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Afghans, Namibia vie for Cup spot

Afghanistan beat Bermuda by 15 runs while Namibia defeated Italy by 27 runs. These were their seventh straight victories. This meant Afghanistan and Namibia finished unbeaten in Group A and B respectively and progressed to the 1^st Qualifying Final which will be staged at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on March 22. The winner of this match will qualify for the tournament to be played in Sri Lanka from September 18 to October 7.

Besides the table-toppers, the Netherland and Canada have qualified for the next stage from Group A while Ireland and Scotland have moved on from Group B. These four sides, in a cross-over format, will play in the Preliminary Round and the winner will square-off against the loser of the 1^st Qualifying Final on March 24 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The winner of the match will complete the 12-team line-up for the Sri Lanka tournament while the evening match will not only produce the tournament winner but will also decide which sides ends up in which group.

The winning side will join Australia and the West Indies in Group B while the losing team will complete Group A which also includes defending champion England and 2007 winner India.

Ireland’s 44 runs victory over Oman means the European side finished in second place in Group B and will now take on Canada who defeated Nepal by 18 runs to finish third in Group A in a low-scoring fixture. Netherlands comfortably defeated Hong Kong by 83 runs to claim second position in Group A and they will now take on Scotland who qualified in third place in Group B despite suffering a surprise seven-wicket defeat against the USA.

The schedule for the play-offs on Thursday, 22 March, will now feature a change.

The Canada v Ireland fixture will now be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Netherlands v Scotland will move to the ICC Global Cricket Academy Oval 1.

The tournament will resume on Thursday after Wednesday’s rest day.

Thursday’s matches

· Canada v Ireland

(1000-1300)
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

· Netherlands v Scotland

(1000-1300)
Global Cricket Academy Oval 1

· Denmark v Oman

(1000-1300)
Global Cricket Academy Oval No. 2

· Hong Kong v Uganda

(1000-1300)
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

· Afghanistan v Namibia

(1400-1700)
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

· Nepal v Kenya

(1400-1700)
ICC Global Cricket Academy Oval No. 1

· PNG v Italy

(1400-1700)
ICC Global Cricket Academy Oval No. 1

· Bermuda v USA

(1400-1700)
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Brief scores

Group A

· Afghanistan beats Bermuda by 15 runs at ICC GCA Oval 1, Dubai Sports City, Dubai. Afghanistan 177-5, 20 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 64, Gulbodin Naib 26 not out, Asghar Stanikzai 26, Mohammad Nabi 22, Karim Sadiq 22; Curt Stovell 2-38). Bermuda162-7, 20 overs (Janeiro Tucker 37, Fiqre Crockwell 34; Aftab Alam 3-23) Man of the match Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan)

· Netherlands beats Hong Kong by 83 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium Netherlands 201-5, 20 overs (Stephan Myburg 68, Michael Swart 38, Tom Cooper 42; Roy Lamsam 2-35). Hong Kong 118-7; 20 overs (James Atkinson 64; Tom Cooper 2-8, Tim Gruijters 2-11) Man of the Match: Tom Cooper (Netherlands)

· PNG beats Denmark by 14 runs at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Papua New Guinea 148 all out, 20 overs (Geraint Jones 46, Mahuru Dai 36; Aftab Ahmed 6-22). Denmark 134 all out, 20 overs (Michael Pedersen 38; Willie Gavera 3-25) Man of the Match: Aftab Ahmed (Denmark)

· Canada beats Nepal by 18 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Canada 101-8, 20 overs (Jimmy Hansra 29 n.o; Paras Khadka 2-15). Nepal 83 all out, 18.2 overs (Sharad Vesawkar 28; Junaid Siddiqui 3-13) Man of the Match: Jimmy Hansra (Canada)

Group B

· Kenya beats Uganda by 48 runs at ICC GCA Oval 2, Dubai Sports City, Dubai. Kenya 167-3, 20 overs (Collins Obuya 57 not out, Alex Obanda 46, Rakep Patil 25). Uganda 119-8, 20 overs (Jonathan Sebanja 26, Frank Nsubuga26; Shem Ngoche 3-20, James Ngoche 2-15) Man of the match: Collins Obuya (Kenya)

· Ireland beats Oman by 44 runs at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Ireland 160-5, 20 overs (Paul Stirling 35, Gary Wilson 52 not out, Kevin O’Brien 32; Rajeshkumar Ranpura 2-24). Oman 116-6, 20 overs (Jatinder Singh 56 not out; Kevin O’Brien 2-20, Max Sorensen 2-29) Man of the Match: Gary Wilson (Ireland)

· Namibia beats Italy by 27 runs at ICC GCA Oval 1, Dubai Sports City, Dubai. Namibia 194-2, 20 overs (Raymond van Schoor 73 not out, Gerrie Snyman 78, Craig Williams 25 not out). Italy 167-8, 20 overs (Gareth Berg 47, Alessandro Bonora 40 not out; Louis van der Westhuizen 2-29, Sarel Burger 2-29) Man of the Match: Raymond van Schoor (Namibia)

· USA beats Scotland by seven wickets at ICC GCA Oval 2, Dubai Sports City, Dubai. Scotland 161-8, 20 overs (Jan Stander 58; Usman Shuja 3-39). USA 162-3, 20 overs (Steven Taylor 40, Aditya Mishra 62; Jan Stander 1-16) Man of the Match: Aditya Mishra (USA)

POINTS TABLE

· Group A

Teams M W L T NR P NRR

Afghanistan 7 7 0 0 0 14 +1.886

Netherlands 7 6 1 0 0 12 +1.671

Canada 7 5 2 0 0 10 +0.805

PNG 7 3 4 0 0 6 +0.045

Nepal 7 3 4 0 0 6 -0.197

Hong Kong 7 2 5 0 0 4 -1.256

Bermuda 7 1 6 0 0 2 -0.99

Denmark 7 1 6 0 0 2 -2.008

· Group B

Teams M W L T NR P NRR

Namibia 7 7 0 0 0 14 +1.186

Ireland 7 6 1 0 0 12 +2.210

Scotland 7 4 3 0 0 8 +0.347

Kenya 7 4 3 0 0 8 -0.340

Italy 7 3 4 0 0 6 -0.006

USA 7 2 5 0 0 4 -1.002

Uganda 7 2 5 0 0 4 -1.190

Oman 7 0 7 0 0 0 -1.801