Tuesday 26 March 2013

The Third Post : Match Reports and Updates The Netherlands v U.A.E. and Bangladesh Tour of Europe.


(If you manage to read all the way to the end there might be a tasty treat for you!!!)

ADAMSKI LOVES CRICKET.
This episode of Adamski loves cricket features round ups of matches in the intercontinental cup match between The Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates plus results of their clashes in the World Cricket league championship all held in The Netherlands.

Plus news and results of when worlds collide as the test world clashes with the associate world. Yes that’s right; Bangladesh tours northern Europe with matches against Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.

Add in all the referrals to the various point’s tables and we’ll call it an episode worth watching.

Hi there and welcome to Adamski loves cricket and all the updates from just outside the test boundary. Let’s just say that I’m Adamski and press on with a pretty packed update.

Let’s start with the 4 day intercontental cup clash between the Netherlands and the visiting united Arab Emerits team.

You would have to say that the Dutch start this match as favourites not just for having home advantage but for coming off a rich run off success in the CB40 domestic series in England (in which they compete). They have developed a strong unit of talented cricketers that are all in good form and look fiercely determined to move up the points table and in the ranking in all forms of cricket at every level. They will also be desperate to move away from the congested middle of the table and start working their way away from the pack and start chasing down the pack leaders, or more likely the pack 2nd and 3rds as Ireland have an almost unassailable lead in this I-cup competition.

A quick glance as to how the points are distributed before the start of this match shows Ireland way out in front with 67 points, Scotland and Afghanistan trail 20 odd points behind in 2nd and 3rd respectively with only 2 points between the two of them but our attention is drawn to the battle for 4th place and the fact that there is only 1 point between 4th placed U.A.E. and 7th placed Kenya. And with The Netherlands and U.A.E. tied on 23 points each the battle is to move clear of the middle of the pack, claim 4th place as their own and put as much distance between the rest of the pack as possible. Claiming the full 14 points available for an outright win will put either of these teams within challenging distance of 2nd and 3rd place.

Points table for matches completed by 12 Jul 2012

Teams
Mat
Won
Lost
Tied
Draw
Aban
Pts
Quotient
For
Against
Ireland
4
3
0
0
1
0
67
1.554
1414/49
1430/77
Scotland
4
1
0
0
2
1
46
1.263
1377/38
1205/42
Afghanistan
4
2
0
0
2
0
44
0.916
1475/62
1663/64
United Arab Emirates
3
1
1
0
1
0
23
1.174
1760/58
1267/49
Namibia
3
1
1
0
1
0
23
0.977
1444/46
1607/50
Netherlands
3
0
1
0
1
1
23
0.959
667/28
671/27
Kenya
3
0
2
0
0
1
22
0.668
603/39
879/38
Canada
4
0
3
0
0
1
10
0.542
1299/60
1317/33

 

Alas, both these nations aren’t just battling each other but are also battling the awful summer weather that Europe has been experiencing. So many washouts this summer with games shortened, matches abandoned and grounds flooded means that this 4 day encounter is almost guaranteed to be affected too.

And it is, right from day one as only 37 full over’s are able to be completed on the first days play.  U.A.E. won the toss and chose to bowl, the first wicket coming in the 10th over of the day as De Bruin is caught for 8. This brings the Dutch captain, Michael Swart, to the crease and he combines in a 64 run partnership with opener Wesley Barresi whose half century includes 9 boundaries is the highlight of day one. Barresi is out soon after reaching his milestone caught of the offspin bowling of Tauqir for 52. Tauqir also managed to claim the wicket of Swart LBW for 33 later in the day to leave the Netherlands at 118 / 3 and claim some momentum for the U.A.E. before the rain set in for the shortened day.

Day 2 is a complete washout with no let up in the weather conditions and, disappointingly, the prospects of either team pushing for an outright victory now seems slim.

Play resumes on day 3 and the Dutch 4 wicket partnership between Szwarczynski and Bashir produces 107 runs before Szwarczynski falls short of his half century, bowled for 44. Bashir pushes on and produces his century in his debut first class game becoming the first Netherlands batsman to do that feat. He is out soon after for 102 LBW to the medium fast bowling of Javed who is the best of the U.A.E. bowlers who goes on to spark a lower order batting collapse in the Dutch ranks (they lose 5 wickets for 19 runs) and ends up with figures of 4 wickets for 49 runs of 21.5 over’s.

A tale wag from the Dutch #11 batsman, Braat, also making his debut, with his quick fire 23 pushes the Dutch total up to 308.

The U.A.E. batsmen seem determined to stick around but not necessarily push for a victory or even 1st innings points as they stone wall the Dutch bowling. Neither the less the Dutch attack claim both openers by the 27th over to have the U.A.E. 49/2. By the end of the days play 41 over’s had been sent down by the Netherlands attack and had managed to restrict the U.A.E. to 74 runs at a run rate of a mere 1.8 per over (compared to the Dutch 3.11 p/over) the pinnacle of the stonewalling coming from Shalman Anwar whose 20 runs come off 81 deliveries but still manage to contain four 4’s !!!

Day four is another washout. The frustrating weather has ruined any chance of either team pushing for victory or even for 1st innings points. The amount of rain interruptions incurred during this match means that the points are shared at 7points each for the rain affected draw.

The upshot of this means that now both teams are still mid table both on 30 points each. Neither having managed to launch a serious challenge to Scotland /Afghanistan in 2nd/3rd place nor putting enough distance between Kenya or Namibia who both have a game in hand yet to play when they play each other in the near future.

 

 

    Points table for matches completed by 19 Jul 2012

Teams
Mat
Won
Lost
Tied
Draw
Aban
Pts
Quotient
For
Against
Ireland
4
3
0
0
1
0
67
1.554
1414/49
1430/77
Scotland
4
1
0
0
2
1
46
1.263
1377/38
1205/42
Afghanistan
4
2
0
0
2
0
44
0.916
1475/62
1663/64
United Arab Emirates
4
1
1
0
2
0
30
1.145
1834/60
1575/59
Netherlands
4
0
1
0
2
1
30
0.999
975/38
745/29
Namibia
3
1
1
0
1
0
23
0.977
1444/46
1607/50
Kenya
3
0
2
0
0
1
22
0.668
603/39
879/38
Canada
4
0
3
0
0
1
10
0.542
1299/60
1317/33

 

After the I-cup round in Deventura the action moves to Rotterdam and the focus moves to the one day arena of the WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE  ... CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!

A quick look at the points table before this series begins shows ...

Points table for matches completed by 12 Jul 2012

Teams
Mat
Won
Lost
Tied
N/R
Pts
Net RR
For
Against
Ireland
8
6
1
0
1
13
+1.187
1594/330.2
1203/330.4
Scotland
8
5
2
0
1
11
+0.250
1350/302.1
1306/309.4
United Arab Emirates
6
5
1
0
0
10
+0.184
1151/279.2
1122/285.0
Afghanistan
8
3
4
0
1
7
-0.680
1214/307.3
1339/289.2
Netherlands
6
3
3
0
0
6
+0.373
1198/254.2
1208/278.3
Kenya
6
2
4
0
0
4
-0.250
1115/270.4
1174/268.4
Canada
8
1
6
0
1
3
-0.862
1226/311.5
1454/303.2
Namibia
6
1
5
0
0
2
-0.318
1076/259.0
1118/250.0

 

Ireland out in front with 13 points but this lead is nowhere near as secure as their lead in the I-cup format as with 2 points per victory handed out to winning teams it is possible that the U.A.E. could jump from 3rd place to 4th during these two games against the Dutch. As for the Netherlands, their mid table ranking does not credit the talent that their nation possesses and is not becoming of an associate nation with 4 world cup visits to their credit.

Sleeping giants

Several senior players retired -Tim De Leede – Baz Zuiderent – Ryan Ten Deschate plying his trade as a professional t-20 player around the world ... the make up of the team has changed drastically over recent times.

Rebuilding

There was a time, before the rise of Ireland and Afghanistan, where the dominant teams outside the test boundary were Scotland, the Netherlands and Kenya. While Kenya’s fortunes have taken a massive downslide in recent years and they are still waiting for the pendulum to swing back in their favour. Scotland and Netherlands rebuilding process has been also been tough but more stable and both seem to be cresting the pendulum upswing, coming  of age , ready to challenge the new pretenders to their rankings. Perhaps we will see a return to the heydays of Scotland losing to the Netherlands off the last ball of an extremely close and important fixture. Crushing hopes and dreams again. Ahhhh ... the good ol days !!!

Anyway, enough nostalgia.

 

But looking at the table, the Dutch could do Scotland some favours here by beating the U.A.E. and thus stalling the U.A.E. progress up the points table while dragging their own points tally closer to the middle/top of the table, getting them into a better position to challenge for one of the top two positions in this league. Remember that only the top two finishers in this league gain automatic qualification into the 2015 world cup held in Australia and New Zealand, so winning these matches won’t do the Netherlands any harm whatsoever.

 

And so we go off to Rotterdam for the first game of in this two game series.

Thankfully the game is not shortened by rain or the weather, but it is a short game thanks to some effective Dutch bowling from Bukhari who claims 4-32 and Van Der Gugten with 4-41 to leave the U.A.E. flaying to be all out in the 32 over of the 50 over match for a meagre 96 runs.

After the Netherlands won the toss and chose to bowl first Things started well for the U.A.E. with the opening partnership earning 25 but the breakthrough came from Bukhari in his 2nd over (the 4th of the match) and with Van Der Gugten taking 2 wickets in his 1st over the U.A.E. were never able to recover in any meaningful way. Rohan Mustafa top scored with a determined 41 from 81 balls but with wickets falling at regular intervals there was little he could do to effect a rally. The biggest partnership in the U.A.E. innings was between him and the number 11 batsman, Guruge which earn 30 runs (of which Guruge contributed precisely zero) before Mustafa’s wicket was claimed by Swart.

The U.A.E. claimed three Dutch wickets in the Dutch run chase but the total was never a challenge and Tom Cooper led the chase with a quick 37 of 35balls to ensure the Dutch claimed an easy 2 points for the victory. The run rate received a healthy boost too as the total was knocked over inside 22 over’s, something that may be all important as this league continues to be hugely contested and highly congested.

Game 2

The Dutch take a healthy amount of confidence back to Deventer for the 2nd game in this series and again it’s a rain free event. Perhaps the summer has finally arrived!

The Netherlands win the toss and choose to bowl first again. The decision looks a good one as Van Der Gugten traps Amjad Ali LBW in the first over for a duck to revive memories of the first match. This brought the U.A.E. captain, Khurram Khan to the crease who had other ideas and set about stabilising the innings. He joined in a 2nd wicket partnership of 119, his 71 coming off 85 balls. Haroon Iftikhar contributed 41 of 77balls however once they were dismissed Seelaar ( 3-44 )and Swart ( 2-36 ) kept taking wickets at regular intervals  to restrict U.A.E. to a gettable 221 from their full 50 over’s.

The U.A.E. claim first blood in the 7th over as Barresi is lbw for 17 runs with the total on 32. A 2nd wicket partnership of 70 between Bukhari and Swart steadies the chase and when their partnership comes to an end (both batsmen out 3 balls apart with Swart 2 runs short of his half century) the Dutch still look in a comfortable position. With the score on 162/3 in the 36th over the pendulum swings towards the U.A.E. as they take 4 wickets for only 18 runs to instigate a batting collaps and take back the advantage in this game.

Borren and Seelaar weren’t ready to concede defeat so easily though and kept cool heads while combining in a match winning 8th wicket partnership of 42. They milked the bowling, staying ahead of the required run rate despite not hitting any boundaries (besides the big 6 hit by Seelaar to win the match) with 1.2 over’s to spare.

And so the Netherlands claim another 2 points, another good win and a clean sweep in the series. Which means that the points table now looks like this ...

Points table for matches completed by 23 Jul 2012

Teams
Mat
Won
Lost
Tied
N/R
Pts
Net RR
For
Against
Ireland
8
6
1
0
1
13
+1.187
1594/330.2
1203/330.4
Scotland
8
5
2
0
1
11
+0.250
1350/302.1
1306/309.4
Netherlands
8
5
3
0
0
10
+0.643
1517/324.4
1525/378.3
United Arab Emirates
8
5
3
0
0
10
-0.185
1468/379.2
1441/355.2
Afghanistan
8
3
4
0
1
7
-0.680
1214/307.3
1339/289.2
Kenya
6
2
4
0
0
4
-0.250
1115/270.4
1174/268.4
Canada
8
1
6
0
1
3
-0.862
1226/311.5
1454/303.2
Namibia
6
1
5
0
0
2
-0.318
1076/259.0
1118/250.0

 

The Netherlands move into 3rd place above the U.A.E. due to a better run rate, (see, I told you it was important) and place themselves in a much better position to challenge for one of the top two places. They have also done Scotland a few favours by beating U.A.E. allowing Scotland to retain their 2nd place position (for the time being at least) but I’m sure this favour will be cashed in at a most inopportune moment for Scotland causing them to miss out on automatic qualification to the 2015 world cup by the smallest of heartbreaking margins possible. Call me a misanthrope but I can see it now. Everyone, beware of the stirring giants.

The big news for the north European Associate nations is the news that Bangladesh was committed to a short tour of Ireland to play some 20/20 matches in preparation for the world T-20 to be held in Sri Lanka in September. The tour was extended to include games against Scotland and The Netherlands in The Netherlands and it to this series that we turn our attention to in ...

“Worlds collide  ... when boundaries are crossed “

Let’s start at the beginning of the tour and Bangladesh arrive in Ireland for the 1st of 3 matches.

Ireland will be keen to push their international reputation further by proving they have what it takes to dine at the big table by beating Bangladesh and showing that the gap between them and the lower ranked full member nations is small and that they deserve a seat at the table, or at least, a bigger slice of the international pie.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, will be keen to show that they are no minnows and will want to put some distance between themselves and Ireland (and the rest of the emerging nations) by racking up some convincing victories and silencing their doubters.

The teams have met in this format of the game only once before in the 2009n world t-20 in England where Ireland chased down 137 to knock Bangladesh out of the competition.

But enough of history ... on to the game!!!

 

GAME ONE.

Ireland won the toss and sent Bangladesh in to bat on a good pitch in Stormont, Belfast. The start was delayed by 30min as the rain tried to ruin another fixture in an already wet and disappointing summer before the passing rain showers wandered off to cause some misery somewhere else.

Once they were in though the Bangladeshis showed that they meant business as a full strength side showed Ireland how to play international T-20. Two of Bangladesh most respected international stars lead the way, Tamin Iqbal with a run a ball 31, and Shakib Al Hasan with 57 from just 33 balls which included 9 boundaries. Even once both these batsmen were out the carnage didn’t stop. By the 15th over Bangladesh were 120/4 and then Ziaur Rahmin arrived at the crease. In 17 balls he had plundered 40 runs including five 6’s and helped the Bangladesh total reach 190/5 from the full 20 over’s as the Irish bowling struggled to save face. Boyd Rankin, Ireland’s fastest bowler and one England have hopes of poaching soon, looked match rusty but improved as the match progressed and ended with match figures of 1 for 30. The experienced Trent Johnston was the most economical with 0 for 23 from 4 over’s economy rate 5.75

Sorensen and Stirling both claimed 2 wickets each but with 42 runs and 38 respectively coming from their 4 over’s it was nothing to really shout about.

Irelands reply started well with their captain, Porterfield, keeping the run rate up at nearly 10 per over. The opening partnership of 32 is ended in the 4th over when he is stumped of the bowling of Abdur Razzak (the first of 2 victims for him) for 26 runs of only 16 balls including four 4’s and two 6’s. It’s the pressure of having to maintain a run rate of nearly 10 per over that has forced him into playing a rasher shot than normal and it’s this pressure that falters all the Irish batsmen, well, that pressure and some excellent bowling from the left arm spinner making his debut in international T-20, Elias Sunny. He claims 5 wickets in the match including Ed Joyce and Naill O’Brian to destroy Ireland’s hopes of competing in this match as they limp to 119/8 from their 20 over’s giving Bangladesh an emphatic 71 run victory.

Razzak’s figures of 2 for only 9 runs from his 4 over’s gives him the amazing economy rate of only 2.25 per over but its Sunny’s 5for13 that claims the man of the match award (Sunny’s economy rate of 3.25 is also not to be sniffed at.)

Elias Sunny also earns the interesting and unique record of becoming the first player to be named man of the match on debut in two different formats. His other man of the match award was for his debut in his first test match against the West Indies last month.

His 5for13 in this T-20 makes him the first Bangladeshi to take a 5for in T-20’s and only the 7th bowler to do it overall. He was on a hat trick in his first over having Ed Joyce caught on the square leg boundary and then Naill O’brian stumped next ball.

Simply by playing this game gave Bangladesh the minimum amount of games played to make it onto the rankings table. Ireland is still above them at the moment but that could all change dramatically next game.

Ireland must be scratching their heads as to what went wrong for them in this game. They can’t say they were underprepared as they’d been talking it up and preparing for weeks. Perhaps it was an off day for them or perhaps Bangladesh really is that much of a better team than them. They certainly seemed hungrier than Ireland. Lucky for Ireland there another game or two in this series to redeem themselves.

 

GAME TWO.

Bangladesh win the toss and choose to bat. Their unchanged side remains at full strength while the Irish side is missing Boyd Rankin with a side strain and Naill O’Brien due to lack of form. Andrew Poynter replaces him after a good showing in the world T-20 qualifiers and George Dockrell is back from under 19 duties. Bangladesh found the scoring tougher going this time as the Irish bowlers kept tighter lines. The pressure became too much for opener Tamin Iqbal and he was out going for a big swing for 0 from 9 deliveries in the 4th over, caught by a classic catch from Dockrell running backward over extra cover and taking a diving catch off Trent Johnston.

Johnston was, as usual, the tightest of the Irish bowlers giving away just 20 runs off his 4 over’s at an economy rate of 5. Iqbal was the only wicket he claimed though.

Mohammad Ashraful set about marshalling the middle order who threatened to look threatening but fell at regular intervals. His solid 38 of 46 gave Nasir Hossain the platform to launch into his 50 not out of 33 balls (with four 4’s and two 6’s) which in turn pushed Bangladeshis’ total to a solid 146/6 off 20 over’s thanks to his injection of excitement in the last few over’s.

Bangladesh open with spin hoping to choke the Irish batting as in the first match but the Irish openers get off to a fluent start pushing 31 runs off the first 4 over’s before Porterfield is run out after being sent back by Stirling attempting a 2nd run. When Stirling is bowled by Elias Sunny for 26 three over’s later there is a feeling that Irelands best chance has gone. Ed Joyce and Gary Wilson combine for a steadying 3rd wicket partnership of 55 at better than a run a ball before Sunny claims Wilson’s wicket, stumped attacking for runs. His 37 comes from 27 balls. Kevin O’Brien and Poynter come and go as the Bangladesh spinners strangle the runs as effectively as they failed to do so at the top of the innings. With 10 runs required off the final over Mahmudullah kept the pressure on and his first 3 deliveries cost only 2 runs and with his next two claimed the wickets of pointer then Joyce both caught at long on and long off respectively chasing the boundaries Ireland desperately needed to win.

Trent Johnston shows them how hitting the long ball is done and hits the final ball over the boundary for a 6 but it a fraction too late and Ireland lose this match by a single solitary one run.

While the Ireland camp put on a brave face their coach, phil Simmons says it was a better performance and were on top for 80% of the time but they lost the game in the last couple of over’s of each innings. This loss clearly stings Ireland as they know they should have won it and added another full member scalp to their cabinet that already includes England Pakistan and Bangladesh on two previous occasions.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, can’t be happy with the way things turned out despite the win as to gain the creditability they crave they need to avoid close finishes like this against lower ranked opposition and inflict more heavy defeats like in game one. There are positives for them as they gave Ireland a lesson in how to apply pressure during the death over’s and Elias Sunny was again the best bowler with figures of 2 for 18 off 4 over’s with an economy rate of 4.5 but the man of the match is awarded to Nasir Hossain for his swashbuckling 50 that saved Bangladesh’s blushes.

 

GAME THREE.

Ireland win the toss and chose to bat first. They go into the match with 2 changes. Tim Murtagh makes his debut in for Alex Cusack while Naill O’Brian is in for Ed Joyce. (Bit of a harsh change that one... top score in the previous match = get dropped for the next one!!! sometimes cricket is a harsh game. Oh well !!!)

Ireland get off to a good start and in the 9th over they are 2 for 71 before the 2nd wicket partnership of 46 between Porterfield and Naill O’Brian is brought to an end both losing their wicket in close succession. Irelands batsmen were guilty of getting good starts then getting out, usually to Mortaza who’s career best figures of 4 for 19 ensures the Ireland total was kept low, before the familiar middle order collapse ensures including Kevin O’Brians 2nd duck of the series. Trent Johnsons late innings blitz, hitting 24 off 14 deliveries propped Irelands total up to 140.

Wickets were the key to Ireland’s chance of winning this game and they needed to take them quickly. Unfortunately the Bangladesh openers had other ideas and in the 10th over Tamin Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful had set a record opening stand for their country of 62 runs. The first time a Bangladesh opening partnership has passed 50 in T-20 internationals Ashraful’s unnecessary attack on Mooney saw him out, caught on the long on boundary attempting to hit the spinner out of the ground brought about a batting collapse that lost 5 wickets for only 25 runs.

62 for no loss was soon 89 for 6 and Ireland felt the game was in their hands. That is until Mortaza took a liking to Dockrell’s last over smashing three 6’s from it, one which should have been caught by Kevin O’Brien on the boundary edge before he misjudged it and knocked it over the rope for a maximum.

Mortaza’s 30 came from just 13 balls and includes four 6’s but there was still work to do and runs to score when he was out, bowled by Kevin O’Brien (making up for that dropped catch ?), with just 7 balls remaining leaving the tail with 3 runs to win.

Once again the exceptional Trent Johnston is into the fray and he makes the Bangladeshis’ earn every run by applying the maximum pressure possible. But despite his best efforts which see him clam a vital run stopping wicket off the 3rd ball of the over, by the time the last ball is ready to be bowled the scores are level.

Elias Sunny, the outstanding bowler from the previous two games, is left to try and score the winning runs. All the Irish players are in close fielding positions... everything is close ... the pressure is on.

A scampered single ... a shy at stumps by Kevin O’Brien ... its close ... so close ... but not close enough ... and Bangladesh are through to victory by the narrowest of margins.

It’s another heartbreaking near miss to Ireland and one that the series score line, 3-nil to Bangladesh, doesn’t reflect justly.

Failing to show up for the first game of the series and getting blown away is one thing but not applying pressure for the right moments is where the remaining two close games were lost.

 The Ireland camp are heard to have said that inexperience is what cost them the series and there may well be a fair bit of truth in that statement. Ireland play far fewer T-20 than full members and this was their first home series in T-20 since 2008. Something that they hope to address with further funding from the ICC and also a more inclusive attitude from the full member nations.

The Bangladeshi coach, Richard Pybus, was reportedly realistic in victory saying that the 2 recent games were probably a better reflection of where both teams are........... (Wax lyrical / ad lib ) ... despite what the international rankings table says after these matches !!!

I won’t talk too much about the international rankings table because...

-          The volatile nature of the table.  (much like the volatile nature of the T-20 game itself)

-          -              Bangladesh weren’t even on the table due to not having played enough games within the designated period.

-          The table works on a different formula/format than the I-cup/WCL championship tables

-          -              Bangladesh is under no obligation to host Ireland for 3 T-20 matches in return.

 

However, it is worth mention briefly that Bangladesh; thanks to these 3-0 victories over Ireland have not just made it onto the ranking table but have moved all the way up into 4th position!!! This places them above teams like Australia and Pakistan and not far behind Sri Lanka and South Africa. Meanwhile Ireland has slipped down from 9th to 11th place of the ranking table.

Bangladesh leave Ireland and head over to the Netherlands for a one off game against Scotland and also a one off game against the Netherlands.

Scotland first and the weather in the Hague holds up and we get another uninterrupted game in.

Scotland wins the toss and choose to bat first. Openers MacLeod and Berrington get off to a solid start of 28 for the first wicket before Macleod is out stumped in the 4th over for 19 off 13 balls trying to keep the attack going. But it’s Berrington who is the star for Scotland. His shot selection is outstanding playing shots to all parts of the ground and his century comes in just 58 balls and contains ten 4’s and five 6’s. With his century Berrington not just ensures that Scotland reach a quality total of 162 but also writes himself a place in the record books as his is only the 7th century scored in international T-20 and the first ever by an associate player.

His dominance of the Bangladeshi bowling is highlighted by his 4th wicket stand of 68 in 7 over’s with Preston Mommsen during which Mommsen only managed to contribute 11 off 14 balls. But when someone is in such dominant form as Berrington was its better to just turn the strike over to them and watch them turn it on. Which is exactly what Scotland did.

Eventually Berrington is out in the 19th over trying to smash it out of the ground again but getting a leading edge instead and getting caught on the extra cover boundary by Mortaza of the bowling of Razzak.

Mortaza and Razzak are the best bowlers for Bangladesh with 2 for 22 and 2 for 32 respectively while the rest of the bowling chipped in with wickets to make sure that the 2nd highest score in Scotland’s innings was Macleod’s 19 at the top of the order.

Berringtons century dominates the score sheet as Scotland total is 162/7 from 20 over’s.

The Bangladesh run chase started well and was on pace at the end of the 6th over power play being exactly identical with Scotland’s effort at the same time of 47/2.

But the full strength team lacked anyone to lay a foundation to raise a challenge like Berrington did for the Scots and regular loss of wickets for the Bangladeshis after the loss of Tamin Iqbal in the 6th over, attempting an ill advised charge and big swing off the bowling of Davey saw him caught behind for 26 off 22 balls, saw the run rate increase, the pressure increase and wickets fall at regular intervals. The only resistance coming from Shakib Al Hasan who stuck around long enough to top score with 31 off 29 balls before holeing out in the 16th over. Davie and Haq take 3 for 23 and 3 for 27 respectively to end Bangladesh hopes as they stumble to 128 all out in the 18th over and Scotland record a historic victory, their first over a full member nation, by 34 runs.

After the match Scotland’s coach, peter Stiendl , praises the composure of centurion Richie Berrington and added that Scotland had set their sights on beating a full member nation over the last few years and felt confident that the dedicated group of his hungry for success young team could upset the Bangladesh applecart today.

It’s no surprise that Scotland are targeting full members, especially lower ranked ones like Bangladesh, as they, and indeed the other emerging nations similarly ranked as high performers outside the test boundary (teams like Ireland, the Netherlands and Afghanistan) attempt to get the ICC and the rest of the cricketing world attention and attempt to prove that the gap between them and the lower ranked full members is actually very small and more needs to be done to lift their cricket up to the same level as the test nations benefit from.

Bangladesh, for their part, must be desperate to show that they are worthy of their full membership as so many pundits and people are constantly calling into doubt.

Wins like this to Scotland and other associate nations enhance their cause while diminishing Bangladesh claims.

After this loss Bangladesh slipped down to 9th place on the ranking table. (And that’s a fair indication of how volatile the ranking table is for international T-20 actually is and why too much stock cannot be put into it !!!)

 

NETHERLANDS V. BANGLADESH.

GAME ONE.

Next it’s the Netherlands turn to test their skills against the Bangladeshis’.

The Dutch are coming into this game in a confidence high after a great start in the English pro40 tournament (having won 4 of their first 5 games)  plus  a good showing against the U.A.E. in the I-cup and their clean sweep against the same opposition in the WCL one day tournament. Now they turn their hand to the 4th format of cricket in two weeks.

The Netherlands win the toss and chose to bat. But things take a turn for the worst right from the start as Mortaza strikes in the first over to have Barresi bowled and again in the 3rd to have cooper caught at cow corner attempting to exploit the short boundary.

When Al Hasan claims Szwarczynski wicket the Netherlands are 3 for 14 in the 4th over and in danger of being blown out of the match. Borren’s needless and panicked run out in the 8th over threatens to undo some stabilising work by Swart whose 42 run partnership with De Grooth for the 5th wicket is the best of the innings. Swart eventually departs for 57 off 41 balls to be Al Hasan’s 2nd victim of the game in the 15th over. It’s thanks to his innings and some late lofty hitting from the tail that the Netherlands reach a total of 144/7 from their full 20 overs.

It’s a good recovery from their disastrous start but losing 3 wickets in as many over’s is always going to be hard to recover from but this total still looks 15 -20 runs short of par.

Early wickets are the order of the day if the Netherlands want to push Bangladesh in this match. Their chance comes in the first over when danger man, Tamin Iqbal, lofts an easy catch straight to Tom Cooper at extra cover that is ... simply ... dropped. It turned out to be a costly error as Iqbal went on to top score with 69 off 53 balls including five 4’s and two 6’s, although, he was quite cautious after his dropped chance, choosing to settle in and attack later. This may have given some hope to the Dutch as at the 10 over mark Bangladesh were 66 for 2 with 79 required off the final 10 over’s.

It was false hope for the Dutch though as Iqbal and Rahim, with 37 off 24 balls, loosened up hitting the boundaries regularly in a partnership of 82 including two 6’s off Bukhari to win the game in the 18th over.

Borren utilized 8 bowlers in a desperate attempt to change it up and keep the batsmen guessing but none of the bowlers walked away with figures to brag about, Swart being the most economical with only 20 runs coming off his 4 over’s to contribute e to a solid all-round performance from him but lack of penetration was the problem for all the Dutch bowling.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, looked back to showing the determination and fire that they needed to show in this clinical and professional looking victory.

ONTO GAME TWO OF THIS ONE MATCH SERIES!!!

A game that was hastily added to the schedule as this series was being played. And perhaps it’s a game that the Bangladesh management wished they hadn’t bothered to add it at all !!!

In the Hague again Bangladesh win the toss and chose to bad but things don’t go as planned for them as they lose Siddique in the first over for a duck, Al Hasan in the 2nd over also for a duck and Rahim in the 4th for only 2 runs to leave Bangladesh tottering at 3 down for 8 runs. As we saw in yesterday’s game when the Dutch had a similar disastrous start it’s very hard to recover in any sort of powerful way.

Tamin Iqbal and Mahmudullah do their best to steady the attack and their partnership is the best of the innings worth 62 for the fourth wicket brfore Mahmudullah’s 41 of 31 balls comes to an end in the 12th over.

Rahman is the 3rd of only three Bangladesh batsmen to make it into double figures, his 22 coming off 17 deliveries before being caught hitting high and wide, but not long, off the bowling of Van Der Gugten who ended with the best of the Dutch bowling figures with 3 for 18 from 4 over’s and an economy rate of 4.5

Iqbal was out almost immediately after scoring his 50, his 2nd in two games, and his wicket brought about a collapse as the tail failed to wag and 5 wickets went down for the addition of only 8 runs in the last 10 balls of the innings leaving Bangladesh with an immanently chase able total of all out for 128 off the full 20 over’s.

The Dutch reply gets off to a solid start before Barresi is bowled for 13 attempting to sweep Razzak in the 5th over. Cooper is out next over playing on attempting to drive Al Hasan down the ground. It’s left to Swart to guide the Netherlands through some tight bowling (none of the Bangladeshi bowlers economy rate is above 7 per over) and his 3rd wicket partnership with Borren of 34 is the best of the Dutch innings. Once Borren goes for 16 off 16 balls Swart is a lone force as partners fall all around him. Swart scores his 2nd half century in the series and his 61 comes from just 49 balls, but when he falls (stumped off a Mahmudullah slower ball) with the score on 7/112 there are still 17 runs to score off 13 deliveries and the game is in the balance.

A wicket 3 balls later for the addition of only 2 runs doesn’t help the Dutch cause and by the last over they require 10 runs from it.

With only 2 runs coming from the first three balls of the over things are tightening up again and then Gugten helps the cause by hitting a 6 off the 4th ball of the over to bring the Dutch just one run behind the Bangladeshi total and looks like being the hero for The Netherlands.

Unfortunately he’s out LBW next ball, trying to turn it to leg but getting through the shot too early, and the pendulum of the game swings again.

The last batsman comes out to face the last ball of the game needing two runs to win in his first ever batting experience for the Dutch national side.

The pressure is on the number 11 batsman, Jamil, as the Bangladeshi fielders surround him applying the pressure and stopping the single.

Razzak, the most economical of the Bangladeshi bowlers in this match runs in ... the fielders all move in with him ... the pressure is high ... only one more dot ball needed for a Bangladesh victory ... only one run required for a tie ... only two runs needed for a Dutch victory ... all results are still possible ... did I mention that the pressure is high ?

Razzak bowls, and Jamil coolly cuts the ball behind point, all the way to the boundary and the Dutch win the game off the last ball of the game with the last man in.

 Another close game on a tour that has been full of them. The Dutch team are ecstatic at their good showing and at holding their nerve in such a tight finish and now add Bangladesh to their list of full members they have defeated, a list that already includes England and a list that they intend to keep adding to, given a chance that is.

Bangladesh end on a downer.

And thus ends Bangladesh tour of north Europe. It’s clearly been a mixed tour for them with the odd good showing but too many games that were close, and crucially, too many defeats to nations outside the full member ranks.

The Bangladesh management try to spin the negative issues at play and in the days after the tour finishes it’s reported that the Bangladesh coach has said that the tour helped Bangladesh to learn how to win games.

Well, I’m sorry but no matter how you look at it, a tour that consists of one winning series (against Ireland), one lost series (against Scotland) and one drawn series (against the Netherlands) is NOT a successful tour in teaching you how to win. Especially considering the amount of games won or lost by one run! A test playing full member should be crushing these minor league nations without looking up to see how far in front they are or even breaking into a sweat. This only happened twice in six games. Of the remaining four matches 3 went right down to the last ball (winning 2 of them by one run and losing the other by one run), and also suffering a thumping loss to Scotland.

Yes, they won 4 out of the 6 matches played, 2 of them easily, and this is what the scorebook shows this must still be a disappointing result for a nation that is trying to put distance between itself and the emerging nations and trying to prove their worth to the cricketing elite by being one of the elite that their status as full member suggests they are.

They have done nothing to silence their doubters.

While the associate nations have plenty to fly their respective flags high for.

And the ICC has much to ignore.

 

This brings an end to this edition of Adamski loves cricket, it’s been packed and I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Join me next time when I’ll have updates from the Kenya v. Namibia clashes in both the intercontinental cup and the world cricket league championships plus a look at how the associate nations fare at the world T-20 in Sri Lanka

Until then, thanks for watching.

Bye.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8KnWizneDw