ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

NETHERLANDS v CANADA A weakened Dutch side, with three debutants, began well when Mark Jonkman bowled Geoff Barnett with the fifth ball of the match and they went on to hold the initiative for most of the first day. Almost all the Canadian players made solid, if slow, starts but lost their wickets as soon as they tried to increase the run rate. Peter Borren accounted for the key players in the top order with his medium pace, whilst the later batsmen struggled against the spin of Pieter Seelaar and Daan van Bunge; all three bowlers each picked up three wickets in an impressive performance. Ashif Mulla epitomised the problems faced by Canada when he tried to steady the lower order; he made 28 but it took him 90 balls. Canada were dismissed just before the tea interval after which The Netherlands replied strongly with an opening partnership of 44. The fall of Wesley Barresi signalled a minor collapse against the off spin of Sandeep Jyoti, Eric Szwarczynski and van Bunge both falling to catches at short leg by Trevin Bastiampillai. Tom de Grooth and Nick Statham, however, held firm to the close. Statham and de Grooth, batting patiently, took their partnership to 76 before Statham was run out, Rizwan Cheema’s throw achieving a direct hit at the stumps. Borren scored more freely and the total was only 11 runs short of the Canadian first innings when, just before lunch, Borren swept Sunil Dhaniram to the square-leg boundary, only to be caught by the substitute fielder, Harvinder Baidwan. In the next over, Statham was stumped by Mulla, standing up to Umar Bhatti who had reduced his pace to see if he could emulate the success of Borren. However, most of the Dutch lower order contributed usefully, enabling the home team to take first-innings points with a lead of 52. The Dutch should have taken command from here. Barnett was dropped first ball by Jonkman, a sharp caught-and-bowled chance, but Berend Westdijk accounted for Cheema in the next over. Canada proceeded to score runs quickly but not securely. With Barnett offering another caught and bowled, this time taken by Seelaar, and Jyoti edging a leg break from van Bunge to the wicketkeeper, Canada were 84 for three. The Dutch were unable to maintain this success. As Qaiser Ali and Dhaniram settled in and began to play shots, the bowlers increasingly struggled to find line and length. As the Dutch bowling got worse, so the Canadian pair began to dominate and boundaries, both fours and sixes, became routine. By the end of the day, both batsmen had passed 60, the partnership was worth 131 and Canada had a lead of 163 runs. The third day saw only two runs added to the partnership before Qaiser Ali fell to Westdijk, caught and bowled. Dhaniram, however, continued his onslaught, aided by Mulla who was more fluent in this innings than the first. The pair added 92 for the sixth wicket before Mulla became the fifth Canadian in the match to be a victim of caught and bowled. Dhaniram was the eighth batsmen out, giving Westdijk his fourth wicket of the innings, but by then he had made 144 runs at a strike rate of 80.8, with seventeen fours and two sixes. Khurram Chauhan and Umar Bhatti continued to take advantage of some lacklustre bowling and, with Zameer Zahir lasting 30 balls for his five runs, the total was taken past the 400. By the time the declaration came, the Dutch were 367 runs in arrears and had tried nine bowlers in an attempt to control the flow of runs. Canadian domination continued as Umar Bhatti, in an inspired opening spell, dismissed the first three Dutch batsmen for 34. His new-ball partner, Chauhan, took two more wickets to reduce the home side to 77 for five. Only van Bunge provided any resistance. He eventually received some support from Jeroen Brand so that the Dutch still had five wickets in hand at the end of play. The Dutch were rescued and the Canadians thwarted by rain which delayed the start of the final day and reduced its length to 59 overs. Although Brand fell in the second over, he had survived 65 balls for his ten runs and this set the pattern for his colleagues. Bart Schilperoord also survived 65 balls and in the process helped van Bunge add 53 runs for the seventh wicket. Jonkman then held firm for 68 balls whilst making 12 runs before falling leg-before to Qaiser Ali, the eighth bowler tried by Canada who, aided by the Dutch defensive strategy, achieved a return of 8-7-1-1. The partnership of 37 lasted 27.1 overs, a strike rate of 22.6. Seelaar and van Bunge then secured the draw, the latter putting his team before personal endeavour. He was still two runs short of his century when play ended. His vigil of 294 balls and a strike rate of 33.3 was hardly entertaining, but was vital in saving his side from defeat. 182 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10