ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019: Day 10 - Round Up

Papua New Guinea and Ireland have qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2020 after finishing top of their respective groups in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier. Victory over Kenya, combined with later results, proved enough for PNG to reach the ICC T20 World Cup for the first time in their history.

Ireland, meanwhile, progressed courtesy of results elsewhere going in their favour, with Jersey defeating Oman on the final day of group-stage action. As well as reaching next year’s showcase, both sides will also progress to the semi-finals of the Qualifier, where they play the winners of the two semi-final play-offs.

The first of those will see Netherlands, who finished second in Group A, face UAE as the third-ranked team in Group B. The winner of that match will face Ireland while they will also qualify for next year’s World Cup. The other semi-final play-off will see Namibia face Oman, after the two finished third in Group A and second in Group B respectively. PNG await the victors, who will also reach Australia 2020.

Scotland and Hong Kong, who finished fourth in their respective groups, will now take part in the fifth-place play-off semi-finals. There they will face the defeated side in each of the semi-final play-offs, with the winner in each match also qualifying for the T20 World Cup.

PNG fight back to beat Kenya by 45 runs

PNG have reached an ICC global event for the first time but it needed a huge fightback in their 45-run victory over Kenya to seal their place. Batting first, PNG were struggling at 19 for six with Emmanuel Bundi (four for 18) ripping through the line-up with just four overs on the board.

But the lower order fought back, Sese Bau (17) laying the platform before Norman Vanua, batting at eight, struck 54 from 48 balls to guide PNG to 118 all out. They still needed to bowl well from the outset and they did, with Vanua (two for 19) then delivering with the ball to dismiss Dhiren Gondaria in the first over of the chase.

Kenya kept fighting with their other opener Irfan Karim (29) top scoring with the bat. But regular wickets derailed their chase, Assad Vala finishing with three for seven from his four overs while Nosaina Pokana (three for 21) cleaned up the tail to bowl Kenya out for 73.

The win on its own was not enough for PNG to clinch top spot, but their progression was secured later in the day when Netherlands fell short of overtaking the table-toppers on net run rate.

Hong Kong ease past Nigeria by five wickets

Hong Kong’s bid for the T20 World Cup is firmly alive – but they faced a nervous wait after overcoming Nigeria early in the day. Nigeria had gotten away nicely when batting first with Sulaimon Runsewe (17) and Daniel Ajekun (14) putting on 30 for the first wicket.

But from there Hong Kong’s bowlers came into their own, with Aizaz Khan (two for five), Mohammad Ghazanfar (two for 11) and Waqas Barkat (two for 13) restricting them to 81 for eight from 20 overs. Hong Kong started the chase in quick fashion with 25 coming from the first two overs, though they also lost Nizakat Khan for a nine-ball 21.

Cameos from Kinchit Shah (25) and Haroon Arshad (17 not out) proved enough to reach 82, however, prevailing by five wickets with almost 13 overs remaining. The large margin of victory proved invaluable, with net run-rate giving Hong Kong the last play-off spot ahead of Canada after they were defeated by UAE in the final group-stage match.

Jersey strike late to beat Oman by 14 runs

Oman knew victory in their final game would guarantee them a place at Australia 2020 but they fell narrowly short with a 14-run defeat to Jersey. Three wickets in Dominic Blampied’s first over proved a major blow for Oman, sat at six for three in their attempted chase of 142.

Captain Zeeshan Maqsood steadied the ship with a half-century but three wickets in three overs for Elliot Miles (three for 22) turned the tide back Jersey’s way as they edged the thriller. Their early batting effort hinged on the openers, with Nick Ferraby (41) and Nick Greenwood (22) putting on 60 for the opening wicket.

Four quick Mohammad Nadeem wickets then threatened their bid for a competitive score but their 141 for seven total proved enough to earn an impressive third win of the competition.

Netherlands hunt down Scotland in four-wicket win

Netherlands’ bid for Group A top spot may have fallen short but they ended the group stage in impressive fashion with a four-wicket win over Scotland. Scotland were looking in good shape after being asked to bat first with captain Kyle Coetzer (17) and top-scorer Matthew Cross (52) assured in reaching 56 for one.

Regular wickets thwarted their bid for a strong total, however, with Brandon Glover (two for 28) and Pieter Seelaar (two for 12) part of a strong Netherlands effort that saw all six bowlers used take at least one wicket. The Dutch chase of 131 started poorly with Tobias Visee and Max O’Dowd both dismissed within four overs, keen to force the chase as they needed to reach the target within 12.3 overs to overtake PNG atop Group A.

The experience of Ben Cooper (21) and Colin Ackermann (22) stemmed the early loss of wickets before Ryan ten Doeschate’s 51 not out from just 35 balls saw Netherlands win the game with 18 balls to spare. They’ll be joined in the play-offs by Scotland, who finished fourth in Group A and will now get themselves prepared for the fifth-place play-off semi-finals.

UAE hold off Canada by 14 runs

UAE secured their spot in the play-offs by recovering from a slow start to ease past Canada by 14 runs. Two wickets in the first seven balls marked a tough start for the hosts with Rohan Mustafa and Chirag Suri falling to leave them at six for two. But an emphatic 89 not out from Muhammad Usman – his best T20I score and the joint highest of this ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier – helped UAE to 154 for five, despite Saad Bin Zafar’s three wickets.

Canada’s chase started positively with Srimantha Wijeyeratne (21) and Nitish Kumar (11) helping bring up the 50 with just one wicket lost, knowing they needed to win to reach the next stage. But when captain Navneet Dhaliwal (41) fell to Waheed Ahmed (three for 21), Canada struggled to keep up with the rate, even with a late flourish from Ravinderpal Singh (15).

Brief Scores of ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 Day 10 matches

PNG beat Kenya by 45 runs, Dubai International Cricket Stadium

PNG 118 all out, 19.3 overs (Norman Vanua 54; Emmanuel Bundi 4-18, Collins Obuya 2-17)
Kenya 73 all out, 18.4 overs (Irfan Karim 29; Assad Vala 3-7, Nosaina Pokana 3-21)

Hong Kong beat Nigeria by five wickets, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi

Nigeria 81-8, 20 overs (Ademola Onikoyi 18; Aizaz Khan 2-5, Mohammad Ghazanfar 2-11)
Hong Kong 82-5, 7.1 overs (Kinchit Shah 25, Nizakat Khan 21; Daniel Ajekun 1-5)

Jersey beat Oman by 14 runs, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Jersey 141-7, 20 overs (Nick Ferraby 41, Nick Greenwood 22; Mohammad Nadeem 4-23)
Oman 127-9, 20 overs (Zeeshan Maqsood 56; Elliot Miles 3-22, Dominic Blampied 3-27)

Netherlands beat Scotland by four wickets, Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Scotland 130-8, 20 overs (Matthew Cross 52; Pieter Seelaar 2-12, Brandon Glover 2-28)
Netherlands 131-6, 17 overs (Ryan ten Doeschate 51 not out; Mark Watt 3-18)

UAE beat Canada by 14 runs, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

UAE 154-5, 20 overs (Muhammad Usman 89 not out, Rameez Shahzad 27; Saad Bin Zafar 3-21)
Canada 140-5, 20 overs (Navneet Dhaliwal 41, Nicholas Kirton 37 not out; Waheed Ahmed 3-21)