Bermuda, UAE keep Trophy ambitions alive

With strong wins in do-or-die contests, Bermuda and the United Arab Emirates have kept their 2001 ICC Trophy tournament hopes alive here in Toronto today. Both sides entered the day facing the prospect of elimination from the competition but emerged victorious from matches against Hong Kong and Fiji respectively to book their places in playoff contests tomorrow.

Bermuda secured its place in the next round with a convincing 104-run victory over Hong Kong at Malton. On a pitch that offered good encouragement to the bowlers, it was Hong Kong's inability to upset the impressive rhythm of batsmen Clay Smith (91) and Janeiro Tucker (42) which was chiefly responsible for permitting Bermuda's score to swell to 206/8.

Tucker (2/25) then chimed in with the ball for good measure, snaring two crucial early wickets as Hong Kong stumbled consistently in the chase. Saleem Malik (34) played some aggressive strokes but the die was cast by early afternoon; the end to Hong Kong's involvement with the tournament coming quickly on the back of a fine spell of left arm orthodox spin bowling from Dwayne Leverock (4/15).

Having finished the preliminary round of the competition in fourth place in Group 1B, Bermuda will now meet Namibia in a sudden-death match tomorrow to determine which of them proceeds to the competition's Super League phase.

The United Arab Emirates' progression to tomorrow's playoff stoush with Uganda was built on its ability to restrict Fiji to a score of 194/9 in generally good conditions at Maple Leaf. Khuram Khan (4/25) continued a wonderful personal campaign in Toronto, snaring vital wickets at both end of the innings.

Neil Maxwell (54) was in outrageous touch, taking just 51 balls to club a half-century that was adorned by sixes from each of four consecutive deliveries. Jone Sorovakatini (43*) also played well, but a disastrous late collapse which saw five wickets fall for fifteen runs took the Fijian innings off the rails.

Opener Arshad Ali (78*) then played a measured innings at the top of the UAE order, gradually increasing the tempo of his strokeplay to lead his team to its victory. Ahmeed Nadeem (49*) was also in great form, hammering six fours and two sixes in a brutal display that cleaned up the match with more than eleven overs to spare.

Ireland was another nation to confirm its place in the last ten, doing so with an emphatic nine wicket victory over Papua New Guinea at Ross Lord. Invited to bat first, the Papua New Guineans never really moved out of first gear, struggling to a total of 146 in the face of disciplined Irish bowling. Aru Uda (43) and captain Navu Maha (29) played solid innings but no batsman pushed on to the large individual score that would have been needed to underpin a big total.

Uganda's preparations for tomorrow's battle with the UAE, meanwhile, were rounded out with an emphatic seven wicket victory over Israel at Ajax. Israeli captain Isaac Massil (55*) batted beautifully with the tail to push his team's score to 153/9 but it was never likely to be sufficient to conquer the in-form Ugandans.

The Africans rested key players and shuffled their batting order around but still coasted to victory. Opener Charles Lwanga (47) was the mainstay of the innings and Frank Nsubuga (33) also played well, topping off an excellent exhibition of off spin bowling earlier in the match. The victory arrived with close to twenty overs to spare.

Even before a ball was bowled, Singapore did not have too many reasons for motivation in its final ICCT 2001 match against the Netherlands at Maple Leaf. And, when play did commence, that reality was revealed: a succession of poor strokes predominating as it was skittled for a dismal total of 47.

Sebastiaan Gokke (3/15) claimed three of the opening four wickets, while Luuk van Troost (3/7) snared three of the last five. Only Josh Dearing (26) ventured into the giddy heights of double figures - he enjoyed the reprieve of being dropped very early in his innings - and the scoring rate rarely exceeded two runs an over. It was a rout.

The Netherlands' brains-trust had entered the match planning to do some fine tuning in preparation for the start of the Super League phase of the tournament next week. But they were barely afforded the chance, particularly when it came to their batting. It took them less than fourteen overs to complete their victory and the only wicket that fell was lost to a run out rather than to the bowlers.

Although it was hoped that the restructured format of this year's tournament would minimise the prospect of largely meaningless and lopsided matches, it was a match that fell neatly into both categories.