Openers Arshad Ali and Mohamamd Iqbal stroked superlative centuries to steer United Arab Emirates (UAE) to a comfortable 67-run victory over Oman in the final of the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek, Namibia on Sunday.
Former captain Ali scored 133 while Iqbal hammered 111 as the UAE posted 347-8 after being put into bat. Oman fought gallantly but lost wickets at crucial stages before being bowled out for 280 with more than six overs to spare.
In the 3rd/4th position play-off match at the United Cricket Ground, hosts Namibia defeated Denmark by four wickets while Uganda beat Argentina by 181 runs at the Centre for Cricket Development to finish fifth in the six-team event.
By virtue of a top-four finish, the UAE, Oman, Namibia and Denmark qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (formerly ICC Trophy) while Uganda and Argentina were relegated to Division 3. However, Uganda and Argentina will have a second chance to qualify for the 2009 event in the UAE when the ICC WCL Division 3 is staged in January 2009.
In the showpiece match of the day, Saqib Ali’s men went on a run-riot and as a result avenged for Saturday’s 25-run defeat to the same opposition. Ali and Iqbal laid the foundation of a mammoth total when they put on 200 runs for the opening partnership in 29 overs.
The stand was broken when Iqbal returned to the dressing room after playing a whirlwind knock of 111 that came off 82 balls and sparkled 12 boundaries and six sixes.
After Iqbal’s departure Ali held the innings together and made sure his team reached a position from where it could dictate terms.
Ali, later adjudged man of the match, perished in the last over of the innings after scoring 133 that came off 145 balls and included 10 fours and two sixes. It was Ali’s second century of the tournament as he finished as the second leading run-getter behind Namibia’s Gerrie Snyman with 443 from five matches. Snyman, who hit two centuries, scored 588 runs from one more match and also took 10 wickets against Ali’s 15.
In turn, Oman, the only affiliate team in the field, made a valiant effort to protect its previously unblemished record in the competition but was unable to break the UAE’s shackles who backed up the impressive batting display with some sharp fielding and accurate bowling.
Left-arm spinner Khurram Khan bowled with a lot of variation to grab 3-42 while pace duo of Amjad Javed and Javed Ismail shared four wickets between them to keep the Oman’s progress in check.
For Oman, opener Zeeshan Siddiqui followed up his 3-66 with an attractive 50-ball 66 that laced eight boundaries and three sixes while Sultan Ahmed chipped in with 62 from 66 balls with seven boundaries.
At the United Cricket Ground, Namibia shrugged aside the disappointment of not qualifying for the final in its backyard by finishing the tournament with a four-wicket victory over Denmark.
Snyman was once again the star of Namibia’s victory as he scored yet another blistering innings. His 71 runs came off 68 balls and included eight boundaries and two sixes. However, Dawid Botha won the man of the match award for his effort of 58 as the home team achieved the target of 221 with more than eight overs and four wickets to spare.
At the Centre for Cricket Development, opener Joel Olweny hit a superb century and put on 176 runs for the third wicket with Nand Patel to help Uganda score 335-7 against Argentina. Olweny struck 17 boundaries in his 130-ball innings while Patel scored an 82-ball 79 with nine fours and a six.
Kenneth Kamyuka effectively used the long-handle in the death overs and clobbered six sixes and two fours in his 20-ball 57.
The target proved to be too stiff for the Argentineans who were bowled out for 154 despite Donald Forrester hitting 71 from 80 balls with five boundaries.
Frank Nsubuga was the pick of Uganda bowlers with 4-39 while Kamyuka bagged 3-44.
UAE: 347-8 in 50 overs (Arshad Ali 133, Mohammad Iqbal 111, Syed Ali 4-63, Zeeshan Siddiqui 3-66)
Oman: 280 in 43.2 overs (Zeeshan Siddiqi 66, Sultan Ahmed 62, Hemin Desai 40, Syed Ali 37 not out, Hemal Mehta 31, Khurram Khan 3-42, Amjad Javed 2-33, Javed Ismail 2-69)
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Denmark: 220-8 in 50 overs (Carsten Pedersen 46, Frederik Klokker 43, Deon Kotze 2-35, Kola Burger 2-49)
Namibia: 221-6 in 41.2 overs (Gerrie Snyman 71, Dawid Botha 58, Raymond van Schoor 36, Thomas Hansen 2-27, Bobby Chawla 2-36)
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Uganda: 335-7 in 50 overs (Joel Olweny 126, Nand Patel 79, Kenneth Kamyuka 57 not out, Diego Lord 3-45, Matias Paterlini 2-46)
Argentina: 154 in 35.5 overs (Donald Forrester 71, Frank Nsubuga 3-49, Kenneth Kamyuka 3-44, Davis Arinaitwe 2-27)
© ICC
