Afghanistan, Netherlands share ICC ODI honours

Sharjah: Afghanistan and Netherlands shared the honours in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cricket League one-day matches held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Afghanistan, who uses Sharjah as their home ground due to security fears in their country, lost the first match by nine wickets, but came back strongly to win the second by five wickets.

The two matches took the Sharjah Cricket Stadium's One Day International (ODI) tally to 204, as both Netherlands and Afghanistan have One Day International status. The two teams are now locked in a four-day match at the same venue, with Afghanistan chasing 233 in their second innings to win.

The matches have been a great treat for Afghan expatriates living in the UAE, especially for the large numbers staying in and around the Sharjah stadium.

Afghanistan, fresh from a sterling performance in the ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers, in which they finished runner-up, were stunned by Netherlands. The Afghans, who lost to Ireland in the T20 qualifiers final in their only defeat in the tournament, never expected to be thrashed, especially after winning the toss and electing to bat.

But they were bowled out for 153 in 39.2 overs, playing Twenty20-style cricket in a 50-over match. If it wasn't for Mohammad Nabi's elegant 41 off 63 balls, Afghanistan would have been bowled out for an even lower score.

The chief destroyer was Peter Borren with a spell of four for 32, while Tom Cooper took three for 11.

Brief Scores

First one-dayer: Netherlands bt Afghanistan by nine wickets. Afghanistan 153 in 39.2 overs (Mohammad Nabi 41, Javed Ahmadi 25, Asghar Stanikzai 25, Peter Borren 4 for 32, Tom Cooper 3 for 11) Netherlands 156 in 26.2 overs (Stephen Myburg 23, Michael Swart 42n.o, Alexei Kervezee 83n.o).

Second one-dayer: Afghanistan bt Netherlands by 5 wkts. Netherlands 256 for 9 in 50 overs (Michale Swart 52, Alexei Kervezee 47, Tom Cooper 52, Wesley Barresi 51, Peter Borren 24n.o, Izatullah Dawlatzai 4 for 38, Mohammad Nabi 2 for 48). Afghanistan 259 for 5 in 46.2 overs (Karim Sadiq 100, Javed Ahmadi 43, Mohammad Shahzad 37, Nawroz Mangal 45n.o, Tim van der Gugten 2 for 35, Peter Borren 2 for 45).