World T20 pre-qualifiers

OK guys just thought I'd set-up a thread for the qualifiers for the World T20 qualifying tournament if that makes sense.
So 16 associate & affiliate teams will battle it out for six places for the right to enter into a further qualifying stage with Bangladesh & Zimbabwe next year. The format for the competition in true ICC style is complicated and somewhat drawn out. However once again Ireland & Afghanistan will be the favourites and will surely be among the top 6 but after that it seems to be an open affair.
For a better and more in-depth preview (as im at work!) listen or read the following links:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-world-twenty20-qualifier-2013/content/story/688589.html
http://idlesummers.com/post.php?postid=1786

The links below are the best ways to follow the competition:
http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2013/TOURNAMENTS/T20WCQ/index.shtml
http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-world-twenty20-qualifier-2013/content/series/660011.html
Also the ICC website are streaming matches each day, although the reliability of the stream is fairly erratic
ENJOY!

Thanks for the post.

There are n+1 previews out there on the internet, but I strongly recommend Peter's on cricinfo. Shelsey also has written one:
http://deepextracover.com/2013/11/14/icc-world-twenty20-qualifier-2013-preview/
http://deepextracover.com/2013/11/14/icc-world-twenty20-qualifier-2013-preview-part-two/

The format is necessarily convoluted so as to produce 6 teams from 16; however for once I believe the ICC have to be congratulated on coming up with a format which gives everybody a chance, and rewards the more consistent sides.

That the tournament is generating quite a lot of interest on social media is a good thing. The cricket played by these sides is very very good, and also there is genuine context and competitiveness here.

Indeed the tournament is wide open. Whilst everybody is convinced that Afghanistan and Ireland will qualify, the remaining places are really wide open.

A variety of matches are available to be viewed via the ICC site (although patience is necessary with the stream not always working smoothly).

For what it's worth, I agree almost entirely with Peter.

In group A (which by virtue of form is probably the weakest group) Ireland should come out comfortably on top. With Namibia's decline (although they remain dangerous; I can easily see them beating either Canada or the UAE but losing to say Italy or Hong-Kong), their stiffest competition may well be Canada (who have a well balanced outfit: a strong batting line-up with the likes of Patel, Gunasekara, Bagain and Hansra, good spin options), or the UAE if the pitches turn (I'm not sure the UAE have the batting firepower to challenge the better sides though).

Hong-Kong have a balanced side and one of the better players outside the HP countries in Jamie Atkinson; Italy have a few key match winners: Berg of course, but Crawley, Northcote and Petricola are also genuine batsmen at this level, whilst Crawley and Sandri offer good spin options. Their lack of good medium pacers may let them down though.

Uganda and the USA as Peter has noted probably don't have the batting to challenge often enough; the USA did get an excellent win over Nepal in the warm-ups though, and if Steven Taylor fires (big if, unfortunately) then you never know.

Group B is tough. Afghanistan should qualify despite their slip-up today, as should the Netherlands, even if missing the likes of Michael Swart, Tom Cooper, Van den Gugten, not to mention RTD and Kervezee. Now that would be a strong team. Nevertheless with the likes of Myburgh, Barresi and co, and spinner Peter Seelar, they should still qualify as one of 6. Before today I also fancied Scotland, partly because they have experience and are used to qualifying for things, but...

Nepal and PNG have excellent grass roots programs, and are continuously improving. Both sides weren't too far off the top 6 last time, and may very well make the step up. Nepal's batting may be too reliant on their skipper (who like Atkinson is a tremendous player at this level) and both sides could struggle in the crunch time due to lack of experience: in those circumstances PNG having Geraint Jones in their number must be a help.

Not sure about Kenya, they're definitely on the way down, and may struggle to get through the group stages in the end.

Denmark just don't have the batting. Klokker is a fantastic player but more of an accumulator, and beyond him there really isn't much: the Mahmoods are decent enough at European level, but at this level they don't get enough bad balls to make up for the dot balls. The Danes have further been weakened by leggie Bobby Chawla's unavailability.

Bermuda, well after today who knows? But I can't see it. Too hit and miss with their batting, and IMO they'll miss more than they hit. Fitness levels doubtful, and internal harmony not the best.

Results today:

Group A:

Ireland have started solidly with a 30odd run win over Namibia. Ireland's batting is undoubtedly the strongest in the tournament, and a 50 for Stirling along with good starts for Porterfield, Wilson and the O'Briens set up a good total. Namibia never really threatened.

Hong-Kong with a good overall performance against Italy. Restricted the Italians to 110 and chased it down comfortably.

Easy win for the UAE against Uganda whose batting let them down.

Big surprise to see the USA chase down 138 against Canada with a ball to spare. That really does make things interesting.

Group B:

Denmark's batting collapsed against Nepal. Nepal will be concerned at losing 5 wickets whilst chasing down 80, with Khadka scoring 48 of those runs for them.

PNG impressively chased down 177 against Kenya. Kenya's strong batting core of Tikolo, Ouma and Obuya fired, but PNG chased it down relatively comfortably with more than 2 overs to spare. A real marker laid down there.

Surprise of the day was perhaps Bermuda beating the Scots. Scotland looked well on course throughout most of their innings, but a spectacular collapse from 109-3 to 131 all out gave the game away.

Another surprise as Afghanistan's batting collapsed against the Netherlands. Afghanistan's bowling is perhaps the strongest in the tournament, but their batting can be a bit frail. This will no doubt serve as a wake-up call. Good show by the dutch, and captain Peter Borren seems in fantastic form.

No surprises really this morning.

UAE spinners restricting Namibia to 120. Still think the UAE may struggle to get the big scores they will need to challenge the better sides, but they are placing themselves well for 1 in 6.

Denmark's batting couldn't do the business against Bermuda, who now have 2 wins from 2. Still a long way to go though.

Excellent matches this afternoon, with 3 matches going into the last over.

Nepal chased down 183 against Kenya. A big win for them, as their batting had previously been thought to be a weakpoint. Kenya's slide continues: at this rate they will struggle to get through the group stage.

PNG have also really laid down their credentials with a thumping win over Holland. Wesley Barresi has so far faced 2 balls in the tournament and been dismissed by both.

Afghanistan saw off a good challenge from Scotland. At some stage it seemed like they would get a huge total, but were well pulled back; Scotland once again collapsed a bit from a relatively strong position. Good win for Afghanistan; two defeats against immediate rivals would really have been an issue. Scotland need to start winning soon.

Canada really should have seen off Ireland, having gotten to a position of needing 46 or so from the last 5 overs, with 8 wickets in hand. In the end, Ireland's experience was probably telling, but a real missed opportunity for Canada. Will be interesting to see if they regret these two opening matches later on. I still fancy them to make the play-offs at least though.

Good win for Italy over the USA who had set them 160 following a fantastic knock from Steve Taylor. Berg did most of the damage for Italy, before Sandri saw them home. Italy still very much in the hunt, the USA's hopes take a bit of a dent, but they should beat Uganda, so need another win or two from somewhere.

Hong-Kong saw off an alarming middle-order collapse (they lost 3 wickets in an over) to beat Uganda, who were again let down by poor batting (although they recovered somewhat). 2 out of 2 for Hong-Kong, admitedly against sides they should be beating. They will need more from Jamie Atkinson if they are to qualify though.

Tremendous start to the competition with quite a few surprises already. Really shows just how open it is.

More interesting games today.

Wesley Barresi finally survived a ball, and he and fellow opener Stephen Myburgh helped Holland comfortably chase down 140odd against Bermuda. A good chase from the Dutch after their spectacular implosion against PNG.

Namibia's batsmen fired at last against the USA to get them 163; the USA needed a Steven Taylor special to get close to that, and for a while it looked possible, but once Taylor was out for 44 that was that. Looks like the USA will need one more win from somewhere apart from Uganda, and I'm just not sure where it comes from... A Taylor special against the UAE may be their only hope.

Another tight win for Ireland, in a game which they had no right to win; this time the UAE threw away a winning position. Once again Ireland's experience at global events is proving crucial; I wonder whether other sides (apart from their main rivals Afghanistan) actually believe they can beat them. Ireland aren't looking all that good, but Joyce will return to the squad soon (after the birth of his child) to shore up the batting, and they have now beaten their 3 main rivals in this group. That puts them in a great position. They are missing Rankin a lot, their bowling looks a little one-paced without him.

PNG again showed their credentials, but were on the wrong side of a DL equation against Afghanistan. Once again the PNG batsmen proved strong and set up 168. However rain then came along, and upon resumption Afghanistan needed 69 off 7 overs with all their wickets in tact - similarly to the 2 infamous West Indies-England chases, I think we can all agree that equation favours the chasing side substantially. Even then, PNG didn't give up, and it took an excellent innings from the classy Mohammed Nabi (who would be a good addition to a few county T20 sides IMO) to see the Afghans home off the final ball.

Strangely enough (or maybe not, given the ICC is involved) none of today's matches were televised, so we are reliant on live scores and local reports. Moreover, the live scoring for the Holland match went AWOL. Ah well...

Reports suggest the pitches are taking more and more spin, which is not surprising. This gives the likes of the UAE an advantage.

As things stand it seems likely that Ireland will top group A, and Afghanistan group B, possibly on net run-rate (although Holland may lose another match). If it carries on according to form, the UAE will finish 2nd in group A and Holland in group B. Who finishes 3rd, 4th and 5th remains pretty much wide open. We can rule out Uganda and probably Denmark only at this stage.

Thanks for updates Mike.  Pleased to see Garry Wilson did well for Ireland.  By no means a world beater but he is the kind of player who has plenty of nous and limited overs experience to keep the scoreboard ticking over after the fall of early wickets.

have to say its been a very interesting and open tournament so far, particularly group B where PNG have been somewhat of a revelation. People in associate circles have been heaping praise on their development program for a while now and it seems to be bearing fruit now. They were very unlucky against afghanistan, have already beaten holland, and beat ireland (pretty comprehensively) in a warmup so I dont think they should fear anyone.

Ireland (my own team) have been disappointing thus far, and havent executed all aspects of their game fully yet. As Mike says our bowling has looked one-paced and we are really missing Rankin, especially as he was sensational in this tournament 18 months ago, his height and bounce was unplayable at times. Unfortuntately their isnt anyone else like him coming through the ranks, although Craig Young is very quick for an associate bowler so maybe he could have been picked. We also miss not having a 2nd quality spinner to support Dockrell since van der merwe retired, as we cant always rely on stirling to get through 4 overs. Maybe picking Andy Balbirnie as another batsmen who can bowl a bit of spin would have been an idea (stilll dont understand how he didnt make the squad).

Lastly a word on Scotland. I saw them play Ireland in an ODI & 4day game in September and they were truly awful. I admit they nearly beat us in the 1st ODI that I did not get to see but the level of performance in the games I did watch was very worrying, particularly against what was by and large an Irish 2nd string (although some of those youngsters should be part the squad). It seems that this form has continued into this tournament where they lost a warmup versus canada, and then the result against bermuda which is unacceptable for them. They did seem to up their level versus Afghanistan but still they are 0 from two and have to play both holland and PNG. Thus they run the risk of not making the top 5, which would be a disaster. It wasnt so long ago that scotland were a dominating force at associate level

Another shock with Uganda beating Italy. Italy must have thought 147 would be enough against the brittle Uganda batting but they chased it down thrillingly, with just 1 wicket remaining and 1 ball to spare.

Italy really will be kicking themselves, as that could easily cost them a play-off place. As things stand they will have to beat the USA and at least one other team (Namibia, UAE, Ireland, Canada) and even then some results will need to go their way. A real blow to their hopes.

It rather helps out Hong-Kong, and opens the door to the USA.

In the other game this morning, Kenya trounced Denmark, whose batting still seems incapable of getting them over 100. Kenya did their NRR a lot of good in the process. It could well come down to that.

PNG's performance has been great to see for us associate fans. I really hope they can maintain this form throughout the tournament to qualify.

I still think Scotland's experience will come through for them, but they really can't afford a slip-up today against Nepal. It may even come down to them vs Kenya for the final play-off spot in the group the way things are going...

Scotland have a much needed first win over Nepal.

Hong-Kong have an impressive win over Canada. That is now two really poor defeats for Canada who are yet to win.

In group A, Ireland despite their troubles look in good shape. As do the UAE, but it will be interesting to see how their ageing squad progresses as the tournament goes on. On the other hand the wickets will turn more and more, so that will suit them.

Behind them, it's a real scrap. Hong-Kong are perhaps the surprise package (although I quite fancied them from the start) and are in a good position to take a place in the top 5 and at least reach the play-offs. Namibia have struggled more, but their batting may see them through. Surprisingly Canada are in trouble, and could conceivably lose out to the USA (who beat them, and should have at least one more win in them) or Italy (who they are yet to play). Uganda aren't quite out of it, but I just don't think they have the batting.

3 wins (even 2) may prove enough to qualify for the knock-outs, with 4 being almost certain; with that in mind, Canada need to beat Uganda, Italy and one more (Namibia or UAE); Italy will need to beat a couple of sides, so I can't see that; either the USA or Uganda will need to beat the other and one other win. Namibia are of course far from out of the woods.

Group B: things are even less certain, everybody having lost at least one match (I think). I would still expect Afghanistan to top the group, they have probably had their toughest matches so far, and 2 wins from 3 should be ok.

PNG's batting looks the strongest of all apart from Ireland; they still have matches against Scotland and Nepal (both winnable) and Bermuda and Denmark (which they should win, but they did lose to Bermuda last time). Expected wins plus their favourable NRR situation currently should be enough to see them through.

Holland also have whipping boys Denmark to play still; they will be looking for a big win there to put themselves in a strong position. They also have to play Scotland, Kenya and Nepal. Whilst they are favourites for all 3, it is not guaranteed.

Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. Denmark look desperately short of quality (I'm afraid to say) and will probably finish without a win. I still think Bermuda have had their day, and are unlikely to win any more matches, but one more shock would put them right in the frame. Realistically though it is probably between Scotland, Kenya and Nepal for the final 2 places. Scotland's win against Nepal has undone a bit of damage, and their match against Kenya looks to be crucial. Nepal's win over Kenya is obviously massive, and they should see off Bermuda also, but they would dearly love a win over say PNG or Holland to ease their nerves a bit.

The format after the group stage is as follows:
top team in each group is qualified automatically for the WC;
2nd plays 3rd in crossovers, and the winners from those two matches go through to WC;
4th plays 5th in crossovers; the losers are out, and the winners play the losers of the 2nd/3rd crossovers; the winners of those matches go to the WC.

Thus teams finishing 2nd or 3rd will need to win 1 knock-out match (from a possible 2) whilst those finishing 4th or 5th will need to win 2 matches (from 2) to qualify. However I would certainly not be surprised if a side finishing 4th or even 5th were to qualify.

Really intriguing event so far...

Big game for Scotland today, we really can only afford one more loss at best.  Strange team selections, has seen us go into games with only four specialist batsmen.

Italy have lost another tight one, this time off the last ball to Namibia. The way things are going nothing is certain, but I'd be reasonably confident now of Namibia making the top 5, and Italy missing out. Final spot (assuming HK keep their form long enough) looks to be be surprisingly between Canada, the USA and Uganda. I'd still fancy Canada, just.

Denmark have at last managed to score 100, but still gone down heavily to Holland, who have done some much needed mending to their NRR, given the heavy defeat to PNG.

A lot of interesting matches this afternoon. Can Kenya at last defend 180odd? Nepal chasing 140 against PNG, PNG's batting not so good, can their bowlers get them out of a bit of a hole? Hong-Kong have managed 138 against the UAE which is a decent target. Their bowling has been strong overall, so that could be interesting. Canada have only managed 137 against Uganda. They should still defend that, but a defeat is not inconceivable, and that would really give Uganda a chance.

so Scotland hit a new low, by losing to kenya by 92 runs, that included a 4for in less than 2 overs for 42 year Steve Tikolo. Scotland absolutely imploded while batting and it was a simply shambolic performance by Scotland. As i stated previously they put in two simalarly inept performances when I watched them play Ireland in September. There must be something wrong in the camp because on paper they are not that bad. It is gonna be an uphill task to finish in the top5. They are a bit of a conundrum as they also have a good underage structure as they were probably the best associate team at the last u19 world cup and convincingly beat holland and ireland to qualify for the next u19 world cup.

Also good wins for nepal and UAE over PNg and hon kong respectively. Particuarly Nepal as they beat PNg, arguably the team of the tournament up to that point.

Scotland had another disastrous collapse I'm afraid. All out for 90odd, a real blow to their NRR which could be important.
Nepal somewhat surprisingly chased down the 140odd comfortably (that they chased it isn't really surprising, but that it was quite so comfortable is).

What that means is that Nepal are now in an excellent position to get at least 4 wins: with 3 wins, they still have to play Bermuda, Holland and Afghanistan, and a win against Holland is certainly not beyond them. 4 wins should be enough for a spot in the top 5 in any case.

PNG will still almost certainly get to 4 wins, with Denmark and Bermuda still to play.

Scotland look almost out of it: they will need a thumping win over Denmark, and at least one win against PNG or Holland. On current form both seem unlikely, but even 1 win may not be enough given the NRR situation.
It seems like Kenya may squeeze in ahead of Scotland then.

It is not too long ago that both Kenya and Scotland were heavyweights of the associate world. It is testament not only to their slide but also the rise of the likes of PNG and Nepal to see them struggling to even get out of the group stages here.

Meanwhile in group A there were comfortable wins for UAE and Canada (at last). Uganda's batting still looks too weak to me, they may beat the USA but 2 wins probably won't be enough.

Hong-Kong showed their limitations against UAE, although the good news is Jamie Atkinson's return to form. They should beat the USA, and a win against Namibia is not at all inconceivable. They will want to win both those matches to cement their place in the top 3 and get 2 bites at qualification.

It is still a complete scrap for the 4th and 5th places. I still fancy Namibia to come through, and maybe Canada or the USA - if you push me I'll say Canada, because I can't see the USA getting more than 2 wins (they should beat Uganda, but can't see them troubling Ireland or the UAE, unless Taylor plays a special), whilst Canada should I think beat Namibia and Italy; but it may very well come down to NRR. Uganda's batting not good enough, and Italy have simply lost too many tight matches.

Things beginning to look clearer now.

Ireland fired against the USA making a mammoth total on the back of a big Porterfield hundred.
Afghanistan smashed Bermuda and did their NRR a world of good in the process.
Holland comfortably saw off Nepal, Nepal's batting not up to the task this time.
Hong-Kong beat Namibia comfortably as well. 50 for Jamie Atkinson in the process, they'll need him in the knock-outs, so his return to form is timely.

In group A, it seems now certain that Ireland, UAE and Hong-Kong will finish in the top 3, presumably in that order, with no need for NRR to play a part.
Namibia, Canada, USA are probably fighting it out for 4th and 5th. Italy and Uganda could still get in there, but it would take some surprises. NRR could well play a part.

In group B, Afghanistan and Holland look set to take the top 2 places, with the Afghan's superior NRR probably giving them the automatic qualifying spot. 3rd should still be PNG, barring some real surprises, whilst Nepal should finish 4th. It then seems to be down to Scotland against Kenya for the 5th spot, with Kenya at a big advantage thanks to their NRR. Scotland will need to finish higher on wins, and that seems difficult. It is likely they will have to beat PNG.
Bermuda could still spring a shock if they win another match, but I can't see it.

Indeed Porterfield's hundred was the first by an Irish player in T20s. Looking to tomorrow

Surprise (given the form) win for Scotland over PNG today I have to say.
Perhaps PNG peaked too early. They should still be ok with matches against Denmark and Bermuda to have, but they will be a bit concerned now.

As it turns out, completely contrary to what I said earlier, Holland's NRR is superior to Afghanistan's. The Afghans had quite a scare today against Denmark, who somehow got themselves to 145 against them. Afghanistan only squeaked home by 2 wickets.

Ireland-Italy and USA-Uganda fell victim to the weather. Shouldn't derail Ireland too much. This helps Canada as much as anyone and Italy of course. It's hard to see the USA beating either Hong-Kong or the UAE (the former not impossible though), whilst Uganda have to play Ireland (impossible surely) and Namibia (unlikely still).
If Namibia beat Uganda they're safe; Canada need to beat Italy at least, and possibly one of Namibia and the UAE and that should now be enough for them.
Italy will need to beat Canada or the UAE to stand a chance (or for it to be washed out).

Still plenty of interest there...

Big win for Scotland today against The Netherlands, keeps us in with a good chance of making the 4th/5th position. Always seems to be the case for Scotland, hovering danergously close to a cut off position. Play Denmark on Sunday and win and we should make it.

Excellent performance from Matt Machan (Sussex) 67* and Rob Taylor (N'Hants) 41* with the bat today set up defendable total.

Haq was outstanding with the ball 3-20 from his 4, backed up with some decent seam bowling from the rest.

Looks like PNG could be the team to miss out afterall, after their rained-off match against Denmark. Very unfortunate if that costs them, but they played poorly against Scotland.

Don't bet against Scotland qualifying now, they seem to be peaking at the right time.

Mike Selig wrote:Looks like PNG could be the team to miss out afterall, after their rained-off match against Denmark. Very unfortunate if that costs them, but they played poorly against Scotland.

Don't bet against Scotland qualifying now, they seem to be peaking at the right time.

If Scotland can make the 4/5th playoffs, I think they will have a decent chance of making it.  As you say they are starting to play a bit better, helped by finally picking the correct team.  Also Group B is definatley the stronger of the two.

Amazing! Italy have beaten the UAE (maybe their age beginning to tell?) to now put them in a strong position to qualify thanks also to their rained-off match against Ireland. Damien Crowley at last amongst the runs.

Canada have lost to Namibia, and are now out. Astonishing really that they have only 1 win from 6.

In group A, it is Ireland vs Hong-Kong for the automatic qualifying spot - winner goes straight to the WC so pressure on that!
Hong-Kong if they lose should still finish 2nd, unless they lose heavily and UAE beat USA heavily. Jamie Atkinson is now in fine form, having score 75 in their previous match.
UAE seem set for 3rd, and Namibia for 4th, although a defeat for UAE and a heavy win for Namibia over Uganda could reverse that. Italy could theoretically go past Namibia also if they win and Namibia lose.
Italy are well placed for 5th spot now - it will take an extraordinary sequence of events for either Uganda or the USA to get past them; they would have to win (against Namibia which is possible) or the UAE (which is very unlikely IMO) heavily, and rely on Italy crashing as heavily against Canada (which is unlikely particularly as Canada have nothing to play for).

In group B, Holland's defeat to Scotland has handed the group to Afghanistan, unless they lose to Kenya (which is possibly, but unlikely).
Holland will at worst finish 2nd.
Nepal have made the top 5, but it remains to be seen in which position. At the moment they are 3rd, but either Scotland or Kenya could go past them.
Scotland will almost certainly make the top 5 once they beat Denmark, but will need to improve drastically on their NRR to get past Nepal - they will want to to give themselves 2 bites at qualification.
Kenya are still in trouble - they have to beat Afghanistan or rely on Bermuda beating PNG or the weather. If PNG beat Bermuda and Kenya lose they will be out; PNG will finish 5th, Scotland and Nepal 3rd and 4th (order still to be determined).
An astonishing sequence of results could still get Bermuda qualified, but it is so inconceivable we won't go into it.

It's therefore looking like:

Group A:
Ireland
Hong-Kong
UAE
Namibia
Italy

Group B:
Afghanistan
Holland
Nepal/Scotland
Scotland/Nepal
PNG

Then the play-offs, for all but the top team of each group.

Expected wins for Aghanistan against Kenya, and UAE against USA (although the latter was close, so that Hong-Kong should finish 2nd even if they lose against Ireland).

Kenya now need Bermuda to beat PNG, or the weather to come to their rescue. In a way I am cautiously pleased about their failure to even make the top 5, given that they have had to rely on getting Tikolo and Odoyo out of retirement - they simply haven't used the resources earned since their WC run of 2003 wisely at all...

Typical Scottish qualifying attempt, we lose to two of the bottom three comfortably and beat two of the top three comfortably.

Losing out to Nepal for 3rd place is a bitter pill to swallow, considering we beat them easily in our matchup. In such a realtively short tournament is, head to head not a fairer way to split two tied teams? We also had the incorrect ICC run rate calcution to deal with as well.

In truth though we failed to finish in the top 3 because we started so slowly, picked the wrong team and starting 1-3, left us well behind the eight ball.

Instead of a winner takes all game against Hong Kong, we now face Italy. Where defeat means the end and victory sets up a game against either Netherlands or UAE.

PNG's win against Bermuda has indeed knocked Kenya out, and Nepal have finished in front of Scotland for 1 run on NRR.

The play off matches are therefore:
Nepal vs Hong-Kong
Holland vs UAE (winners straight to WC)

Scotland vs Italy (winner plays loser of Holland/UAE)
Namibia vs PNG (winner plays loser of Nepal/H-K)

I think Scotland should beat Italy; I would have given Namibia the edge over PNG but their batting is so mercurial... Nepal vs H-K is a very interesting one, two sides on the up mostly relying on strong domestic structures. Holland start as marginal favourites against UAE; I would back Holland to beat Scotland (despite the group stage result) but not necessarily the UAE at the back end of a tournament.

Loads of interesting matches in store anyway...

Looking at my early preview, Canada have been the big disappointment. Hong-Kong the surprise package arguably, but I'm not that surprised TBH.

All the other teams have finished just about where I expected them to finish, but the individual matches have produced some fascinating contests and more than the odd surprise.

Wow, just wow.
Nepal have just qualified for the WC, beating Hong-Kong off the last ball, in a match which had absolutely everything. One of the best 3 games I've seen this year without a doubt.

Dead chuffed for Nepal who have a fantastic support base, some of the best stadium in the world and some genuinely good cricketers.

Got to feel for Hong-Kong who got so close; I've got a bit of a soft spot for them, and they're coached by ex-France coach Simon Cook. Hope Cookie manages to gee them back up again for their next match.

In the eliminators, PNG disposed of Namibia comfortably - Namibia have fallen quite a way since almost making the top 2 last time to now not being in the top 8 - and Scotland as expected made light work of Italy.

Mike Selig wrote:Wow, just wow.
Nepal have just qualified for the WC, beating Hong-Kong off the last ball, in a match which had absolutely everything. One of the best 3 games I've seen this year without a doubt.

Dead chuffed for Nepal who have a fantastic support base, some of the best stadium in the world and some genuinely good cricketers.

Got to feel for Hong-Kong who got so close; I've got a bit of a soft spot for them, and they're coached by ex-France coach Simon Cook. Hope Cookie manages to gee them back up again for their next match.

In the eliminators, PNG disposed of Namibia comfortably - Namibia have fallen quite a way since almost making the top 2 last time to now not being in the top 8 - and Scotland as expected made light work of Italy.

Yeah, great news for Nepal. From the reports from the Scotland camp, the atmosphere the Nepal fans have made at the games has been incredible. Even in defeat to Scotland they were still there for ages after the game having a great time.

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:

Mike Selig wrote:Wow, just wow.
Nepal have just qualified for the WC, beating Hong-Kong off the last ball, in a match which had absolutely everything. One of the best 3 games I've seen this year without a doubt.

Dead chuffed for Nepal who have a fantastic support base, some of the best stadium in the world and some genuinely good cricketers.

Got to feel for Hong-Kong who got so close; I've got a bit of a soft spot for them, and they're coached by ex-France coach Simon Cook. Hope Cookie manages to gee them back up again for their next match.

In the eliminators, PNG disposed of Namibia comfortably - Namibia have fallen quite a way since almost making the top 2 last time to now not being in the top 8 - and Scotland as expected made light work of Italy.

Yeah, great news for Nepal.  From the reports from the Scotland camp, the atmosphere the Nepal fans have made at the games has been incredible.  Even in defeat to Scotland they were still there for ages after the game having a great time.

Yes the atmosphere at the game was great and for that matter in any nepal game. I was delighted to see them qualify. The game itself against hong kong was great to watch, nail-biting stuff really! I fear for hong kong in their next game especially as their wicketkeeper/batsman and one of their most important players (& arguably best player) got a nasty injury on his thumb and I would be surprised if he plays tomorrow. Scotland look like they are peaking just in time, to be honest looking at their team I think they nearly have the strongest squad on paper after Afghanistan & Ireland.

The qualifier games tomorrow, semis and final are all being shown live on skysports in the UK & Ireland/Eurosport in the rest of Europe, so if people get a chance be sure to tune-in. One thing, the analysis at the intervals and afterwards leaves alot to be desired. They could do well to get someone who knows a thing or two about associate cricket rather than somebody who keeps on saying 'minnows', 'countries you don't expect to be playing cricket' and being surprised at the level of nepali support.

im stunned that they are being shown on sky sports, however i will probably watch them.

Hong-Kong beat PNG fairly convincingly to get the penultimate qualifying spot.

Later in the day yesterday the UAE had overcome Holland.

Holland vs Scotland on now. The scots recovered from 1-2 earlier on, but should probably have gotten more - they failed to kick on in the last few overs. The Dutch also lost a wicket in the first over, the dangerous Myburgh, but a good partnership between Ben Cooper and Wes Barresi has put them in the driving seat. Cooper has just gotten out stumped off offie Majid Haq, whose 4 overs may well decide the contest. Crucial partnership now between Swart and Barresi, quite possibly the dutch's best 2 batsmen.

76 off 11 needed, 8 wickets in hand. Dutch are favourites but this game can change quickly.

The Dutch have done it comfortably, led by Wes Barresi's splendid 75 not out, ably backed by Michael Swart with 30 or so not out.

Barresi and Swart took their chances off Haq and it paid off hansomely.

The 6 non-test teams who will hence play in the final qualifying round for the T20 world cup (confusingly, this has been scheduled for just before the actual world cup takes place, and it being sold as actually a part of the WC, but thankfully we're not so easily fooled - neither, I suspect, will be the TV stations) are:
Ireland
Afghanistan
UAE
Nepal
Hong-Kong
Netherlands

Scotland will be desperately disappointed. The other 2 teams who massively underperformed were (IMO) Kenya and Namibia.

Good to see some new faces there though. It will be interesting to see how HK and Nepal go.

well what a knock that was from Wesley Barresi!

Disaster for Scotland, but to be honest they only had themselves to blame after losing to Bermuda and Kenya. Player for player they would be among the six best teams but I fear their is something wrong internally within the squad and coaching setup. I do believe their time will eventually come as they have a young side and they have been the best associate side at u19 level over the past couple of years. Also they had 3 young players aged 23 & under who they didnt select for this squad (Freddie Coleman, Davey & Ali Evans) who have played for their counties this season and I do not know why they werent brought to this tournament. Maybe Mike or Dorothy can answer. The qualifiers for the ODI world cup in the new year are of the upmost importance now!

TO today's games....Afghanistan v Nepal is at 10am (UK time) and UAE v Ireland will be at 2pm (UK time) and both are on Sky Sports. The first game should have a brilliant atmosphere as there are alot of Nepali and afghani migrant workers working in the UAE and they are very passionate about their cricket, plus its a friday which is a day of holiday in the UAE. Both sides meet in the group stages in a rain affected game which was 7overs aside. Afghanistan were the victors that day and I suspect them to do it again as they have the better batting lineup (although both can be very brittle at times) and pace bowling attack. Ireland v UAE will be much closer, when they meet in the group stage it went to the last over and Ireland won by 5 runs. IT should also be noted in the that game that the UAE dropped several chances and balked when in a winning position. However Ireland have gotten better as the tournament has gone-on and I think Ireland will again win in a close encounter.

Ireland crusising to victory..they set UAE 148 to win and UAE are currently 68-7 from 14 overs.