the break, looking at a target even larger than the 216 that Canada had posed on Friday.

Dipendra’s innings included six fours and four sixes while Bhurtel’s inning was studded with 13 boundaries and one maximum.

Philippines were then restricted to only 82/8 with contributions from Daniel Smith, Jordan Alegra and captain Jonathan Hull.

After defending a low score against Oman on Friday, Nepal were impressive with the ball once again.

Sandeep Lamichhane led from the front, with figures of 3/9. This is the third-highest margin of victory in T20 Internationals for Nepal.

Nepalese skipper Sandeep Lamichhane praised the partnership of Kushal and Dipendra and said: “They are class players and they proved that. We wanted to bowl out Philippines, but we couldn’t. We will take lessons from this game forward and continue with our good form ahead.”

Jonathan Hull, Captain Philippines said, “We will try to put all our efforts in the last game against Oman. We hope to do better.”
 
<b>Ireland and the UAE have booked their places from Group B in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, in contrasting styles at Al Amerat on Monday.</b>

Ireland defeated Germany by seven wickets, achieving their victory target in 13.1 overs, to boost their net run-rate (NRR) and qualify as group topper. Germany was restricted to 107/5 with only two batters managing to reach double digits.

UAE lost their concluding group match to Bahrain by two runs in a thriller but managed to advance on a better NRR after both teams finished with four points each.

Ireland also had four points but finished with a NRR of +0.991 while UAE (+0.661) and Bahrain (+0.240) came second and third respectively.

The game at the Oman Academy 2 ground between UAE and Bahrain produced some excitement around a last ball finish. UAE needed 27 to win in the final over, after Bahrain had amassed 172.

UAE’s Vriitya Aravind, who has been in excellent form in the Qualifiers, hit two fours and two sixes off Shahid Mahmood’s final over to bring the equation down to five off the last ball. Mahmood kept his cool to concede only two and ensure Bahrain got over the line.

UAE opener Muhammad Waseem was sent back cheaply and while Chirag Suri looked good for his 24-ball 26, the latter’s dismissal meant that the UAE had a mountain to climb with 138 needed in 14 overs. Aravind and Rohan Mustafa gave it a good go, forging a 91-run fourth-wicket partnership to keep the UAE in the game.

Mustafa made 41 but it was the young Aravind, who looked elegant and dominant, with a scintillating 52-ball 84 - a knock that included 6 fours and 5 sixes to take the game till the last ball.

For Bahrain, captain Sarfaraz Ali stepped up with the ball too, picking up two crucial back-to-back wickets in the 19th over to cripple the UAE run chase. Imran Anwar did the same in the 18th over. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Bahrain posted 172/5. David Mathias top scored with an unbeaten 46 off 35 deliveries.

Captain Ali (32) and Umer Imtiaz (42) took early command with a 50-run partnership. Ali was the aggressor in this stand and Bahrain maintained a brisk run-rate. After his dismissal, Imtiaz took over for the remainder of his innings. He shared a 41-run partnership with Mathias that allowed the newcomer to get comfortable in the crease. Both Haider Butt (35 off 17) and a well-set Mathias exploded in the final five overs, exploiting wayward bowling to make 68 runs.

Ahmed Raza, UAE Captain said: “With Aravind playing so well, we still believed till the last ball that it (run chase) was possible. If the last shot too had beaten the fielder, it would have gone to a Super Over that I think would have been an ideal finish to this match. Congratulations to Bahrain though, they played amazingly well in this game and in the tournament as well.”

Commenting on Aravind’s performance, Raza added, “Aravind backs his skills and shots regardless of the pressure. Even if the opponents are making some noises, he stays in his own zone. He takes the game deep. He did that against Ireland and he did the same today. Gutted that he couldn't take us over the line but overall, we had a pretty poor day in the field. Even with the bat we had a few lapses that must be corrected before the semi-finals. Hopefully, our bad days are out of the way, and we go again strongly tomorrow.”

Sarfaraz Ali, Bahrain Captain said, “Definitely disappointed that we could not make the semi-finals but I'm happy with the win today.”

Aided by a disciplined bowling performance, Ireland openers, Paul Stirling and skipper Andy Balbirnie, took control of the run-chase with an authoritative performance at the Oman Academy 1 ground. Both the batters smashed boundaries with ease as they raced to an opening stand of 67 in 7.5 overs. Balbirnie’s 32 came off 21 and Stirling’s 34 off 27 ensured that the team maintained a healthy net run-rate (NRR) from the start.

Germany’s Muslim Yar claimed the wicket of Stirling and George Delaney after Balbirnie fell to his German counterpart Venkat Ganesan in the eighth over. Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker then steered their side to win in 13.1 overs. Earlier, all five of the Ireland bowlers picked up wickets as Germany posted 107/7.
Left-arm pacer Josh Little, who was named the Player of the Match, provided the early breakthroughs to give his team a perfect start.

Bowling in the right areas, Little and his bowling partner, Mark Adair, put the pressure on the Germany openers. Little had Talha Khan leg before in the fourth over and then picked the wicket of in-form Justin Broad to finish his opening three-over spell with 2/9. Broad had hit a half-century in the previous game against UAE. Germany batters struggled against the pace and there was no respite when the spinners were introduced after the Powerplay.

Andy McBrine and Simi Singh operated in tandem and struck soon. Michael Richardson fell to McBrine and at halfway stage Germany were 38/3. Dylan Blignaut provided some impetus to the total with a couple of clean hits, including two maximums. However, he went for far too many in an attempt to accelerate the declining run-rate.

One such attempt off Singh found Harry Hector on the boundary to bring an end to his cameo of 22.

Germany’s woes deepened as Shoaib Khan was adjudged leg before to McBrine on the next ball of the new over to leave the team at 67/5.

Craig Young claimed Dieter Klien and Adair took the wicket of Fayaz Khan an over later. Faisal Mubashir kept the scoreboard ticking with some impressive strokes around the park.
Mubashir stayed unbeaten on 45 off 40, which included one six and two fours. He was instrumental in Germany crossing the 100-run mark as he hit a six and a four for a 14-run penultimate over off Adair.

Little and McBrine picked two wickets each while Singh, Adair and Young accounted for the other three batters. Ireland players wore black sleeve bands in honour of former Ireland player Podge Hughes, who passed away two days ago.

Andy Balbirnie, Captain Ireland said: “We were really good today, we set ourselves the task at the toss, and our bowlers put it in good areas – there was a bit in it for the bowlers, and they bowled tightly. It was a really a complete performance and we’re starting to get it together at the right end of the tournament. I think the win against Bahrain got us up and running – we tend to play better the longer a tournament goes. There was good buzz around this morning, the guys knew we had to win two games to reach a World Cup, and we’ve got rid of one of those and are now in a semi-final.

“All of our bowlers performed well today – we have guys like [Curtis] Campher and [Barry] McCarthy on the bench who could do a job as well – we’re happy with where our bowling is at, but it means nothing unless we turn up and do the same thing tomorrow.”

Venkat Ganesan, Captain Germany said: “Ireland outplayed us in all departments of the game. They reserved the best against us. The bowlers gave little to us and we could not put up a challenging total.

“We will take lot of positives from today’s match. It is all about learning while playing teams like Ireland.”
 
BOWLERS SHINE AS NEPAL AND OMAN SECURE SEMI-FINAL SPOTS


Bowlers dominated the afternoon session of day 3 in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, at Al Amerat on Monday aiding Nepal and hosts Oman to advance to the semi-final of the tournament from Group A.

Nepal defeated Canada by eight wickets while Oman raced to a nine-wicket win over the Philippines.

Having bowled out Canada for 80 in 15 overs, Nepal were never in trouble, chasing down the target in 14.1 overs for the loss of Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Malla’s wickets.

Kushal Bhurtel, who became only the third Nepalese batter to score a T20I century on Saturday against the Philippines, stayed unbeaten on 34. Along with Dipendra Singh Airee (27), the side cantered to victory.

Nepal emerged as the Group A topper with a clean slate after recording three successive wins for six points. Oman with two victories finished a runner-up with four. Nepal will take on the Group B runner-up UAE while the hosts will face Group B topper Ireland in the semi-finals, which will be played on Tuesday. Both the matches begin at 14.00 hrs (local time).

At Oman Academy 2 ground, Oman missed a chance to script history. They recorded one of the largest margins of victory in a T20 International by bowling out Philippines for 36 in 15.2 overs, their lowest-ever T20 International total, the hosts chased the target in just 2.5 overs, scoring 40-1.

The huge win for Oman, with 103 balls remaining was just a ball more than the world record margin achieved by Austria. On 31 August 2019, Austria had defeated Turkey in a T20I match with 104 balls remaining in Ilfov County, Romania. Electing to bat first, Philippines was rocked by the pace attack of – Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah and Fayyaz Butt. Khan gave away just seven runs in his three-over spell on a trot to build the pressure. Kaleemullah and Fayyaz Butt complimented each other as they sent back the top-order by the eighth over.

Khawar Ali and Aamir Kaleem then spun a magical web as wickets fell at regular intervals. Philippines, who are making their debut in the global qualifiers, were bowled out for 36 in 15.2 overs. Ali bagged four for 11 in 3.2 overs while Kaleem had figures of 2-1-2-2. Butt and Kaleemullah also bagged a brace each. Oman lost Kashyap Prajapati off the second ball of their innings but with a small total, it turned out to be a stroll in the park for the hosts.

Khurram Khan smashed a quick fire 12-ball 33, which included 5 fours and 2 sixes, and along with Jatinder Singh, wrapped up an easy win.

Daniel Smith, Philippines Captain said: “It is really tough to take - getting bowled out in the 30s. For us now, I think it is just about reflecting. We are getting to play the game we love against some of the best players and teams out there. So, we are going to take some time off tonight, reflect on how far we have come.

“We still have two playoff games to look forward to. We are going to turn up and play with some heart in those.”

Smith had led the side in place of regular captain Jonathan Hull, who missed the game.

Zeeshan Maqsood, Oman Captain said: “I'm really happy with the performance today. We will try and put in similar levels of performance in the semi-finals. Despite the victory, we did make some mistakes today. So, we will be looking to correct those in the semi-finals [vs Ireland]. We have to play good and smart cricket tomorrow. We have to use our home conditions in the best possible way.”

Nepal on top

Nepal skipper Sandeep Lamichhane led from the front with a three-wicket haul (3-12) to bowl out Canada for 80. Kamal Airee and Abinash Bohara picked two wickets apiece. The Canadian innings were rocked by two run out dismissals with in-form opener Rayyan Pathan triggering a collapse.

Three balls after Pathan’s exit, Ravinderpal Singh followed him in the pavilion with the team’s total at 39-4. The Canadian batters were stifled against some accurate bowling and could never recover from the double-wicket loss in the sixth over. A procession continued as the next five batters were dismissed for the addition of just nine runs, which included another run-out dismissal [Saad Zafar]. At 48-9, Canada were in a precarious situation with nearly ten overs remaining.

Dilon Heyliger and No 10 Salman Nazar adopted a counter-attack strategy to push the score to take it to 80 with a crucial 32-run stand. Heyliger smashed 2 sixes and a four in his unbeaten 22-ball 24 while Nazar made 10.

Navneet Dhaliwal, Canada Captain said: “It was one of those days where nothing worked for us. The run-outs never let us build any momentum and changed the complexion of the match.”

Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal Captain said: “The best of Nepal is yet to come. Absolutely thrilled with the win and the way everyone showed character. Canada was playing really well in those first few overs of the Powerplay. Credit goes to all the fast bowlers who bowled in all the right areas.

“It is really nice to see that all the bowlers are in good shape. As a captain, it becomes easy once they are getting wickets.”

Ahead of the semi-finals, the captain, who was also named the Player of the Match, said: “We have been working really hard for this moment [reach the semi-finals]. This journey so far has been great and we are all looking forward to tomorrow’s match.”
 
Bowlers dominated the afternoon session of day 3 in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, at Al Amerat on Monday aiding Nepal and hosts Oman to advance to the semi-final of the tournament from Group A.
Nepal defeated Canada by eight wickets while Oman raced to a nine-wicket win over the Philippines.
Having bowled out Canada for 80 in 15 overs, Nepal were never in trouble, chasing down the target in 14.1 overs for the loss of Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Malla’s wickets.
Kushal Bhurtel, who became only the third Nepalese batter to score a T20I century on Saturday against the Philippines, stayed unbeaten on 34. Along with Dipendra Singh Airee (27), the side cantered to victory.
Nepal emerged as the Group A topper with a clean slate after recording three successive wins for six points. Oman with two victories finished a runner-up with four. Nepal will take on the Group B runner-up UAE while the hosts will face Group B topper Ireland in the semi-finals, which will be played on Tuesday. Both the matches begin at 14.00 hrs (local time).
At Oman Academy 2 ground, Oman missed a chance to script history. They recorded one of the largest margins of victory in a T20 International by bowling out Philippines for 36 in 15.2 overs, their lowest-ever T20 International total, the hosts chased the target in just 2.5 overs, scoring 40-1.
The huge win for Oman, with 103 balls remaining was just a ball more than the world record margin achieved by Austria. On 31 August 2019, Austria had defeated Turkey in a T20I match with 104 balls remaining in Ilfov County, Romania. Electing to bat first, Philippines was rocked by the pace attack of – Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah and Fayyaz Butt. Khan gave away just seven runs in his three-over spell on a trot to build the pressure. Kaleemullah and Fayyaz Butt complimented each other as they sent back the top-order by the eighth over.
Khawar Ali and Aamir Kaleem then spun a magical web as wickets fell at regular intervals. Philippines, who are making their debut in the global qualifiers, were bowled out for 36 in 15.2 overs. Ali bagged four for 11 in 3.2 overs while Kaleem had figures of 2-1-2-2. Butt and Kaleemullah also bagged a brace each. Oman lost Kashyap Prajapati off the second ball of their innings but with a small total, it turned out to be a stroll in the park for the hosts.
Khurram Khan smashed a quick fire 12-ball 33, which included 5 fours and 2 sixes, and along with Jatinder Singh, wrapped up an easy win.
Daniel Smith, Philippines Captain said: “It is really tough to take - getting bowled out in the 30s. For us now, I think it is just about reflecting. We are getting to play the game we love against some of the best players and teams out there. So, we are going to take some time off tonight, reflect on how far we have come.
“We still have two playoff games to look forward to. We are going to turn up and play with some heart in those.”
Smith had led the side in place of regular captain Jonathan Hull, who missed the game.
Zeeshan Maqsood, Oman Captain said: “I'm really happy with the performance today. We will try and put in similar levels of performance in the semi-finals. Despite the victory, we did make some mistakes today. So, we will be looking to correct those in the semi-finals [vs Ireland]. We have to play good and smart cricket tomorrow. We have to use our home conditions in the best possible way.”
Nepal on top
Nepal skipper Sandeep Lamichhane led from the front with a three-wicket haul (3-12) to bowl out Canada for 80. Kamal Airee and Abinash Bohara picked two wickets apiece. The Canadian innings were rocked by two run out dismissals with in-form opener Rayyan Pathan triggering a collapse.
Three balls after Pathan’s exit, Ravinderpal Singh followed him in the pavilion with the team’s total at 39-4. The Canadian batters were stifled against some accurate bowling and could never recover from the double-wicket loss in the sixth over. A procession continued as the next five batters were dismissed for the addition of just nine runs, which included another run-out dismissal [Saad Zafar]. At 48-9, Canada were in a precarious situation with nearly ten overs remaining.
Dilon Heyliger and No 10 Salman Nazar adopted a counter-attack strategy to push the score to take it to 80 with a crucial 32-run stand. Heyliger smashed 2 sixes and a four in his unbeaten 22-ball 24 while Nazar made 10.
Navneet Dhaliwal, Canada Captain said: “It was one of those days where nothing worked for us. The run-outs never let us build any momentum and changed the complexion of the match.”
Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal Captain said: “The best of Nepal is yet to come. Absolutely thrilled with the win and the way everyone showed character. Canada was playing really well in those first few overs of the Powerplay. Credit goes to all the fast bowlers who bowled in all the right areas.
“It is really nice to see that all the bowlers are in good shape. As a captain, it becomes easy once they are getting wickets.”
Ahead of the semi-finals, the captain, who was also named the Player of the Match, said: “We have been working really hard for this moment [reach the semi-finals]. This journey so far has been great and we are all looking forward to tomorrow’s match.”
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The ICC Men's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/T20WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#T20WorldCup</a> Qualifier A semi-finalists:<br><br>🔹 Nepal<br>🔹 Oman<br>🔹 Ireland<br>🔹 UAE <a href="https://t.co/6AjLH1f4Tu">pic.twitter.com/6AjLH1f4Tu</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1495767845803896837?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Happy to see Nepal again. They have a lot of fan following and the players are originally from Nepal.

I assume the semifinalists are qualified for WC?
 
thelandofthebravepeople said:
Happy to see Nepal again. They have a lot of fan following and the players are originally from Nepal.

I assume the semifinalists are qualified for WC?
Click to expand...

No only the Finalists qualify for the WC. Just the two of them.

Another qualifier ( B ) will be played among 8 new teams after a few months , again the Finalists of those qualifiers will qualify for WC.

2 teams from Qualifier A
and 2 teams from Qualifier B

Total 4 teams qualify for the WC.
 
boomboomcheema said:
No only the Finalists qualify for the WC. Just the two of them.

Another qualifier ( B ) will be played among 8 new teams after a few months , again the Finalists of those qualifiers will qualify for WC.

2 teams from Qualifier A
and 2 teams from Qualifier B

Total 4 teams qualify for the WC.
Click to expand...

I assume the teams that fail here will be part of qualifier 2 as well?
 
thelandofthebravepeople said:
I assume the teams that fail here will be part of qualifier 2 as well?
Click to expand...

Nope .

The 8 teams of Qualifier B are

HK
Jersey
Netherlands
PNG
USA
Singapore
Uganda
Zimbabwe

The next 2 teams to qualify for the T20 WC would be from these 8 teams.

Only Finalists of Qualifiers B will qualify.
 
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CANADA BEAT GERMANY BY SIX WICKETS WHILST BAHRAIN BEAT PHILIPPINES BY 91 RUNS

Canada defeated Germany by six wickets while Bahrain beat the Philippines by 91 runs in the classification round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, at Al Amerat on Tuesday. Canada were pushed till the end by a determined Germany as they chased down the victory target of 132 with three balls to spare.

In the other match of the morning session, Bahrain continued their winning momentum, notching up their second win in a row. They defeated Philippines by a huge margin after beating UAE in the Group B league match on Monday.

Victory for Canada and Bahrain set them up for a fifth-place playoff game while Germany will take on Philippines for the seventh-place playoff spot on Thursday.

Canada thrived on a valuable partnership between skipper Navneet Dhaliwal and Matthew Spoors.

They had lost their opener Rayyan Pathan off the second ball of the match. Dieter Klein was the pick of German bowlers with his three-wicket haul. He first got rid of Pathan when the opener was caught behind by Michael Richardson.

Dhaliwal and player of the match, Spoors, then forged an 85-run stand to revive the team’s fortunes.

Dhaliwal’s exit in the 14th over was a result of a brilliant catch in the deep by Fayaz Khan off Dylan Blignaut. The skipper contributed 37 off 40.

Spoors stayed unbeaten on 73 off 55 and ensured that Canada complete a tense victory. Dilon Heyliger (17) and Ravinderpal Singh left in a space of 10 balls, both falling to Klein.

The German pacer bowled three dot balls in his 19th and had Singh caught behind on the fourth. Canada needed 12 off eight but Spoors hit a four and a six to ease the nerves and steer the side to win in the final over. Put to bat first, Germany lost their momentum at the halfway stage to finish at 131-6. Opener Justin Broad and Michael Richardson shared a valuable 49-run second-wicket partnership.

Broad’s opening partner Vijaya Shankar fell in the fourth over with the total at 16. Richardson displayed lot of positive intent in his strokes as he cut behind square and exhibited the drives and pull shots during his 26-ball 35. His innings were laced with five boundaries.

Left-arm spinner Salman Nazar broke the partnership when he had Broad trapped leg before for 28.

Two overs later came the turning point that tilted the scales in Canada’s favour.

Skipper Dhaliwal introduced Matthew Spoors into the attack. The 22-year-old leg-spinner met with success straightaway as he cleaned up Richardson off his second ball. New batter Dylan Blignaut was run out two balls later and the double blow left Germany at 80-4.

Faisal Mubashir, who was the top-scorer against Ireland on Monday with 40-ball 45, then attempted to get quick runs on board. His innings was cut short by Salman Nazar, as he was stumped by Shreyas Movva off a wide ball.

Canada bowlers kept their line and length hard and Nazar got his third victim when he trapped Dieter Klein to end his spell with 3-27. A couple of big hits from Fayaz Khan in the 19th pushed the score after skipper Venkat Ganesan had retired hurt for twelve in the previous over.

Navneet Dhaliwal, Captain Canada said: “It was very tough to come back into this match after the loss against the UAE yesterday. The energy level was certainly missing but I am happy that we could get over the line today. We deserve to win more games at this level. We will try to end the campaign on Thursday on a victorious note against Bahrain.”

Venkat Ganesan, Captain Germany said: “It was a close game, and we did sense win at one stage. After a below-par score, we showed character in our fightback. We do learn from such games, and we will take this defeat as part of our learning curve.”

Kurup shines for Bahrain

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Bahrain’s skipper Sarfaraz Ali started the Powerplay in a whirlwind fashion and blitzed his way to a 17-ball 32.

The fourth over saw a slight momentum shift in the Philippines’ favour, as an astounding catch from Daniel Smith ended Umer Imtiaz’s innings abruptly. Sarfaraz Ali was dismissed in the very next ball.

However, with a 90-run fourth wicket stand between Shahbaz Badar and Prashant Kurup, Bahrain regained total control. Shahbaz looked good for his 44, but was undoubtedly the support act as Prashant’s effortless brilliance took centre stage.

His 74 runs alongside late cameos from Sikder Billah and Veerapathiran Sathaiya meant that the Philippines entered the dressing room at half-time, faced with the daunting task of chasing 191.

Henry Tyler had been their best bowler, recording figures of 3/40.

Philippines responded by posting their highest ever total in T20 Internationals. Yet, they fell well short after finishing on 100/9 in 20 overs. Machanda Biddappa top scored with a spirited 26-run knock, negotiating some top-class Bahrain bowling admirably. Gurbhupinder Chohan, Grant Russ and Jordan Alegre all chipped in, making 17, 15 and 13 respectively.

Ultimately the asking rate proved far too high, the fall of wickets proved far too frequent, and Bahrain strolled to a comfortable and well-deserved victory. Junaid Aziz and Haider Butt picked up three wickets apiece.

Sarfaraz Ali, Captain Bahrain said: “We have enjoyed the whole tournament. All the days we have been here, we have put in some good performances and today was one too. I'm very happy for the team. Hopefully we win our next game too. We will look to execute our plans and play well.”

Jonathan Hull, Captain Philippines said: “I think our bowling performance markedly improved from the 200s we conceded earlier. Over the series, we have played together, understood each other - each one's strengths and weaknesses. That will be great for the future so that is definitely a positive. We want to improve our batting. We are not able to score too many runs so we will talk about that tonight before the next game. But this is our first tournament in three years. We are growing together as a team and I'm looking forward to the future.”
 
UAE and Ireland qualified for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 by winning their respective semi-finals in Oman on Tuesday, 22 February, while earlier in the day, Canada and Bahrain registered wins in play-offs.
 
UAE and Ireland confirm big tickets to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia on Tuesday after reaching the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, at Al Amerat.

UAE stopped the three-match winning run of Nepal with a 68-run victory while Ireland beat Oman by 56 runs. At the Oman Academy ground 1, UAE exhibited a clinical performance to reach the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the second time. The last time UAE made it to the global showpiece event was in 2014. For Ireland, the only Full Member nation in Qualifier A, it will be their seventh appearance at the global showpiece event.

The two winning teams took the 13th and 14th spots for the tournament in Australia later this year, with the last two places to be decided at the Qualifier B in July. Chasing an imposing victory target of 176 to win, Nepal were rocked by the early strikes of UAE pacer Junaid Siddique.

The quick, was in top gear, removing the top-three Nepal batters in his three-over spell. A sensational opening over saw Siddique sending back opener Aasif Sheikh and one-down batter Lokesh Bam off two successive balls. Nepal were 3-2 in six balls and the chase looked a tall order.

Siddique then took the prize scalp of Nepal’s in-form batter Kushal Bhurtel in his second over. UAE skipper Ahmed Raza’s double-strike in the 13th over extinguished whatever hopes Nepal had as they were down to 83-6.

Raza’s golden arm found him more success to wrap up Nepal innings for 107 and his five-wicket haul earning him the player of the match award. The experienced duo of Dipendra Singh Airee (38) and Gyanendra Malla were the only batters to reach double digits.

Earlier, Vriitya Aravind, the new poster boy of UAE Cricket, continued with his blazing batting display. A whirlwind knock of 46 off 23 set the tone for his team’s impressive total. Opting to make the first use of the wicket, UAE plans to get off a fast start in the match were thwarted by Nepal bowlers.

Chirag Suri was castled by Jitendra Mukhiya, who finished with a three-wicket haul, as UAE were 6-1 in 10 balls. Opener Muhammad Waseem regained his touch and along with Aravind took the rival attack to the cleaners.

Waseem launched the first six of the game and then went on to showcase an exhibition of some powerful hitting around the park. Aravind smashed three boundaries in the fourth off Mukhiya. The 19-year-old batter was in his own zone as he produced some sizzling shots over the next few overs.

A six and a four off Abinash Bohara were followed by another six and a boundary off Nepal captain Sandeep Lamichhane. A second successive half-century was all for his taking but Lamichhane struck in his second over to end Aravind’s hurricane 23-ball innings.

The teenager had hammered 5 fours and 3 maximums. He has now scored 267 runs so far to be the leading run-getter in the qualifiers.

Waseem and Muhammad Usman then shared a stand of 64. Waseem cut loose in the 11th over smashing two boundaries and a six of Bohara. The opener reached his half-century in style with a six off Kamal Airee.

With five overs remaining, UAE were 131/2. They put the pedal on the metal but lost two wickets in the 17th over off Bohara, who dismissed Usman and Waseem.

Waseem’s 48-ball 70 was laced with 4 fours and 4 sixes. Zawar Farid’s big hits got UAE a productive over, but he perished in the same over. UAE added another 21 in the last two overs to reach 175.

Ahmed Raza, UAE Captain said: “It is a very emotional feeling. To lead the team to the Men’s T20 World Cup after six looming years. I fail to express in words the delight of playing a lead role in achieving our goal to qualify. It means a lot to us. It has been a difficult journey since missing out in 2019. We are blessed to have a talented bunch of youngsters and Vriitya has proved it as the player of the tournament. Qualifying for the Men’s T20 World Cup was an obsession for our team and glad that we could do it. It was one of those days when everything clicked for us. It was one complete performance.”

Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal Captain said: “It was one of those days where nothing worked for us. We were totally outplayed by UAE. They played better than us in all departments of the game. Despite not making to the World Cup, I am proud of my boys. They showed great character during the Qualifiers. I am sorry to Nepal cricket fans that we couldn’t qualify. UAE kept us under pressure from the start and never let us make a comeback. All credit to them.”

Ireland ease to victory

Batting first after losing the toss, Ireland posted a total of 165/7. Gareth Delany top scored with a masterfully constructed 32-ball 47. Oman began the Powerplay well as Ireland’s usually reliable opening pair – Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie - failed them this time.

However, Delany and Harry Tector erected an 82-run fourth wicket stand to put the pressure back on the hosts. Tector was the aggressor early on, but once Delany settled in, fireworks ensued on both ends of the wicket. Skipper Zeeshan Maqsood in particular endured a difficult afternoon with the ball as Delany devoured his only over, smashing three consecutive sixes.

Bilal Khan had dismissed both the openers earlier and Kaleemullah matched his strike partner’s efforts by plotting Tector’s demise for a well-made 35. Lorcan Tucker followed suit in the very next ball, and with Khawar Ali sending Delany back in the following over, Oman had their tails up for the final stretch of the innings. With good reason too, as Ireland were placed precariously at 106/5 at the end of 14 overs. George Dockrell chipped in with a valuable 16-ball 18, but it was Andy Mcbrine that provided the fuel to take Ireland past 150. His quick-fire 36 included 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Bilal was Oman’s star performer with the ball, ending the day with figures of 3/23. In response, Oman were bowled out for 109 in 18.3 overs. Shoaib Khan was the top scorer with 30. Oman matched Ireland’s efforts in the batting Powerplay, losing both their openers cheaply. Shoaib Khan and Zeeshan Maqsood (28) steadied the ship with a 40-run partnership. Shoaib scored at a healthy pace to keep the asking rate in check. They dealt with the Irish spinners pro-actively, effusing shades of Ireland’s game-changing fourth wicket partnership earlier in the day. But once Josh Little scalped Shoaib’s wicket in the 11th over, Oman’s batting roster crumbled. Khurram Nawaz was dismissed in the same over. Khawar Ali and Naseem Khushi soon followed suit.

Receiving no support from the other end, Maqsood was tasked with winning the match all by himself. His wicket in the 15th over put an end to all hopes of a successful Omani run-chase. Ireland cleaned up over the next four overs and put the finishing touches on a well-deserved victory. Simi Singh was their top performer with the ball, recording figures of 3/20 in 3.3 overs, but all the bowlers chipped in. Josh Little, Craig Young and Andy Mcbrine claimed two wickets apiece.

Andrew Balbirnie, Ireland Captain said: “Our determination was key today. We knew that to qualify we would have to win three games. We gradually got better as the tournament got on and that's what you have to do in tournaments. Our T20 cricket has been really inconsistent so winning three games - we knew we would have to be at our best. Today, I think was our best all-round performance. The partnership between Gareth (Delany) and Harry (Tector) was crucial and set us up well. Obviously, Andy Mcbrine carried that momentum forward too so I was very happy with that. We are in a really good place as a team. The guys that aren't playing are pushing the guys that are, day in day out. We don't have a whole lot of cricketers to choose from but the ones we are choosing are doing a great job. The pressure in this tournament was something we hadn't experienced in a while so I'm really relieved that we were able to come out on the right side.”

Zeeshan Maqsood, Oman Captain said: “Obviously, I'm very disappointed that we weren't able to win and go through to the World Cup. But I’m sure we will come back stronger from this defeat. We began the chase in right earnest but stumbled around the halfway stage. We will analyse the mistakes that we made and look to learn and improve from them.”

The winner of Thursday’s final between UAE and Ireland will secure a place in Group 1 of the First Round at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. They will join Sri Lanka and Namibia with the fourth team to be decided after the Qualifier B in June.

The runner-up on Thursday will join West Indies and Scotland in Group 2. The winner of Qualifier B will complete the Group 2 in June. Also on Thursday, playoff classification games will determine the final rankings of the Qualifier A. Oman take on Nepal for the third place while Canada will meet Bahrain for fifth place spot. Germany will face the Philippines for the seventh place.
 
boomboomcheema said:
Nope .

The 8 teams of Qualifier B are

HK
Jersey
Netherlands
PNG
USA
Singapore
Uganda
Zimbabwe

The next 2 teams to qualify for the T20 WC would be from these 8 teams.

Only Finalists of Qualifiers B will qualify.
Click to expand...

I feel bad for Nepal. They missed out again. Would have been wonderful to have Nepal instead of UAE.
 
thelandofthebravepeople said:
I feel bad for Nepal. They missed out again. Would have been wonderful to have Nepal instead of UAE.
Click to expand...

Nepal has a strong fanbase and all homegrown players but they always lose to these India Pakistan 3rd string playing 11 teams like UAE.

They will be able to qualify on a consistent basis when the T20 WC tournament is expanded to 20 teams.
 
PHILIPPINES SKIPPER JONATHAN HULL TERMS THEIR MAIDEN PARTICIPATION AT GLOBAL QUALIFIERS AKIN TO A ‘SUPER BOWL’

The enormity of playing against some of the top Associate Nations is summarised by Philippines skipper Jonathan Hull in just two words.

Hull is leading the squad at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, in Oman. A high-school teacher based in Australia, he said: “It is like a Super Bowl. It is the highest level we have played ever.

“It has been a learning curve since we regrouped after three years to participate in the global qualifier for the first time last month.”

Philippines are one of the eight teams that are currently playing the Qualifier A at Al Amerat. The tournament concludes on Thursday with Ireland facing the UAE in the final.

On Tuesday, Ireland, and the UAE won their respective semi-final matches to qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.

Philippines made it to the global qualifier as the top team from the East-Pacific region.

Despite the large defeats in all the four matches they played so far, Hull was proud of his all-amateur team.

Besides club cricketers from Australia with Filipino parentage, a number of resident cricketers from the sub-continent constitute the squad.

Hull, who has been with the national team since 2013, said: “It was a surreal experience to play against some of the top Associate nations.

“The realistic measure of our success is the strength and quality of the relationship we developed among ourselves on this tour.

“With each match, irrespective of the results, we have been learning. The lessons are simple. The strength in the quality of learning after each match, every training session and a reflection on our matches.”

Hull is among the many school teachers in the squad that also feature a lawyer, a civil engineer, traders and a hockey coach.

The skipper, who has been with the national team for the past eight years, said: “Our learning has been intense. The boys are really positive despite the defeats and relishing the opportunity to play here against top-class opposition.

“It is a different ball-game to take on teams that have professional and semi-professional cricketers in their ranks. We are a bunch of amateurs and there is bound to a big difference in the skill sets. We are proud to get this tremendous opportunity to represent the nation.”

For a team that hasn’t played together for the past three years, Hull believes ‘it will take time for the side to get better.’

The skipper said: “The way the higher-ranked teams went hard at us to boost their net run-rate (NRR) was quite an experience. Each of us have walked away from the pitch as a better cricketer after each match.”

The last time the Philippines played a match was in 2019 when they beat Vanuatu in an EAP regional qualifying tournament in Port Moresby. The victory secured ‘The Carabaos’ [water buffalo native to the Philippines] a ticket to Oman.

Looking ahead after the Qualifiers, the skipper said: “All the players are going to have a really good understanding as to what it takes to play at this level.”

Among the most-heartening experience for Hull, and his players, was after the 136-run defeat to Nepal.

Soon after the defeat in a Group A match, Nepal’s Sri Lankan coach Pubudu Dassanayake came down to have a talk with the Philippines team.

Hull said: “It was one of best messages we received. He emphasised the simplicity of training with a positive mindset and mastering it. Like if one has to learn cover drive, he should try out 10,000 times.

“Another thing we will carry along with us is the clinical manner in which the top teams approach the game.”

Hull was left in awe of players of higher-ranked teams. He said: “We understood that we can be humble on and off the pitch. One can be fiercely competitive but without crossing the limits and play in the spirit of the game.”

Growth of the game

Evan McCall, Philippines Cricket Association (PCA) development manager, said that ‘there is a growing number of young Filipinos who have the passion to pick up the game’.

“During the past three years, it has been a challenging time. Our programme to target young Filipinos has met with some success. We have noticed that there are good number of youngsters, who wish to take up the game.

“The aim for us is to sustain their love for the game and groom them to become better players.

“It is a long and arduous journey but we are hopeful. We have now three leagues for seniors, juniors and women.

“A total of 30 clubs are playing in the leagues. We also have an all-Filipino team in the Division 3. A pathway for them to higher league is chalked out. A decade later, we may have a larger pool of Filipinos to pick from and provide them the platform to represent the nation.”

McCall said: “Currently, 24 teams play in the men’s league, and a five-team, all-Filipina women’s league is organised. There are nine teams in the junior league.”

The chief executive of the Philippines Cricket Association, Faisal Khan, said: “Cricket as a sport is not popular. In a country where basketball is the most popular and loved game, developing cricket has been a challenge.

“We knew that we would not be able to start at the grassroots level. So the goal was to get the best Filipino players from across the world. Build a national team that could compete at the international stage.

“We have reached to a large extent. We wish there are more events in EAP region so that teams can play more matches. An equivalent to Asia Cup could be an option for EAP nations.”

Khan, who was the first captain of the national side, was hopeful that the participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, will leave a lasting impact on the country.

“Definitely it will generate interest and make a positive impact. When we post anything on social media, lot of comments come from Filipinos back home,” said Khan, the founding member of PCA.

Along with Ian Sinclair, Khan set up the PCA in Manila in 1999. The national team made their international debut in 2011.

Khan said: “We started with three teams in Manila. The road ahead is challenging but we are committed to raising the profile of the game in the Philippines and the region.”
 
CANADA SEAL FIFTH PLACE, GERMANY TAKE SEVENTH SPOT

A skipper’s knock by Navneet Dhaliwal and a career best T20I spell by Harsh Thaker steered Canada to victory.

Dhaliwal’s unbeaten 54 off 27 was laced with 3 fours and 4 sixes, as Canada achieved victory with 5.3 overs remaining.

Having restricted Bahrain to 131/8, Canada’s Rayyan Pathan and wicketkeeper Shreyas Movva steadied the ship after Matthew Spoors fell early.

Pathan looked in ominous form during his 26-ball 38 but was dismissed in the eight over. Movva and Dhaliwal paced their innings without taking risks before the eventful 14th over.

Bowling his second over, leg-spinner Junaid Aziz’s broke the partnership when Movva was caught by George Axtell off the third ball for 32. A wide ball was followed by a single by Hamza Tariq.

Dhaliwal’s blitz fetched Canada 19 with 3 sixes, including a no ball, to leave them needing just 8 off 36 balls. The skipper struck another mighty maximum to wrap up the win.

Thaker had produced a magical spell of 4-20 to deny Bahrain a big total. The right-arm off-spinner triggered a middle-order collapse to restrict Bahrain to 131/8.

David Mathias and Haider Butt came together with the team in trouble at 31/3 inside the Powerplay overs.

Openers Muhammad Younis and captain Sarfaraz Ali were sent back to the pavilion by Canada’s left-arm quicks Kaleem Sana and Rishiv Joshi.

First change bowler, Saad Zafar, met with immediate success in the fifth over. The left-arm orthodox bowler got rid of Shahbaz Badar with a well-taken return catch.

Mathias and Butt arrested the slide as they stitched a partnership of 44 in 7.3 overs. Thaker got the breakthrough off the first ball in his opening over. Mathias was caught and bowled by Thaker for 30 off 32.

The 24-year old Thaker had the batters in a knot as he claimed the wicket of Butt in his next over.

Sikder Billah’s 21-ball 33, which saw him strike 4 fours and a six, helped Bahrain to push the score in the death after they were reduced to 96/5. Thaker ended Billah’s entertaining knock to grab his fourth wicket.

Broad, Richardson strike half-centuries

The Philippines got off to a dream start in the Powerplay as the openers forged a partnership of 56 - their side’s highest ever stand in T20 Internationals.

Daniel Smith smashed boundaries at will and Henry Tyler provided excellent support from the other end.

The strike rotation was effective, and the pair constantly shuffled around in their crease, forcing the German bowlers to repeatedly change their preferred line and length.

But once Smith was dismissed for a well-made 35, the Philippines’ frail middle and lower order was exposed. Six wickets were lost for the addition of 16 runs to the scoreboard.

Germany’s Elam Bharathi’s supreme spell stood out. He finished with career-best figures of 4/6 in 4 overs.

A late 27-run partnership between Huzaifa Mohammed and Miggy Podosky took the Philippines past 100, and they eventually finished on 109/8 at the end of 20 overs - a national team record.

In response, Germany chased the target down with 7.1 overs to spare. Huzaifa Mohammed sent opener Talha Khan back in the very first over to add some spice to the contest.

But half centuries from Justin Broad (50) and captain Michael Richardson (59) ensured that Germany got over the line comfortably.

The pair dealt with the Philippines’ spirited bowling attack proactively, playing aggressive shots to manoeuvre the field to their advantage. The 114-stand they shared is Germany’s highest for any wicket in T20 Internationals.

Jonathan Hill, Philippines Captain said: “The highlight from the tournament for us was to compete on this stage. We have understood a lot about the level of professionalism it takes to compete at this level. In doing so, we have also learnt a lot about ourselves.

“Today, we showed that we have to learn to score more runs, especially against spin. Taking wickets at key moments is also crucial and overall our level of competitiveness will have to improve and I'm sure that it will.”

Michael Richardson, Captain Germany said: “The tournament as a whole did not quite go as we would have liked but today we finished on a high. We have deserved this with our performances throughout the series so I'm very pleased that today we got the reward.

“It was great to see Justin Broad’ half-century. For a young man, he is very confident. He has a look at the field, assesses the conditions and plays his shots. That clarity, decisiveness and conviction in his shot-making ability is great to see.”

It was a nice moment for Michael to score a half-century, with his dad Dave Richardson, a former South African Test cricketer and former CEO of ICC, in the stands.

Michael Richardson said: “I got very lucky. My dad has been retired now for a couple of years so it was a great opportunity for him to come see me play some international cricket. Feels like the world has gone full circle, I used to go with him and keep him awake during Test matches For him to see how far associate cricket has come.”

Elam Bharathi, Player of the Match said: “The plan was very simple for us as a bowling unit. We stuck with our plans and I'm glad it worked out.

“There have been a lot of lessons taken from this tournament. The margin for error is so small at this level and that is the biggest takeaway for us. Also, considering all the other professional teams here, it felt we were so amateur. So we definitely need to work on our fitness levels too to compete better.”
 
Scotland's George Munsey and Oman's Ayaan Khan have been found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct after their heated exchange in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2.

After dismissing Munsey in the 31st over during Scotland's successful chase of 226, Khan and Munsey exchanged words in the middle, before Munsey made contact with the Oman all-rounder, leading to further argument.

As a result of the incident, Khan and Munsey were found to have breached Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, and fined 15 and 25 per cent of their match fees respectively.

Khan breached Article 2.5, relating to "using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal", while Munsey was found to have breached Article 2.12 of the Code, relating to "using inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator)."

The two players also have one demerit point added to their disciplinary records. It's Khan's first offence, while it's the second for the Scottish left-hander.

Should a player reach four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points, and will result in a ban of the player from international matches.

Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whichever comes first for the player.

On-field umpires Akbar Ali and Rashid Riaz, and third umpire Buddhi Pradhan, levelled the charges. The pair admitted to the offences and accepted the sanctions avoiding a formal hearing.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2580045
 
It came down to the last match between Zimbabwe and Namibia and it was the visitors who clinched the T20I series 3-2. They created history with the win, recording their first series victory over a full-member nation.

First T20I: Zimbabwe won by 7 runs

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Craig Ervine played a captain's knock, scoring 55* off 39 balls that propelled Zimbabwe to 153/4 in the first match. Bernard Scholtz bowled an economical spell of 2/19, which included the wicket of the dangerous Wesley Madhevere (23 off 12).

Openers Craig Williams and Divan la Cock got Namibia off to a solid start with a 67-run stand. The latter scored 66 off 43 but kept losing partners at the other end. Zimbabwe bowlers brilliantly in the death overs and despite David Wiese remaining unbeaten at the other end, Namibia fell short by 7 runs.


Second T20I: Namibia won by 8 wickets

Opting to bat first yet again did not work out as well for Zimbabwe this time around as they lost half their side for 49. Milton Shumba and Tony Munyonga saved the hosts the blushes with a 46-run stand for the sixth wicket that took Zimbabwe to 122/8. Wiese was the star with the ball for the Eagles with figures of 3/27.

In response, Namibia lost Divan la Cock early but cruised to a victory on the back of Craig Williams' unbeaten 62 and skipper Gerhard Erasmus' 26-ball 36.


Third T20I: Zimbabwe won by 8 wickets

After choosing to bat first in the third T20I, Namibia's middle-order was guilty of throwing away good starts. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus and Zane Green all scored 20 or more but failed to convert their starts. Tendai Chatara and Sikandar Raza scalped three wickets with ease to reduce Namibia to 128/8.

Chasing a meagre total, Madhevere batted through the innings and remained unbeaten on 73. He was well supported by Regis Chakabva (24*) and Innocent Kaia (19). Zimbabwe chased down the total with 17 balls to spare, taking 2-1 lead in the series.


Fourth T20I: Namibia win by 6 wickets

In a do-or-die match, Namibia opted to chase in the fourth T20I. Madhevere continued his sublime form with his second fifty in a row before a middle-order collapse gave Namibia a chance to finish the innings off early. Richmond Mutumbami and Luke Jongwe, however, scored crucial runs in the death to set the Eagles a target of 158.

Namibia lost two wickets in the Powerplay but fifties from Michael van Lingen (51) and Gerhard Erasmus (59*) lifted the team. It went to the last ball of the match, with Namibia needing one run to level the series. Zane Green smashed the final ball for a four to force the series into a decider.


Fifth T20I: Namibia won by 32 runs

Putting Namibia into bat in the series decider, Zimbabwe restricted the visitors to 127/8. Williams was the lone warrior in the innings with a 39-ball 48 as the rest of the batting crumbled. Jongwe, Madhevere and Raza picked up two wickets each to set Zimbabwe a gettable total to win the series.

Namibia, though, were not going to go down without a fight as they ran through half of Zimbabwe's batting order inside the first 10 overs. Left needing 69 off the last 10 with five wickets in hand, Tony Munyonga fought hard with his innings of 28 but perished to the pressure of the asking rate.

Zimbabwe were bundled out for just 95, as Namibia clinched the series 3-2 in a low-scoring final game and made history.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2633902
 
Namibia playing a 5 match T20I series vs Zimbabwe starting today in Namibia

In the 1st match, Namibia have thrashed Zimbabwe by 7 wickets with 38 balls to spare. Bowling first, Namibia restricted Zimbabwe to 121/9 and chased the target in just 13.4 overs

Associates like Namibia too and not just Netherlands and Scotland should be getting more chances against big teams
 
amit said:
Namibia playing a 5 match T20I series vs Zimbabwe starting today in Namibia

In the 1st match, Namibia have thrashed Zimbabwe by 7 wickets with 38 balls to spare. Bowling first, Namibia restricted Zimbabwe to 121/9 and chased the target in just 13.4 overs

Associates like Namibia too and not just Netherlands and Scotland should be getting more chances against big teams
Click to expand...
Zimbabwe didn't have Sean Williams and Blessing Muzarabani but other than them, all of their main players played. Impressive win for Namibia. Both these teams should qualify from the African qualifiers for the next t20 WC.
 
RyanRyan10 said:
Zimbabwe didn't have Sean Williams and Blessing Muzarabani but other than them, all of their main players played. Impressive win for Namibia. Both these teams should qualify from the African qualifiers for the next t20 WC.
Click to expand...
Namibia are missing David Wiese and Ruben Trumplemann so that balances out the things for both teams
 
amit said:
Namibia have beaten Zimbabwe 3-2 in the T20Is after defending 101 in the 5th T20I and bowling out Zimbabwe for 93
Click to expand...
Great result for Namibia

3 wins and 1 loss in which they lost conceding a 4 on the ball.
 
amit said:
Namibia have beaten Zimbabwe 3-2 in the T20Is after defending 101 in the 5th T20I and bowling out Zimbabwe for 93
Click to expand...

Amazing.

Namibia could've won 4-1 but Sikandar played a blinder in 2nd game.

Namibia are a pretty capable associate. I remember they beat Sri Lanka in 2022 World T20.
 
Oman and Nepal have qualified for the 2024 T20 World Cup from Asian qualifiers.
 
Oman qualifies for T20 World Cup 2024

Oman delivered a spectacular and clinical performance to secure their place in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, defeating Bahrain convincingly by ten wickets in the semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier Final in Kirtipur, Nepal on Friday. This marks Oman's third appearance in the continental T20 showcase, having previously qualified in 2016 and 2021.

Oman, along with the host nation Nepal, secured their spots in the World Cup from Asia on Friday. Nepal trounced the UAE by eight wickets in the other semi-final.

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 will feature 20 teams and will be co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies. In the upcoming tournament, the 20 teams will be divided into four groups, each consisting of five teams, with the top two from each group advancing to the Super Eights stage.

Duleep Mendis’ men outclassed their opponents on Friday, with their bowlers, led by the spin trio of Aqib Ilyas (4/10), Shakeel Ahmed (2/24), and captain Zeeshan Maqsood (1/17), confounding the Bahraini batters and restricting them to a paltry 106/9.

Oman's chase turned into a stroll in the park, with openers Kashyap Prajapati and Pratik Athavale completing the victory in just 14.2 overs.

Both batsmen scored half-centuries, sending the rival bowlers on a leather hunt. Prajapati remained unbeaten with 57 off 44, including six boundaries and two maximums, while Athavale reached his half-century milestone in style with two consecutive fours, compiling a deserving 50 studded with six hits to the ropes.

The victory was primarily set up by Oman's bowlers, who capitalised on their familiarity with the playing conditions, having competed at the same venue for three consecutive games and were playing their fourth game at the same venue. In contrast, it was Bahrain's first match at the TU ground in Kirtipur.

Oman entered the semi-finals with a hat-trick of wins in Group A, having defeated Malaysia, Singapore, and Nepal, to emerge as group toppers. Bahrain, on the other hand, scraped into the semis by finishing second in Group B, narrowly edging past Hong Kong based on a superior net run-rate (NRR).

Bahrain's captain, Umer Toor, opted to bat first but was the first to depart in the second over, caught behind by Athavale off Fayyaz Butt, who replaced Kaleemullah in the playing XI. The first-wicket partnership of Sarfaraz Ali and Imran Ali pushed Bahrain to 45 runs before Sarfraz was dismissed by Shakeel for 23. Maqsood then sent Sohail Ahmed back to the pavilion, leaving Bahrain struggling at 58/3 before the magic of Ilyas turned the game.

Ilyas dismissed the well-settled Imran Ali for his first of four victims and later clean-bowled Haider Butt, leaving Bahrain at 69/5 in 13 overs. Ilyas completed his mesmerising spell with two successive wickets of Junaid Aziz and Sathaiya Veerapathiran, to return with figures of 4-1-10-4, and leave Bahrain tottering at 76/7.

An unbeaten 26 by Ahmer Bin Nisar helped Bahrain cross the 100-run mark, but with Shakeel and Bilal Khan cleaning up the tailenders, Bahrain could only manage a paltry 106.

Oman will now face hosts Nepal again in the final on Sunday, a rematch of their Group A concluding match on Thursday, which Oman won by a mere five runs.

Brief scores:

Bahrain 106/9 (Imran Ali 30, Sarfaraz Ali 23, Ahmer Bin Nisar 26; Aqib Ilyas 4/10, Shakeel Ahmed 2/24) lost to Oman 109/0 in 14.2 overs (Kashyap Prajapati 57*, Pratik Athavale 50*).

Source: TiimesofOman
 
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier semi-finals saw Nepal beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by eight wickets in front of a packed home crowd at Mulpani Cricket Ground, while Oman claimed an emphatic, 10-wicket victory over Bahrain at TU Cricket Ground, to seal their places in the ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, taking place in the West Indies and United States of America (USA) next year.

It will be the biggest Men’s T20 World Cup yet, featuring 20 teams for the very first time.

The two newly qualified teams will now face each other in the tournament final on Sunday.

It has been nine years since Nepal have qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the last event they participated in was in Bangladesh 2014, while Oman will play in their third event, their last appearance being in 2021 when they co-hosted alongside the UAE in India’s stead.

Nepal’s victory was even sweeter, defeating the UAE in the presence of a buoyant home crowd. They restricted the visitors, who won the toss and elected to bat first, to 134/9 in their allotted 20 overs, in spite of an obstinate, 51-ball 64 (8x4s, 2x6s) from Vriitya Aravind. Opener and skipper, Muhammad Waseem contributed the next best figures with the bat, with 26 from 16 deliveries.

Kushal Malla was Nepal’s chief wicket taker, returning outstanding figures of three for 11 from just three overs, with Sandeep Lamichhane chipping in with 2/14 in his four-over spell.

In reply, Nepal’s wicketkeeper and eventual Player of the Match, Aasif Sheikh (64* off 51) and captain, Rohit Paudel (34* off 20) shared an unbeaten 68-run partnership for the third wicket to seal the victory for their team with 17 balls to spare.

Scores in brief:

Nepal 135/2 in 17.1 Overs (Aasif Sheikh 64*, Basil Hameed 1-18) beat UAE 134/9 in 20.0 Overs (Vriitya Aravind 64, Kushal Malla 3-11) by 8 wickets.

In Kirtipur, Bahrain slipped to 106/9 after electing to bat first, thanks to a dazzling four-wicket-haul by Aqib Iiyas (4/10) and good back up from Shakeel Ahmed (2/24). Imran Ali, Ahmer Bin Nisar and Sarfaraz Ali scored 30, 26 and 23 respectively, but no one was able to take their cause further.

Oman’s reply was unequivocal, they reached their target in 14.2 overs thanks to half-centuries from openers, Kashyap Prajapati (57 off 44) and Pratik Athavale (50 off 42), winning the match with 34 balls to spare.

Scores in brief:

Oman 109/0 in 14.2 Overs (Kashyap Prajapati 57*, Pratik Athavale 50*, Junaid Aziz 0-12) beat Bahrain 106/9 in 20.0 Overs (Imran Ali 30, Aqib Ilyas 4-10) by 10 wickets.

Eighteen teams have now finalized their places for the main event, with just the Africa qualifier left where the last two spots will be decided in Namibia from 20 to 30 November 2023.

Source: ICC
 
Massive result in African regional T20 WC qualifiers today as Uganda beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets

Uganda's win puts Zimbabwe in serious danger of missing out on T20 WC. Zimbabwe were already thrashed by Namibia earlier in the tournament
 
amit said:
Massive result in African regional T20 WC qualifiers today as Uganda beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets

Uganda's win puts Zimbabwe in serious danger of missing out on T20 WC. Zimbabwe were already thrashed by Namibia earlier in the tournament
Click to expand...

Big day for Uganda

IMG-20231126-WA0032.jpg
 
Uganda beat Zimbabwe by five wickets to take two crucial points in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier

Placed 23rd on the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, Uganda stunned much higher-placed Zimbabwe in the Africa Region Qualifier.

With this Uganda moved up to the third place on the points table, which is led by Namibia and Kenya. Zimbabwe, the only Test-playing nation in the competition, are sitting in fourth place with two points and need other results to go their way if they have any hopes of qualifying for the T20 World Cup next year.

Zimbabwe batted first and found the going tough, losing wickets at regular intervals. While skipper Sikandar Raza top-scored with 48*, Uganda’s star was Dinesh Nakrani, who finished with 3/14.

During the chase, Uganda’s effort was led by Riazat Ali Shah (42) and Alpesh Ramjani (40). The African nation chased down the Chevrons’ total in the 19th over with five wickets to spare.

This was the first time Uganda played against a Full Member in T20Is and they won the game by five wickets.

Only the top two sides in the Region Qualifier will make it to the T20 World Cup 2024.

Source: ICC
 
FearlessRoar said:
Uganda beat Zimbabwe by five wickets to take two crucial points in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier

Placed 23rd on the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, Uganda stunned much higher-placed Zimbabwe in the Africa Region Qualifier.

With this Uganda moved up to the third place on the points table, which is led by Namibia and Kenya. Zimbabwe, the only Test-playing nation in the competition, are sitting in fourth place with two points and need other results to go their way if they have any hopes of qualifying for the T20 World Cup next year.

Zimbabwe batted first and found the going tough, losing wickets at regular intervals. While skipper Sikandar Raza top-scored with 48*, Uganda’s star was Dinesh Nakrani, who finished with 3/14.

During the chase, Uganda’s effort was led by Riazat Ali Shah (42) and Alpesh Ramjani (40). The African nation chased down the Chevrons’ total in the 19th over with five wickets to spare.

This was the first time Uganda played against a Full Member in T20Is and they won the game by five wickets.

Only the top two sides in the Region Qualifier will make it to the T20 World Cup 2024.

Source: ICC
Click to expand...

Great boost for Ugandan cricket.

But, they are unlikely to qualify. Kenya and Namibia are looking good to qualify for the World Cup.
 
Namibia beat Tanzania by 58 runs to confirm their berth at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA.

Namibia's perfect record of five wins from five games has confirmed their spot in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. The Eagles currently sit on top of the table with 10 points, with their win against Tanzania ensuring a top-two finish required to qualify for the showpiece event next year.

The fight for the remaining spot is still on, with Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria still in the reckoning. Uganda and Kenya hold their destiny in their hands, while Zimbabwe and Nigeria rely on favourable outcomes in other matches.

The match between Uganda and Kenya is a do-or-die encounter. Tanzania and Rwanda have already been eliminated from the competition.

This will be the third edition in a row that Namibia will be playing in the Men's T20 World Cup. In 2021, they managed to make it to Super 12 after finishing second in the group stage but failed to do so last year.


www.icc-cricket.com

Namibia punch tickets to 2024 T20 World Cup

Namibia beat Tanzania by 58 runs to confirm their berth at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA.
www.icc-cricket.com www.icc-cricket.com
 
Congratulations to Uganda 🇺🇬 qualifying for their first ever Worldcup . This is the biggest boost to their cricket
 
Uganda has made history actually. It is so sad to see Zimbabwe cricket's standards getting low and low with every passing day.
 
A historic first for Uganda as side joins Namibia into T20WC 2024

Uganda will become only the fifth African nation to feature in a ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

With five wins from their six games, Uganda have ensured a top-two finish in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier and booked their tickets for the T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies and USA.

This will be their first-ever appearance in an ICC World Cup event.

In the qualifier, Uganda overcame Tanzania in their opening game by a comfortable margin of eight wickets. However, in the next game, a brilliant 4/17 from Namibian all-rounder David Wiese handed them a six-wicket defeat.

The African side picked up in grand style, defeating the Test-playing Zimbabwe by five wickets. While skipper Sikandar Raza’s 48* starred for his side, Uganda’s bowling effort led by Dinesh Nakrani (3/14), restricted the Chevrons to 136/7.

During the chase, the Cricket Cranes were guided by Riazat Ali Shah (42) and Alpesh Ramjani (40). They won with five wickets to spare in a major cricketing upset.

Lifted by this effort, the side then overcame Nigeria with ease. They followed up with a 33-run win over Kenya, to have one foot into the T20 World Cup.

They ensured the same with a comfortable nine-wicket win over Rwanda. They rendered a top-notch bowling effort, which bowled out Rwanda for merely 65. The target was then chased down by the ninth over mark.

On the other hand, Zimbabwe, who suffered losses at the hands of Namibia and Uganda, missed out on the bus to the T20 event. The side had featured in the previous edition of the tournament, where they'd garnered a famous one-run win over Pakistan.

ICC
​
 
How will the groups be organised for a 20 team tournament?

I assume we’re following the most vital principle in WC formatting - ensure the most Indian matches as humanly possible.
 
hitthestump said:
How will the groups be organised for a 20 team tournament?

I assume we’re following the most vital principle in WC formatting - ensure the most Indian matches as humanly possible.
Click to expand...
4 groups with 5 teams each. Top 2 in each group qualifies to the Super 8s.

Well done Uganda but Zimbabwe have developed a worrying habit of choking in these qualifying events. Sad to see them miss out again.
 
hitthestump said:
How will the groups be organised for a 20 team tournament?

I assume we’re following the most vital principle in WC formatting - ensure the most Indian matches as humanly possible.
Click to expand...

20 teams are divided in 4 groups.

8 teams are to go to Super8.

At Super8, two groups of 4 teams. Top 2 from each go to semi.
 
Asad T said:
While I'll miss seeing Zimbabwe, I'm very excited for Ugandan cricket.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1730197642884366435
Click to expand...
This is good to see. We used to watch Kenya play regularly from 1996-2007 and be competitive and we miss that Kenyan team now. Uganda are also from the same region and their cricketers are very passionate. Also cricket is getting popular in Uganda in recent years and this qualification will help them a lot as the Ugandan team will get a lot of attention during the T20 WC. Fans who miss Kenya will get the same flavour in cricket when watching Uganda play

Uganda have already played 3 times in u-19 WCs in 2004, 2006 and 2022 and this is their first ever time in senior level
 
ICC Men's Associate Cricketer of the Year crowned for 2023

The winner of the ICC Men's Associate Cricketers of the Year for 2023 has been named, with a Dutch Cricket World Cup hero taking the honour.

Bas de Leede was named ICC Men's Associate Cricketer of the Year for his work both at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifier, and the tournament proper in India.

De Leede joins two-time winner Ryan ten Doeschate as Dutch winners of the accolade.

More on his exploits over the course of 2023.

Bas de Leede (Netherlands)

31 ODI wickets at 26.41, economy 6.51

424 ODI runs at 28.26, one century, one fifty

The year that was

It was a watershed year for Dutch cricket in the one-day game, bouncing back from a tough Super League campaign to edge the likes of Zimbabwe, West Indies and Scotland for a Cricket World Cup spot, before beating South Africa and Bangladesh in the main tournament across October and November.

Continuing as a key cog in their bowling line-up, de Leede moved his batting up another level, standing up with crucial knocks throughout the year, most notably with a ton against Scotland in a de-facto final for a World Cup spot at the Qualifier.

At the World Cup, de Leede claimed 16 wickets across eight bowling efforts, beginning with a four-wicket haul against Pakistan. He only went wicketless once in the campaign, taking four two-wicket hauls and a three-wicket haul against England. He added 139 runs with the bat, making a half-century against Pakistan.

De Leede admitted it was likely a race between several other players in orange Dutch shirts for the accolade.

“I'm accepting the award, but I think most of the Dutch boys would have been in contention for it. So it's a cool way to finish off a great year for The Netherlands.

“Looking at my performances, it's probably the best I've played for Holland, which I'm very thankful for. I'm happy to have put in some performances to make that happen there."

Memorable Performance

Scoring a century and taking a five-wicket haul in a One Day International had only been achieved by four players before 6 July 2023, and the likes of Viv Richards, Amelia Kerr, Paul Collingwood and Rohan Mustafa were joined by de Leede after his efforts in a crucial Cricket World Cup Qualifier meeting with Scotland.

Bowling first, de Leede claimed the key wickets of Richie Berrington, George Munsey and Chris McBride, before returning to claim all-rounders Chris Greaves and Mark Watt in successive deliveries at the death.

Needing to chase that down inside 44 overs to overtake Scotland on net run-rate, de Leede was forced into a corner with the bat. At one stage 19 from 30 balls, de Leede accelerated, finishing with an awe-inspiring 123 from 92 deliveries. He was run out before reaching the target, though his work ensured his teammates would have little problems claiming the final two runs in time.
​
ICC
 
Paudel-Khanal century partnership steers Nepal to ODI series win against Canada

Nepal won the three-match bilateral one-day international series against Canada after registering their second win by four wickets in as many games at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Saturday.

Earlier, Canada, opting to bat first after winning the toss, accumulated 285 runs in the stipulated 50 overs on the back of two half-century partnerships.

Openers Aaron Johnson and Navneet Dhaliwal brought a 94-run partnership for the first wicket for Canada while Pargat Singh and Nicholas Kirton also shared a 53-run stand.

Chasing the 286-run target, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel and Dev Khanal shared a century-partnership as the Rhinos scored 287 runs in 45.1 overs.

Opener Anil Kumar Sah scored the fastest ODI fifty for Nepal as he muscled seven hits to the fence and three sixes to achieve the feat in just 19 balls.

Sah also shared a 55-run partnership with another opener and wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh (10) before the latter was caught in 4.5 overs.

The Rhinos put up a strong performance, standing at 214 for 3.

Khanal smashed seven boundaries and two sixes as he established a 150-run partnership with Paudel. The right-handed batter scored 76 runs in his 81-knock play before being bowled and caught by Harsh Thaker in 33.5 overs.

Skipper Paudel also fired eight hits to the fences and four sixes, scoring 87 runs while facing 101 deliveries.

Likewise, Bhim Sharki managed a 21-ball 23 while Pawan Sharaff contributed 14 runs in his 8-ball play.

Kushal Malla and Sompal Kami also scored unbeaten nine runs each.

For Canada, Harsh Thaker and Ishwarjot Singh Sohi pocketed two Nepali wickets each while Saad Bin Zafar and Dilpreet Bajwa also grabbed a wicket apiece.

Source: Kathmandu Post
 
Eight-team CWC League 2 begins in Nepal on the road to 2027

The road to the Cricket World Cup for 2027 begins in Nepal through the first tri-series of a new Cricket World Cup League 2 cycle.

Run through a similar format to the inaugural edition from 2019 to 2023, the competition moves from a seven-team format to an eight-team competition, via 24 tri-series of six matches each in a total of 144 ODIs.

Automatic spots for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier are up for grabs via a top four finish in League 2, a minimum goal for all eight teams looking to succeed in a World Cup run.

A bottom four finish in League 2 does not eliminate teams from Cricket World Cup qualification, though it does mean the added jeopardy of taking part in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off, effectively a repechage tournament also including the top four teams from the Cricket World Cup Challenge League, the third tier of international 50-over cricket.

While a strong performance at the Play-off can elevate a team back into Cricket World Cup contention via the Qualifier, there is also a risk of a poor showing from a League 2 side leading to a demotion to the Challenge League. This was the cruel fate for Papua New Guinea in the last cycle, who finished last in League 2 before a last-place finish in the Play-off.

Six teams return to League 2 after featuring in the last edition, with two new teams entering the fray. Led by wicket-keeper batter Scott Edwards, Cricket World Cup 2023 head-turners Netherlands carry the early favourites tag coming down, while Canada were promoted to the competition after finishing above Jersey and Papua New Guinea in the Qualifier Play-off early last year.

Associate international cricket is not short of storylines, with the Dutch potentially coming back to haunt defending League 2 champions Scotland. It was the Scots who had their potential Cricket World Cup 2023 place by the Dutch on Net Run Rate, with Bas de Leede's starring individual performance fresh in the memory. The Scots will be in the mix for the top four and tournament honours again, with Zeeshan Maqsood’s Oman looking to go one better from their second-place in the last cycle.

Hosting the Dutch and Namibia in the first tri-series, Nepal come off a strong preparation series win over Canada, and captain Rohit Paudel says he’s looking forward to future challenges across both white ball formats.

“We are pleased to be hosting the first tri-series of what promises to be a well-contested League 2 with several talented sides in the fray,” Poudel began.

“These are exciting times for us with the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 less than four months away and our qualification campaign starting for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027.

“We are heartened and more confident after a 3-0 win over Canada in the just concluded series and hope to get off to a fine start in League 2 with this home Tri-series.”

Namibia will be looking for a revenge of sorts in their meetings with Nepal, as it was Nepal’s historic ODI run, winning 12 of their last 13 ODIs in the last League 2 cycle, that curtailed Gerhard Erasmus' men to the Play-off competition, where they missed out on entry into the Qualifier.

Elsewhere, the USA return after finishing fifth in the last League 2 cycle, while the UAE held onto their spot in the competition despite running in second-last.

Muhammad Waseem’s side kept their spot by finishing above Jersey and Papua New Guinea at the Qualifier Play-off.

First League 2 Tri-series (featuring Nepal, Namibia and The Netherlands)

15 February: Nepal v Namibia
17 February: Nepal v Netherlands
19 February: Namibia v Netherlands
21 February: Nepal v Namibia
23 February: Namibia v Netherlands
25 February: Nepal v Netherlands

All matches at the Tribhuvan University Ground, Kirtipur

League 2 Teams

Canada
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
Oman
Scotland
United Arab Emirates
USA

ICC
 
Nepal deserves a place in the ICC ODI World Cup 2027. They have improved a lot in recent years.
 
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