ABU DHABI 17 October 2019: The UAE cricket team have secured their second win in the warm-up games ahead of the T20 World Cup qualifiers by beating Papua New Guinea in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The qualifiers will begin Friday, as the UAE are expected to enter the games with high spirits, having beaten Scotland on Monday, and being the host. Only six top teams from the qualifiers will compete in the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.
The UAE 193/4 (20 overs) have beaten PNG 178/7 (20 overs) by 16 runs at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. The host turned on the after-burners in the second half of their batting display first up to rocket themselves to 193/4. Mohammed Usman started the fireworks by notching a rapid 60 off 33 balls before retiring, but even he was outshone by Waheed Ahmed’s antics at the end – blasting 36 off just 11 balls including 4 sixes and 2 fours.
PNG gave a fairly good account of themselves in the chase with Sese Bau top scoring with 40 off 30 balls, but in the end the target remained just out of reach and the home side ended up winners by 16 runs, said Wam.
Namibia 97/2 (10.1 overs) have beaten Nigeria 96/9 (20.0 overs) by eight wickets at ICC Academy 2, Dubai. In the first game of the day, Namibia won the battle of the African nations easily in the end, but it was a case of what might have been for the Nigerians.
The lowest-ranked side in the tournament got off to a decent start in their innings, with openers Ajeku (16) and Oyede (35) taking them to 55/0 after 9.2 overs. But from there the wheels fell off somewhat and they crumbled to 96/9 by the end of their 20 overs. Namibia then chased the target of 97 within 10.1 overs with Davin top scoring on 33.
Scotland 210/8 (20 overs) have beaten Ireland 209/9 (20.0 overs) by one run at Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi. Scotland took out the win over their European neighbours Ireland after the most dramatic of yesterday’s finishes in Abu Dhabi. Ireland needed just two runs off the final two balls to chase down a huge target of 211, but managed to lose wickets off both to hand the Scots the win by one run.
Oman 164/5 170/6 (19.4 overs) beat the Netherlands 169/3 (20.0 overs) by four wickets at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. More last-over drama saw Oman edge out the Netherlands by four wickets with just two balls to spare. The Dutch, batting first, set a decent total of 169 off the back of Ben Cooper’s 60 off 47 balls and Ryan ten Doeschate’s (36 off 15 balls) late flurry of boundaries.
Oman timed their chase perfectly, though, with major contributions from Jatinder Singh (64 off 43) and Khurram Ali (21) before Khurram Ali (23) and S Goud (16) saw them home.
Meanwhile, Canada 191/8 (20 overs) beat Kenya 165/8 (20.0 overs) by 26 runs at ICC Academy 2 in Dubai. The Canadians never looked in danger in this contest. Batting first, they notched up a challenging total of 191 on the back of significant knocks by Nicholas Kirton (61 off 48 balls) and captain Navneet Dhaliwal (46 off 27 balls). Kenya chipped in with eight wickets (2 each for Otieno and Ngoche) but could not control the Canadian run-rate.
In reply, Kenya made a decent fist of a tough target but were never quite within reach. Opener Obanda was their top scorer with 46 off 34 balls, with Jeremy Gordon the pick of the Canadian bowlers with 3/27.
Jersey 116/4 (19.1 overs) beat Singapore 112 all out (20.0 overs) by 6 wickets at Dubai International Stadium, with a low scoring affair that saw Jersey edge past their Asian opponents to record their second win in the warm-ups. The Jersey team restricted Singapore to 112 in the first innings on the back of three wickets by Julius Sumrauer and two each for Dominic Blampied and Anthony Hawkins-Jay.
Jersey made slightly heavy weather of their low chase, but got to the target with five balls to spare. Nick Greenwood was the pick of the batsmen with 46 off 43 balls.
Lastly, Hong Kong 160/5 (20 overs) beat Bermuda 136/8 all out (20.0 overs) by 24 runs at Dubai International Stadium. In the first innings, Hong Kong lost skipper Aizaz Khan for one in the second over, but consolidated with a top-scoring knock from Kinchit Shah (48 off 35) before he became the first of two wickets for Bermuda all-rounder Kamau Leverock. Waqar Barkat then contributed 33 before Haroon Arshad gave the innings a turbo-charged finish with 13 runs off the final three balls.
