Sultan named Oman Cricket skipper for ACC Trophy in Kuwait
Experienced cricketer Sultan Ahmed has been named captain of Oman Cricket for the ACC Trophy Elite 2010 50-over-a-side tournament to be held in Kuwait from March 31 to April 9. According to OCC official Madhu Sampat, Sultan will lead Oman Cricket for the first time in the absence of Hemal Mehta. Sultan had been Hemal’s deputy for the past several tours. Hemin Desai will be Sultan’s deputy. The team holds immense experience in international cricket and most of the players have represented Oman in several ACC tournaments. Oman has been placed in Group A alongside Hong Kong, Nepal , Singapore, and Kuwait. The teams in Group B are UAE, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Bhutan. It may be noted that UAE and Afghanistan are placed in the same group while Oman in Group A has a relatively easier opposition. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the semifinals The problems for Oman, however are likely to crop up at the knock out stage if UAE and Afghanistan qualify from Group B as both these teams would pose strong opposition for the top two teams in the Group A. It may be recalled that in the recently held ACC Twenty20 tournament in the UAE, Afghanistan emerged champions while UAE was ranked second and by virtue of their positions, both the teams qualified for the qualifier rounds for the Twenty20 World Cup tournament to be held in the West Indies starting from April 30. Team Oman being ranked third in the ACC Twenty20 missed the bus. The qualifying tournament for entry into theTwenty20 World Cup was held in neighbouring Dubai where Afghanistan after wins over Ireland, Scotland, USA in preliminary rounds beat UAE in the semifinals in a low scoring match. Afghanistan then finished the tournament in style beating Ireland in the final by eight wickets to qualify for the Twenty20 World Cup tournament. This meant that they will clash against India on May 1 and against South Africa May 5 in Group C in the West Indies. If one is to dwell into the past , Oman Cricket’s performance in the ACC Trophy has been patchy. In the very first tournament in Singapore in 2002, Oman finished with only one victory, which was against Qatar. The next episode in 2004 was held at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia where Oman did well to reach the final to lose against UAE but qualified for the ICC Trophy 2005 tournament which was a qualifying tournament for entry into the 2007 World Cup. Hemin Desai was declared the Man of the tournament by claiming 21 wickets and scoring 186 runs. Again in 2006 at Kuala Lumpur the Oman team managed only a solitary win against Maldives due to which lost its place in the Elite group and was pushed down to the Plate group. But Oman made a gallant come back by winning the ACC Challenge Cup tournament in Thailand in January 2009 to secure its place in the Elite group by emerging champions. Tough outing Overall it is going be a tough venture for Oman Cricket into this tournament with UAE and Afghanistan being difficult opponents to encounter in the event. Oman Cricket will face Kuwait in the first game on April 1 at the Hubara ground followed by a match at the Unity ground against Nepal on April 2. On April 4, they take on Singapore at the Unity and Hong Kong on April 6 at the KEC ground. The two semifinals will be played on April 7. The final is scheduled for April 9. The team will be managed on the tour by Madhursinh Jesrani and coached by Mazhar Saleem Khan with Mohammad Aslam assisting him. Jaganathan Premnath of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex will travel with the team as the physio and Jamil Zaidi as the technical adviser.
The squad: Sultan Ahmed (Captain and wicketkeeper), Hemin Desai (vice captain), Rafeeq Mohammed, Yousuf Rahim Bakhsh, Sufyan Mehmood (all Omani Nationals), Adnan Ilyas Sulheri, Khalid Rasheed, Nilesh Parmar, Zeeshan Ahmed, Vaibhav Wategaonkar , Syed Tariq Hussain , Awal Khan, Amir Ali and Aamir Kaleem. (Reserves) Syed Maqsood Hussain, Haider Ali , Syed Qaim Hussain and Rashaad Mohammed.(Times of Oman)
OCC LEAGUE SCHEDULE
Oman finish third in ACC T20
TimesMonday, November 30, 2009 10:31:53 PM Oman Time
MUSCAT — Team Oman defeated Kuwait by 23 runs in the ACC T20 Championship played in Abu Dhabi to secure third place and book a berth in the 2010 Asian Games. In the final Afghanistan, who were the joint winners in the last edition with Oman, beat UAE to lift the trophy. Afghanistan and UAE too qualified for Asian Games. Batting first Oman found themselves in trouble losing both their openers in the first over itself bowled by Khalid Butt. Syed Maqsood and Vaibhav Wategaonkar, the latter playing only his second match tried stem the rot. Maqsood scored a quickfire 46 from 30 balls was caught off Mohammed Murad. Adnan Ilyas soon joined Vaibhav and then the runs started to flow. Adnan hit three sixes off Abdullah’s second over soon Oman looked like they were on course for a big total. Azmatullah accounted for Adnan (29) and Vaibhav (50) and that put the pressure back on Oman. Oman ended with the score on 171. Azmatullah (4 for 14) was pick of Kuwait bowlers. Kuwait in reply started in horror with Awal Khan taking two wickets in his first over. For Kuwait, Khalid But was the main stay scoring with 43 runs. Then Saad Khaild, who was the top scorer on 44, was bowled by Hemal Metha. Requiring 60 odds runs in four overs, Kuwait lost way to be 148 all out. Brief scores: Oman 171 for 9 in 20 overs (Vaibhav Wategaonkar 50, Maqsood Hussain 46, Adnan Ilyas 29; Azmatullah Mohammed 4-14, Mohammed Murad 2-27, Khalid Butt 2-27) beat Kuwait 148 all out in 18.4 overs (Saad Khalid 44, Khalid Butt 43, Awal Khan 4-45, Hemal Metha 2-20). Man of the match: Vaibhav Wategaonkar (Oman)
OMAN MOVES TO SEMIFINAL
26/11/09
Oman V/s Malaysia
Oman won by 35 runs
Malaysia 162 for 8 in 20 over
Oman 197 for 5 in 20 over
26/11/09
Oman V/s Malaysia
Oman won by 35 runs
Malaysia 162 for 8 in 20 over
Oman 197 for 5 in 20 over
OMAN SHINES AGAIN
24/11/09
MATCH Oman vs NEPAL
News Courtesy-Times of Oman
DUBAI — Oman continued their winning form after they beat Nepal by 12 runs in the ACC Twenty20 Championship at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium yesterday. Nepal electing to bowl first after winning the toss began aggressively after they claimed three quick Omani wickets for 21 runs. Syed Maqsood, Hemin Desai and Zeeshan Ahmed were dismissed cheaply but the fourth wicket partnership between Ghazanfar Iqbal and Adnan Ilyas steered Sultanate. Iqbal top scored with 37 runs while Adnan was dismissed for 12 runs. Iqbal then joined with Sultan Ahmed to add a partnership of 89 runs and take Oman to a commanding position. Requiring 113 runs to win, Nepal batsmen were dismissed early with Awal Khan providing the breakthrough in his very first over. Hemin Desai then continued his magical spell to claim two wickets in this third over with Nepal’s score reeling at 14 for 3 wickets. Gyandra Malla and Basant Regmi tried to dominate the Omani bowlers but in vain. Hemin Desai was declared the man of the match for taking three wickets. Four wickets Dipendra Chaudhary was the top bowler for Nepal claiming four wickets for 19 runs. “Hemin bowled brilliantly and I think he has come a long way. “It was a complete team effort from this side. “The way we played the last three games was outstanding. We are in a positive frame of mind,” said Dad Mohammed Al Balushi, the team manager. Oman who won all three matches is leading the group and will play Malaysia tomorrow at the same venue.
Oman: H. Desai run out 5 Syed Maqsood b Sakti 6 Z. Ahmed c Khadka b Kumar 5 G. Iqbal b Chaudhary 37 A.Ilyas b Sakti 12 S. Ahmed c Kumar b Regmi 23 H. Mehta b Chaudhary.......................2 S. Amir Ali run out...........................11 A. Khan lbw Chaudhary.....................1 S. Mehmood not out..........................3 Khalid Rasheed not out......................1 Extras: (lb2, w4) 6 Total (nine wkts) 112 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-17, 3-21, 4-56, 5-79, 6-89, 7-100, 8-101, 9-108 Bowling: Kumar 3-0-30-1, Sakti 4-0-22-2 , Regmi 4-0-6-1, Sanjan 4-0-24-2, Khadka 1-0-9-0, Chaudhary 4-0-19-4 Nepal: D. Chaudhary b Awal Khan 8 M. Alam c&b Hemin Desai 6 S. Vesawkar b Hemin Desai 2 P. Khadka c Sultan b Hemin Desai.... 0 G. Malla c & b Amir Ali 20 M. Kumar c Hemal b Zeeshan 9 B. Regmi st Sultan b Khalid 26 B. Bhandari c Hemal b Amir Ali.........3 S. Prasad c Adnan b Khalid................2 B. Kuma b Awal Khan......................21 Sanjan Regmi not out .......................0 Extras: (nb1, w3) 3 Total (all out)................................100 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-14, 3-14, 4-16, 5-31, 6-53, 7-67, 8-69, 9-97, 10-100 Bowling: Hemin 4-0-14-3, Awal Khan 4-1-16-2 , Hemal 3-0-19-0, Zeeshan 2-0-15-1, Amir Ali 3-0-16-2, Khalid Rasheed 3-0-20-2 Toss: Nepal Result: Oman won by 12 runs Man of the match: Hemin Desai Group A TEAM P W L Pts NRR Afghanistan 3 3 0 6 5.96 UAE 3 3 0 6 2.85 Saudi Arabia 3 2 1 4 0.02 Singapore 3 1 2 2 0.14 Hong Kong 3 0 3 0 -2.57 China 3 0 3 0 -5.71 Group B TEAM P W L Pts NRR Oman 3 3 0 6 2.31 Kuwait 3 2 1 4 2.70 Malaysia 3 2 1 4 0.29 Nepal 3 1 2 2 -0.49 Qatar 3 1 2 2 -1.36 Bahrain 3 0 3 0 -3.28
Oman win again
23/11/09
MUSCAT — Team Oman notched their second straight win of the Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 Championship at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Having trounced Bahrain in the opener, which saw Zeeshan Ahmed flourish with both bat and ball, Team Oman edged out Qatar yesterday by six wickets. The star and man of the match of the day was Adnan Ilyas, who stroked a breezy 75. Batting first Qatar went on to score 178 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Habib Zada 40 (33 balls, 1 six, 7 fours) and Tammor Sajjad 62 (38 balls, 3 sixes, 5 fours) were the main run-getters for Qatar. Hemin Desai with 2 for 28 form 4 overs and Awal Khan 3 for 50 shared the bowling honours. Chasing 179 to win Oman got off to a shaky start losing two wickets in the first two overs but thanks to a third-wicket partnership of 37 runs between Zeeshan and Maqsood, which came in less than four overs, the ship was steadied. Then followed another partnership of 40 runs between Maqsood and Adnan Ilyas for the fourth wicket, which helped put Oman climb back on track and to keep within striking distance of the target. Adnan, who has been performing consistently for the national team, once again came to the rescue with a match winning knock of 75 runs (40 balls, 6 sixes, 5 fours). Syed Maqsood, Zeeshan Ahmed and Sultan Ahmed all made useful contributions to the total. “I am extremely pleased in the manner in which the team performed in the first two matches and I hope they continue the same way,” said Dad Mohammed Al Balushi, the manager of the team. “Adnan Ilyas in particular has been very impressive in the last two matches and I hope he keeps up the momentum, of course I must even mention that Zeeshan Ahmed and Sultan Ahmed has been in good form and has supported the team with his useful contributions,” he added. Adnan was declared the man of the match for his match winning knock. Oman’s third match is today against Nepal at Sharjah. They also play Malaysia on Thursday.
Monday, November 23, 2009Qatar H. Zada c Maqsood b Zeeshan 40 U. Taj c Zeeshan b Hemin 18 T. Sajjad lbw Awal Khan 62 R. Ali st Sultan b Awal Khan 11 F.Noor c Iqbal b Awal Khan 8 S. Ahmad b Hemal 18 Z. Uddin run out................................7 Ameen Ullah not out 5 S. Badshah c Hemal b Hemin 0 S. Raheel not out...............................1 Extras: (b-0, lb-4, nb-0, w-4) 8 Total (for 8 wkts, 20 overs) 178 Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-73, 3-93, 4-117, 5-141, 6-166, 7-169, 8-169 Bowling: Awal Khan 4-0-50-3, Hemin Desai 4-0-28-2, Khalid Rasheed 4-0-38-0, Hemal Mehta 4-0-18-1, Zeeshan Ahmed 3-0-28-1, Amir Ali 1-0-12-0. Oman: H. Desai c Sardar b Ameer 0 S. Maqsood c Hussain b Sardar.. 36 G. Iqbal c Zada b Ahmed 2 Z. Ahmed run out 25 A.Ilyas c Sajjad b Noor 75 S. Ahmed not out 38 A. Ali not out......................................1 Extras: (b-0, lb-0, nb-1, w-1) 2 Total (for 5 wkts, 18.3 overs) 179 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-8, 3-45, 4-85, 5-175 Bowling: Ameen Ullah 2-0-19-1, Sajjad Ahmed 3-0-26-1, Sardar Badshah 2.3-0-24-1, Rusharat Ali 2-0-22-0, Syed Abbas Shah 2-0-17-0, Tamoor Sajjad 4-0-40-1, Faisal Noor 3-0-31-0 Result: Oman won by 5 wkts Man of the match: Adnan Illyas
DATE :- 22/11/09
1ST MATCH Oman V/s Bahrain
Zeeshan stars in Oman’s win
TimesSunday, November 22, 2009 11:33:13 PM Oman Time
MUSCAT — All-rounder Zeeshan Ahmed proved the match winner for Team Oman in the opener of the ACC Twenty20 Championship at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi yesterday. According to information received here, Oman trounced Bahrain by 108 runs in the match that was played in the morning session. Electing to batt, Oman amassed 219 for 5 in 20 overs, thanks to a stroke-filled knock of 55 by Zeeshan Ahmed. Zeeshan knocked of his score from 35 balls with four hits to the fence and one mighty six. Openers Hemin Desai (21: 12 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) and Syed Maqsood (18: 15 balls, 2 fours) started in a whirlwind fashion and later Ghazanfar Iqbal (34: 21 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) enhanced the pace of scoring. Other major contributions came from Adnan Ilyas (34: 16 fours, 3 fours, 2 sixes) and Sultan Ahmed (25 not out). In reply, Bahrain could managed only 111 for 7 in 20 overs. Brief scores: At Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi: Oman 219 for 5 off 20 overs (G.Iqbal 34, Z.Ahmed 55, A.Ilyas 34; S.Ahmed 2-43) beat Bahrain 111 for 7 off 20 overs (A.Shahzad 43*; Z.Ahmed 2-22) by 108 runs. Man of the Match: Zeeshan Ahmed (Oman). At Sharjah: UAE 219 for 5 (M. Iqbal 67, A.Javed 115: P.Raja 2-21) beat Singapore: 157 off 19.5 overs (B.Mendis 51, C.Ruwan 32; F.Ahmed 3-48, M.Tauqir 2-26, K.Khan 2-15, A.Raza 2-19) by 62 runs. Man of the Match: Amjad Javed (UAE) At Al Dhaid: China 37 off 17.5 overs (S. Zadran 2-11, H.Hassan 4-5, M.Nabi 2-2) lost to Afghanistan 40-1 off 4 overs (K. Sadiq 26*) by nine wickets. Man of the Match: Hamid Hassan. At Shaikh Zayed: Hong Kong 132 for 6 lost to Saudi Arabia 135 for 9 by one wicket. At Sharjah: Nepal 112 in 20 overs by one run lost to Malaysia 113 for 4 in 17.4 overs by six wickets
Oman won by 108 runs
Bahrain 111 for 7 in 20 overs
Oman 219 for 5 in 20 overs
Hemal to lead Oman in ACC T20
Times News Service
Monday, October 26, 2009 11:43:48 PM Oman Time
MUSCAT — The Oman senior national cricket team are gearing up to defend the ACC T20 Trophy, which they won jointly with Afghanistan in 2007, when the event was held in Kuwait. The event this year is scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates from November 22 to 30. Oman are placed in Group B along with Kuwait, Qatar, Nepal, Malaysia and Bahrain while Group A will have Afghanistan, hosts UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and China. The Oman team surely has the psychological advantage which will certainly play on the minds of the opposition teams in the tournament. Oman will be captained by Hemal Mehta, who will have wicketkeeper-batsman Sultan Ahmed as his deputy. The team also includes three Omani players Rafeeq Mohammed, Yousuf Rahim Bux and Sufiyan Mehmood with Shahjehan Sher and Mohammed Ballash as standby Omani players. The team will be managed on tour by Dad Mohammed Al Balushi, while Mazhar Saleem Khan will travel as coach and Mohammed Aslam as assistant coach. The physio on the tour will be Dr Mohammed Nabi Khan from Mumbai. Jamil Zaidi will be technical adviser of the team. Oman will play its first game of the preliminary rounds against Bahrain on November 22, followed by the match against Qatar and Nepal on November 23 and 24 respectively. Wednesday, November 25 is a rest day, after which Oman will play against Malaysia and Kuwait on November 26 and 27 respectively. November 28, will be a rest day after which the semifinals together with matches for fifth to 12th places will be played. The final together with the match for the third and fourth places will take place on Monday, November 30. The squad: Hemal Mehta (captain), Sultan Ahmed (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Rafeeq Mohammed, Yousuf Rahim Bux, Sufiyan Mehmood, Hemin Desai, Adnan Ilyas, Nilesh Parmar, Zeeshan Ahmed, Khalid Rasheed, Awal Khan, Syed Maqsood Hussain, Ghazanfar Iqbal, Syed Amir Ali. Standbys: Shahjehan Sher, Mohammed Ballash, Vaibhav Wategaonkar, Haider Ali and Ansar Raza Ansari.
MUSCAT — The Oman senior national cricket team are gearing up to defend the ACC T20 Trophy, which they won jointly with Afghanistan in 2007, when the event was held in Kuwait. The event this year is scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates from November 22 to 30. Oman are placed in Group B along with Kuwait, Qatar, Nepal, Malaysia and Bahrain while Group A will have Afghanistan, hosts UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and China. The Oman team surely has the psychological advantage which will certainly play on the minds of the opposition teams in the tournament. Oman will be captained by Hemal Mehta, who will have wicketkeeper-batsman Sultan Ahmed as his deputy. The team also includes three Omani players Rafeeq Mohammed, Yousuf Rahim Bux and Sufiyan Mehmood with Shahjehan Sher and Mohammed Ballash as standby Omani players. The team will be managed on tour by Dad Mohammed Al Balushi, while Mazhar Saleem Khan will travel as coach and Mohammed Aslam as assistant coach. The physio on the tour will be Dr Mohammed Nabi Khan from Mumbai. Jamil Zaidi will be technical adviser of the team. Oman will play its first game of the preliminary rounds against Bahrain on November 22, followed by the match against Qatar and Nepal on November 23 and 24 respectively. Wednesday, November 25 is a rest day, after which Oman will play against Malaysia and Kuwait on November 26 and 27 respectively. November 28, will be a rest day after which the semifinals together with matches for fifth to 12th places will be played. The final together with the match for the third and fourth places will take place on Monday, November 30. The squad: Hemal Mehta (captain), Sultan Ahmed (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Rafeeq Mohammed, Yousuf Rahim Bux, Sufiyan Mehmood, Hemin Desai, Adnan Ilyas, Nilesh Parmar, Zeeshan Ahmed, Khalid Rasheed, Awal Khan, Syed Maqsood Hussain, Ghazanfar Iqbal, Syed Amir Ali. Standbys: Shahjehan Sher, Mohammed Ballash, Vaibhav Wategaonkar, Haider Ali and Ansar Raza Ansari.
UMPIRE TRAINING COURSE PICTS HELD IN OCT 2009
Oman finish one up from the bottom
BY T.K. MohandossTuesday, April 14, 2009 1:12:42 AM Oman Time
AWAL Khan and Adnan Ilyas ensured that Denmark took home the wooden spoon with a five-wicket win in their final game of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2009 at the University ground yesterday. At last, Oman showed some resilience in their batting, and the result was a handsome win. The failing middle order has been Oman’s demon throughout the tournament, but it was good to see them finish one up from the bottom. The partnership between Adnan and Awal, in fact, set up the victory. One wondered had Adnan struck form much earlier, what would have been Oman’s story, but there is no point in crying over split milk.
Well he was indeed the man of the match. The chase for Oman began in a whirlwind fashion as opener Maqsood Hussein’s aggression brought 14 runs off four balls (1 four, 1 six) and in the fifth delivery of David Burchersen he top edged to be caught by Jacob Larsenn, who did well to judge the ball land into his hands well. The slogging start was definitely unnecessary, when the target was not that big. Better sense Zeeshan Siddiqui, who replaced Maqsood in the middle, too left fishing outside the off stump to be caught by Carsten Pedersen at slips. There was further disaster when new batsman Sultan Ahmed edged David to wicketkeeper Frederik Klokker. The question to be asked now is when will Oman learn to play normal cricket. Hemin Desai (23 off 22 balls, 3 fours and a six) too played a wreck less shot to be caught by Henrik Hasen at deep cover the benefiting bowler being Larsenn. However, better sense prevailed as Awal Khan and Adnan Ilyas, the latter not having done much with the bat, played with caution. Both the batsmen, especially Awal Khan picked the balls to be hit and kept his cool, when the Denmark spinners drew them to play the shots.
Awal’s fifty came in 57 balls with nine hits to the fence. Adnan brought the 100-run partnership for the fifth wicket with a mighty six over mid on (the ball needing replacement). That stroke also brought Oman’s 150 in 29 overs and Adnan batting on 46 and Awal on 63. It was nice to see Adnan, who reached his half-century with another six, getting back to form, but all this happened too late. Once again on chilly morning, Oman went in with an unchanged squad and Hemal Mehta’s luck with the coin persisted. This time around he decided to field. That decision seemed to be a good one as the Danes lost wickets at regular intervals and their only top scorer being Michael Pedersen who was caught brilliantly by Adnan for 72. Hemal Mehta finally stuck form when he claimed the fifth wicket of Jacob Larsenn.
Brief Scores: Denmark 220 all out in 48.2 overs. Michael Pedersen 72, Carsten Pedresen 29, Hemal Mehta 5/29, Haider Ali 2/45; Oman - 225/5 in 41.4 overs. Adnan Ilyas 89 not out, Awal Khan 69, David Borchersen 4/43. Oman beat Denmark by 5 wickets.
Oman end Uganda's WC dream
Wednesday, 8th April, 2009
Andrew Chappell ON a day when Uganda needed to win against Oman to ensure their progress to the Super Eight stage, they managed, again, to throw away a very commanding position, and without any answer to a hard hitting attack, lose the match. Having elected to bat–– quite sensibly–– on a hard and flat track in Pretoria, the revamped batting attack played with flair and purpose, and put on a lovely 298 runs, their highest score of the tournament. All of the batsmen used got into double figures with the exception of Junior Kwebiha who came in for a late cameo, and a score of 8 not-out. Benjamin Musoke made a comeback, smashing a useful 44 of 21 balls. The others, especially Olweny’s 85 all did a good job. At this point, the future looked bright and rosy. However, Oman have already taken apart more experienced bowling attacks than ours, with a very simple philosophy of hit hard and hit early. Against Ken Kamyuka and Asadu Seyiga they quickly took the aerial route and 33 runs came off the first two overs. Hitting as if this were a 20/20 match, the Omanis piled on the runs, until they were in such a position that they needed only 3 an over off the last 25 overs. A couple of catches were put down, and they do say “catches win matches”. It is to their credit that Oman batted so well, and one must salute their adventurousness. There is still much to play for, as a top-10 place shall continue Uganda’s much needed access to High Performance and Development funding. Uganda 298-5 in 50 Oman 302-9 in 37.1 Oman win by 1 wicket
Oman loses to scotland in a close match
World Cup qualifying Group AJohannesburgScotland 274-9 (K Coetzer 127, N Poonia 79) v Oman (M Hussain 70, Z Siddiqui 50, J Stander 4-41)Scotland won by nine runs
Scotland remain on course for the Super Eights following a dramatic nine-run victory over Oman in the World Cup qualifiers in Johannesburg.
Durham batsman Kyle Coetzer hammered a century as the Scots made 274 for nine in their 50 overs after being put into bat in their third Group A match.
But Oman gave their opponents a fright in a thrilling run chase that came up just short, thanks in part to the bowling of Jan Stander who claimed four for 41.
Coetzer arrived at the crease early in the innings after the loss of captain Ryan Watson for one, and when Gavin Hamilton fell for 12 the Scots were 23-2.
Match-winning stand
But Coetzer found an ally in Navdeep Poonia and the pair compiled what would prove a match-winning stand of 136 before the latter was bowled by Awal Khan having made 79 off 82 balls.
Zeeshan Siddiqui - who was the pick of the Oman bowlers with three for 64 - then scythed through the middle order, skittling Colin Smith (five), Neil McCallum (nine) and Moneeb Iqbal (one) inside nine overs.
Coetzer continued to score freely and found another partner in Stander, with the duo putting on 56 for the seventh wicket before Coetzer finally fell to Farhan Khan for 127 going for a big six in the penultimate over.
Calum MacLeod and Stander (27) were both run out in a frantic final over as Scotland added an impressive 44 runs in the last five overs.
Oman's reply got off to a blistering start thanks to ultra-aggressive opener Syed Maqsood Hussain, who helped them rack up 40 before three overs had been bowled.
Hemin Desai's departure - bowled by MacLeod in the fourth over - failed to deter Hussain (70), who smashed nine fours and three sixes off just 30 balls before his stumps were sent flying by Gordon Goudie.
Refused to buckle
His removal proved a timely one for the Scots, as Oman's run-rate plummeted although a stand of 71 between Siddiqui and Nileshkumar Parmar kept the underdogs in the hunt.
Stander got the wicket of Siddiqui and Adnan Ilyas (17) was run out by MacLeod before Parmar (37) was caught by Coetzer off the bowling of Stander, and Goudie trapped Awal Khan (four) lbw.
Stander bowled Sultan Ahmed (25) and also polished off Oman captain Hemal Mehta to leave Scotland's opponents on 236 for eight.
But Syed Amir Ali and Farhan Khan (seven) refused to buckle and the outcome was still in doubt until the final over.
Oman needed 15 to win but fell short, with Ali unbeaten on 31 alongside Syed Tariq Hussain (one not out).
Scotland remain on course for the Super Eights following a dramatic nine-run victory over Oman in the World Cup qualifiers in Johannesburg.
Durham batsman Kyle Coetzer hammered a century as the Scots made 274 for nine in their 50 overs after being put into bat in their third Group A match.
But Oman gave their opponents a fright in a thrilling run chase that came up just short, thanks in part to the bowling of Jan Stander who claimed four for 41.
Coetzer arrived at the crease early in the innings after the loss of captain Ryan Watson for one, and when Gavin Hamilton fell for 12 the Scots were 23-2.
Match-winning stand
But Coetzer found an ally in Navdeep Poonia and the pair compiled what would prove a match-winning stand of 136 before the latter was bowled by Awal Khan having made 79 off 82 balls.
Zeeshan Siddiqui - who was the pick of the Oman bowlers with three for 64 - then scythed through the middle order, skittling Colin Smith (five), Neil McCallum (nine) and Moneeb Iqbal (one) inside nine overs.
Coetzer continued to score freely and found another partner in Stander, with the duo putting on 56 for the seventh wicket before Coetzer finally fell to Farhan Khan for 127 going for a big six in the penultimate over.
Calum MacLeod and Stander (27) were both run out in a frantic final over as Scotland added an impressive 44 runs in the last five overs.
Oman's reply got off to a blistering start thanks to ultra-aggressive opener Syed Maqsood Hussain, who helped them rack up 40 before three overs had been bowled.
Hemin Desai's departure - bowled by MacLeod in the fourth over - failed to deter Hussain (70), who smashed nine fours and three sixes off just 30 balls before his stumps were sent flying by Gordon Goudie.
Refused to buckle
His removal proved a timely one for the Scots, as Oman's run-rate plummeted although a stand of 71 between Siddiqui and Nileshkumar Parmar kept the underdogs in the hunt.
Stander got the wicket of Siddiqui and Adnan Ilyas (17) was run out by MacLeod before Parmar (37) was caught by Coetzer off the bowling of Stander, and Goudie trapped Awal Khan (four) lbw.
Stander bowled Sultan Ahmed (25) and also polished off Oman captain Hemal Mehta to leave Scotland's opponents on 236 for eight.
But Syed Amir Ali and Farhan Khan (seven) refused to buckle and the outcome was still in doubt until the final over.
Oman needed 15 to win but fell short, with Ali unbeaten on 31 alongside Syed Tariq Hussain (one not out).
Ireland beats Oman by 116 Runs
by ET RIORDAN
Cricket : Kevin O’Brien bludgeoned a century and Regan West claimed a first international five-wicket haul as Ireland beat Oman by 116 runs to make it two from two in Group A at the World Cup qualifying tournament in South Africa today.
O’Brien hit an unbeaten 101 off 91 balls to help his side post a daunting 285 for four at Krugersdorp near Johannesburg, and shared in an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 174 with Andrew White, who finished on 71 not out.
The pair were particularly destructive in the last 10 overs, slamming the Oman attack for 107, with O’Brien moving from 50 to his century in just 23 deliveries, hitting five sixes and six fours in his knock.
Earlier, skipper William Porterfield had won his second straight toss and elected to bat. The Gloucestershire player failed to repeat his century-making heroics from yesterday’s victory over Scotland, falling for 32 after a first-wicket partnership of 65 with Gary Wilson.
Eoin Morgan also missed out this time, making just one, while Wilson fell just four short of a half-century. Niall O‘Brien chipped in with 20, but it was younger brother Kevin who took the plaudits with his third international century.
Oman lost their first five wickets for just nine runs in their opening loss to Canada, but they made a much better fist of it in their reply and had moved to 97 without loss after 16 overs as Ireland‘s seamers struggled.
The introduction of West turned the tide, the left-arm spinner taking three wickets in his first seven balls, while Eoin Morgan also contributed a run out as Oman stumbled to 103 for four.
The gulf state never recovered as West went on finish with five wickets for 26 from his 10 overs. Peter Connell came back to clean up their tail to finish with figures of three for 24 as Oman were bowled out for 169 in the 38th over.
Ireland have a rest day tomorrow before taking on Uganda at the same venue on Saturday.
Score
Ireland 285-4 (50 ovs) (K O’Brien 101no, A White 71no, G Wilson 46, W Porterfield 32), Oman 169 (37.3 ovs) (A Ahmed 48, N Parmar 41, H Mehta 32; R West 5-26, P Connell 3-24). Ireland won by 116 runs.
Khurram and Dhaniram spells Oman’s doom
(In picture Sunil Dhaniram)
T.K.MohandossThursday, April 02, 2009 12:50:10 AM Oman Time
DEFIANT batting by Sunil Dhaniram (100 not out) and Rizwan Cheema (67) and a fiery opening spell by Khurram Chohan (4 for 28) helped Canada outplay Team Oman in the opening match of ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2009 at the LC de Villiers Oval yesterday. The lush green ground of the University of Pretoria initially promised exciting cricket, but BankMuscat sponsored Oman's dismal run chase handed Canada a convincing 103-run win. Oman were all out for 144. Batting first Canada were bowled out for 247 in 49.3 overs, thanks to Dhaniram's cautious knock. At one stage Oman looked to contain them below 200, but Dhaniram played a valuable innings. Later a four-wicket burst by Khurram denied whatever hopes Oman had. Chasing the target, Oman made a disastrous start losing four of their batsmen without scoring in the first two overs. Opening bowler Henry Osinde, who extracted good bounce from the wicket, got rid off Hemin Desai, caught at third man by Harvir Baidwan. In the second over, Khurram Chohan, was on a hat-trick when he send back Maqsood off the first ball (caught and bowled) and had Adnan Ilyas caught behind by Ashish Bagai off the second ball. Sultan Ahmed, who followed, denied the hat-trick, but was out the next ball caught by Ian Billcliff. Zero for four was really humiliating for Oman at that stage.
T.K.MohandossThursday, April 02, 2009 12:50:10 AM Oman Time
DEFIANT batting by Sunil Dhaniram (100 not out) and Rizwan Cheema (67) and a fiery opening spell by Khurram Chohan (4 for 28) helped Canada outplay Team Oman in the opening match of ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2009 at the LC de Villiers Oval yesterday. The lush green ground of the University of Pretoria initially promised exciting cricket, but BankMuscat sponsored Oman's dismal run chase handed Canada a convincing 103-run win. Oman were all out for 144. Batting first Canada were bowled out for 247 in 49.3 overs, thanks to Dhaniram's cautious knock. At one stage Oman looked to contain them below 200, but Dhaniram played a valuable innings. Later a four-wicket burst by Khurram denied whatever hopes Oman had. Chasing the target, Oman made a disastrous start losing four of their batsmen without scoring in the first two overs. Opening bowler Henry Osinde, who extracted good bounce from the wicket, got rid off Hemin Desai, caught at third man by Harvir Baidwan. In the second over, Khurram Chohan, was on a hat-trick when he send back Maqsood off the first ball (caught and bowled) and had Adnan Ilyas caught behind by Ashish Bagai off the second ball. Sultan Ahmed, who followed, denied the hat-trick, but was out the next ball caught by Ian Billcliff. Zero for four was really humiliating for Oman at that stage.
However, Nilesh Parmar put the first run on board and at the end of five overs, they were 2 for four wickets. Khurram did not leave at that as Hemal was his fourth victim and at that stage the total read 9 for 5 and it looked this would break the lowest ODI score record of 35 by Zimbabwe. Nilesh and Zeeshan Siddique steadied the rocking boat as Oman posted their fifty on board in the sixteenth over, but Zeeshan perished soon plucked down by a diving John Davison off the bowling of Harvir after making 23 (32 balls, 3 fours). Awal too failed to stay but he swung at a Harvir delivery to find his stumps castled. Later Amir Ali and Nilesh took the total to 94, before the former departed castled by John Davison. Amir had scored a breezy 22 (2 fours, one six) and put on 38 runs with Nilesh. Farhan Khan's swashbuckling 43 (4 fours and 3 sixes) boosted Oman's total, before he departed going for a big shot.
Tariq did not stay long either ending Oman's chase. Unbeaten was Nilesh on 38, a brave effort after coming into bat at the fall of first wicket. "Our batting did not click and that was the main reason," said Hemal after the match. "We bowled and fielded well, but Sunil's century made the difference," he said. Sunil was declared the man of the match. "We will try to work on our failures and put up an improved show against Ireland," the Oman skipper added. Hail Khurram Meanwhile, Canada skipper Ashish Bagai lauded Khurram for his initial burst that shattered Oman's chase. "He bowled well and that indeed helped us to contain Oman," said the Delhi-born skipper. "We are happy to win the opening match and Sunil batted beautifully, so did Rizwan. It was Sunil who gave us the chance to defend as at one stage we were really struggling. Oman played well and Awal Khan was superb," said Bagai. Earlier, Oman skipper Hemal Mehta won the toss and the green top wicket prompted him to bowl first. But as expected there was nothing much in the wicket and Canada openers Rizwan Cheema and John Davison went about scoring easily, more severely off Hemin Desai's bowling. Farhan Khan, who kept both the batsman in check, and saw the back of danger man Davison (13, 1 six, 1 four) in the fourth over caught brilliantly by Maqsood. However, Rizwan continued to be ruthless on Hemin, who had to be replaced by Awal Khan, after bowling three overs. The burly Awal, struck in his second over, to get rid of the highly rated southpaw Geoff Barnett (7) with the total reading 63 for 2 in the 10th over. Meanwhile, Rizwan raced to his fifty off 28 balls with huge six straight over bowler Farhan. However his breezy knock was stalled by a beauty bowled by left-arm spinner Tariq Hussain with individual score reading 67 (44 balls, 7 fours, 4 sixes) and the total 90 after 14 overs.
There was disaster for Canada again as Awal struck for his second wicket holding Ian Billcliff plumb in front. Hemal persisted with Awal from one end and the bowler lived up to the trust of his skipper by finishing with a flattering figures off 3 for 19 in his spell of ten overs. The third wicket, again a caught and bowled effort, was in his tenth over (a wicket maiden), when he got rid of experienced Canadian skipper Ashish Bagai, the batsman making a sedate 11 off 43 balls. As it looked Canada were on a steady ship with Sunil Dhaniram and Sandeep Jyoti playing cautiously, Tariq Hussain struck in tandem to remove the latter and also Balaji Rao, who was next in. Sandeep (11) spooned an easy catch to skipper Hemal at midwicket and Balaji (0), was caught at the fence by Nilesh Parmar. Tariq came back to strike off the first ball of batting power to have Harvir Baidwan caught by Adnan Ilyas, the batsman contributing 12 runs. Tariq on top The left-arm spinner had his fifth scalp of the Canada innings, when he had Khurram Chohan plumb in his tenth over, for his best analysis (5 for 39). Canada's innings ended at 247 with mainstay Dhaniram walking away head high with an unbeaten 100. Oman will play Ireland today, who defeated defending champions Scotland convincingly by seven wickets, with William Potterfield slamming a century. In another Pool A game, Namibia were stunned by Uganda by six runs.In the Pool B fixture, In the Pool B matches, Netherands rocked 2003 World Cup semi-finalists Kenya by seven wickets. Afghanistan beat Denmark by five wickets. In another Pool B encounter, Namibia lost to Uganda by six runs.
April 1 — Ireland v Scotland (ODI, Willowmoore Park, Benoni); Canada v Oman (LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria); Namibia v Uganda (Stan Friedman Oval, Krugersdorp); Kenya v Netherlands (ODI, Potchefstroom Cricket Ground); Bermuda v UAE (Potchefstroom University); Denmark v Afghanistan (Vaal University).
April 2 — Scotland v Namibia (LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria), Ireland v Oman (Stan Friedman Oval, Krugersdorp), Canada v Uganda (WITS University); Netherlands v Denmark (Potchefstroom University); Kenya v UAE (Vaal University); Bermuda v Afghanistan (Potchefstroom Cricket Ground)
April 4 — Canada v Namibia (LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria); Ireland v Uganda (Stan Friedman Oval, Krugersdorp); Scotland v Oman (WITS University); Kenya v Afghanistan (Potchefstroom University); Bermuda v Denmark (Vaal University); Netherlands v UAE (Potchefstroom Cricket Ground)
April 6 — Ireland v Canada (ODI, Willowmoore Park, Benoni); Oman v Namibia (Stan Friedman Oval, Krugersdorp); Scotland v Uganda (WITS University); Kenya v Bermuda (ODI, Potchefstroom Cricket Ground); Netherlands v Afghanistan (Vaal University); UAE v Denmark (Potchefstroom University)
April 8 — Scotland v Canada (ODI, Willowmoore Park, Benoni); Oman v Uganda (LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria); Ireland v Namibia (WITS University); Netherlands v Bermuda (ODI, Potchefstroom Cricket Ground); UAE v Afghanistan (Vaal University); Kenya v Denmark (Potchefstroom University)
April 11-17 Super Eight April 19 — Final (ODI, Centurion); third/fourth-place play-off (ODI, Potchefstroom Cricket Ground); fifth/sixth-place play-off (ODI, Willowmoore Park, Benoni); seventh/eighth-place play-off (LC de Villiers Oval)
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