ICC World Cricket League Division One: Netherlands beat Canada by 7 Wickets
Netherlands completed an easy 7 wicket win (with 44 balls to spare) against Canada in their 3rd match of the ICC World Cricket League Division One.
Canada won the toss and chose to bat first at Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam; the weather was overcast and suitable for seam bowling. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Netherlands-c753 would have not complained on getting to bowl first on such favourable conditions.
Canada must have realised that the decision to bat first was not exactly the correct one; Hiral Patel and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rizwan-Cheema-c2328 opened the batting but could not even get a single ball in the middle of the bat in the first couple of overs. Two edges down to the 3rd man got them their only boundaries in the initial overs. Cheema was the first one to go; he was caught by Peter Borren off the bowling of Mudassar Bukhari for just 5 runs from 10 balls, with a single boundary.
Patel and Geoff Barnett put on 17 runs for the 2nd wicket before Patel was sent back in the 7th over after scoring just 9 runs from 19 balls, with one boundary. He was caught by Borren (who seemed exceptional on the field) off the bowling of Mark Jonkman.
With http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ashish-Bagai-c46284 put together a good 3rd wicket partnership, and put on 38 runs in 9 overs.
Barnett was the next one to go after scoring 34 runs from 39 balls with 5 fours; he was stumped while trying to go for the big one against Bradley Kruger.
Zubin Surkari was in next, but failed to register a single run as he was run out from a direct throw from Tom Cooper. Canada were by then 63-4 in the 17th over.
From then on, the wickets started tumbling one after another for Canada. Bagai was the only man standing firm at the other end.
After Surkari, Bastiampillai came in and scored 9 runs from 18 balls with one six (he was claimed by Kruger in the 27th over), but after him, the next two batsmen failed to even get off the mark. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Bhatti-c94598 was caught leg before by the same bowler.
Finally, Bagai had some support and it came from number 9 Calvert Hooper. The pair put on 49 runs for the 8th wicket before Hooper was dismissed for 27 runs from 42 balls, with 4 fours and a six.
And soon after, Bagai’s vigilant inning also came to an end; he was caught behind off the bowling of Kruger after scoring 71 from 132 balls with 7 boundaries. Canada were eventually all out for 168 in the final over.
The target was believed to be a very modest one, and Netherlands had fancied their chances of overhauling the target with ease.
However, they lost the first wicket early, when Tom de Grooth was trapped leg before by Hooper in the 2nd over. Grooth scored just one run from 5 balls. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Cooper-c51561 then joined Szwarczynski in the middle.
The pair played some good drives in front of the wicket as the Canadian bowlers pitched the ball full looking for swing, but by the 2nd innings the conditions had got better and there was not so much swing in the air. Eric Szwarczynski in particular was in good nick, he played some good cuts and pulls square off the wicket, including a big six he hit off Hooper when he tried to pitch the ball short.
The partnership was finally broken when Cooper was dismissed after scoring 39 runs from 58 balls with 5 fours. He was stranded down the wicket while going for a big shot; Bagai stumped him off the bowling of Harvir Baidwan.
Next man in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wesley-Barresi-c96487 could not open his account and was cleaned up by Baidwan. Bas Zuiderent then joined Szwarczynski and led the team to the target.
Netherlands got home with 7 wickets in hand and more than 7 overs to spare. Eric Szwarczynski was declared man of the match.
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