T20 World Cup Qualifiers | Netherlands claim top spot in Group A while Scotland suffer another setback
Netherlands overcame Singapore to grab top spot in Group A as the latter suffered their first defeat in the competition. Scotland suffered another unlikely defeat at the hands of an inspired Namibian side who got off the mark and the hosts UAE were blown away by Jersey to round off the day.
Netherlands vs Singapore
Bowling first, the Dutch rattled Singapore for just 101. Opener Sundrendran Chandramohan tried to provide some impetus to the innings with a 27-ball 28 but was unable to string a partnership with anyone as wickets kept falling at the other end. Tim van der Gugten was the pick of the Dutch bowlers, picking 3 wickets for just 9 runs in his quota of four overs. Roelof van der Merwe also chipped in with figures of 3 for 22 off his 4 overs.
In reply, the Dutch got off to a wobbly start as they had lost Tobias Visee and Ben Copper with the scoreboard reading 16-2. Opener Max O' Dowd tried to settle the Dutch innings scoring 35 from 31, but wickets falling at the other end meant that the Dutch were in a spot of bother at 65-5. But, the partnership between Colin Ackermann and Roelof van der Merwe ensured that there was no further fightback from the Singapore team and the Dutch won the game by five wickets.
Scotland vs Namibia
Namibia wanted to perform well given that they had lost their opening two games. Against a strong Scotland side, the Namibians batted first and were robbed early when they lost opener Stephan Baard with the score just 9 runs. Skipper Gerhard Erasmus and Craig Williams strung together a good partnership scoring 31 and 37 respectively. A late blitz from JJ Smit of 43 off 22 balls ensured that Namibia reached a fighting total of 159 in their 20 overs.
The Scottish chase began on a bad note as the trend of teams losing a wicket in the first over continued with opener Craig Wallace returning to the hut this time with a duck. Captain Richie Berrington and Callum McLeod scored 24 and 39 respectively to restore the Scottish chase. But wickets kept on falling at crucial points and the Namibian bowlers bowled tight lines and lengths. Jan Frylinck was the best of the Namibian bowlers with figures of 2-15' In the end the score proved too much for the Scotts as they suffered a second defeat in the tournament, going down by 24 runs.
UAE vs Jersey
Jersey batted first against the hosts on a slowish track. Each of the top order batsmen got starts but no one could convert it into a big one. Benjamin Ward with his 24-ball 47 provided some momentum to the Jersey innings which pushed them to a total of 147. Jersey could not take early wickets as UAE began the chase in style with openers Rohan Mustafa and Chirag Suri in full flow.
But, after a steady start, things began to go from bad to worse for the home side as they slumped to 91-7, thanks to destroyer-in-chief Harrison Carlyon who had match figures of 3-15 in his 4 overs. The UAE tail showed no fight as they were bundled out for 112, handing Jersey a 35-run victory.
