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A heavy downpour in the afternoon followed by intermittent drizzle has delayed the start of tour match between the Indians and Kent at the St Lawrence ground

Nagraj Gollapudi at St Lawrence26-Aug-2011A heavy downpour in the afternoon followed by intermittent drizzle delayed the start of the tour match between the Indians and Kent Spitfires at the St Lawrence ground and eventually forced the umpires to switch the 50-over game to a 20-over one.The Indians arrived in Canterbury on Thursday night immediately after their six-wicket victory over Sussex at Hove. It was their first win of the tour and the visitors would like to keep the winning rhythm after their 4-0 whitewash in the Test series.Unfortunately, the Indians were forced to sit inside the dressing room, apart from walking downstairs into the long room housed in the Frank Woolley stand for their lunch. Outside thousands of Indian fans waded through water that cascaded down the slope of the front entrance of the ground. The die-hard fans continued to stand there, cuddled up in their woollens and jackets, under umbrellas, waiting just to get a sneak peak at the Indian players.The umpires carried out their first inspection at 4 p.m. and were straightaway concerned by the wet areas in outfield. Even though the match was converted into a Twenty20, the umpires were worried about the practice strips to the right of the Frank Woolley stand on the pavilion side as the fielders could easily slip. Though the sun had come out for the first time half-way through the day, the umpires remained dissatisfied and after another inspection at 5 p.m, decided on a third at 6 p.m and then at 6:30 decided the game had to be reduced to a Twenty20 starting at 7:30 p.m.Meanwhile, in a piece of good news for the Indians, Gautam Gambhir was batting in the indoor nets facing throwdowns from the bowling coach Eric Simons. Gambhir, who picked up a concussion in the fourth Test, was not listed on the team sheet distributed at the start of the day. Rahul Dravid, who played for Kent in 2000, will play the match while Sachin Tendulkar will be the twelfth man.

Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan batsman, has pulled out of the upcoming Faysal Bank T20 tournament, citing personal commitments

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2011Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan batsman, has pulled out of the upcoming Faysal Bank T20 tournament, citing personal commitments. Allrounder Abdul Razzaq will take over the captaincy of Lahore Lions from Yousuf.”My decision was purely based on my personal commitments,” said Yousuf. “I don’t know why [people are] portraying my ouster negatively but I can confirm that I am fit and still have the passion to play cricket.”Reports have surfaced from time to time suggesting that Yousuf has taken a silent retirement from all formats – and not for the first time – following the PCB’s snub to him when handing out central contracts for the second half of the year. However, Yousuf has confirmed that he doesn’t have any immediate intentions of retiring.Yousuf, 37, a veteran of 90 Tests and 288 one-day internationals, last played for Pakistan in 2010 against South Africa, returning home midway due to fitness issues. “My fitness is no more a concern and if anyone wants to test my fitness level I have no issue as I been playing county cricket and recently returned after playing league cricket.”The Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) called Yousuf’s decision to pull out a ‘disappointing one’. “This is purely his own decision, we wanted him to play,” LCCA president Khawja Nadeem said. “He was in the Lahore squad after [he agreed to play] and now he withdraws for personal reasons. The decision he conveyed today [Thursday] cited his personal commitments and nothing else. It’s obviously disappointing news for us to miss a veteran batsman in our squad but still we have variety of batsman in our line-up. After Yousuf, now [Abdul] Razzaq wil captain the side.”Yousuf, scored 72, 109, 68 and 74* in four of his last six innings for Warwickshire on the English county circuit in May. Last year he left WAPDA and joined Lahore after a fallout with team-mate Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. However, WAPDA’s head of sports, Naveed Akram Cheema, still remains optimistic about Yousuf’s return to the department side while another department ZTBL are keen to have Yousuf for the upcoming season.

New Zealand Cricket has reported a financial surplus of NZ $2.60 million in its annual report for 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2011New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has reported a financial surplus of NZ $2.60 million in its annual report for 2010-11, though the outgoing chief executive Justin Vaughan said it was “lower than what was anticipated”.”In a year including an ICC World Cup, NZC expects to do well financially and it is heartening to see a good surplus posted, although it is lower than what was anticipated,” Vaughan said. “The sharply increasing US dollar continues to be challenging and revenue from the professional game was lower than usual with just the solitary home series against Pakistan last season.”The year was the first in a new financial cycle after the eight-year partnership agreement between NZC, the New Zealand Cricket Players Association and six major associations. Revenues for the year were $44.64 million, compared with revenues for the previous year of $42.57 million. Expenditure, excluding grants to associations, was $27.7 million compared to the previous year of $32.9 million.”The adverse impact was partly offset by a significant reduction in New Zealand Cricket’s operational costs and we are grateful for the support of the ICC with their donation following the Christchurch earthquakes,” Vaughan said. “Playing numbers increased 3%, with over 107,000 participants registered, and the strength of the game was also highlighted by the re-signing of our long-term commercial partner The National Bank.”NZC also reappointed its president Denis Currie and named two new directors, Don Mackinnon and Therese Walsh to the board. Currie was elected President in 2009 and will serve his final one-year term. The two new director positions were created by the retirement of Anne Urlwin and Stephen Boock, who were both unavailable to continue. Both of them had served on the NZC board since 2002.Walsh is currently working as the chief operating officer for Rugby NZ 2011 Ltd, the company established by the New Zealand Rugby Union and New Zealand Government to deliver the Rugby World Cup. MacKinnon is a partner at specialist employment and human relations law firm Swarbrick Beck MacKinnon where he has represented and advised a number of sporting organisations including Emirates Team New Zealand (sailing).

Sri Lanka remained ahead after another attritional day in the third Test in Sharjah, but not to the extent that they needed to be if they are to be confident of squaring the series

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran06-Nov-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tharanga Pranavitana will be the key for Sri Lanka, with the bat, on the final day•AFP

Sri Lanka remained ahead after another attritional day in the third Test in Sharjah, but not to the extent required if they are to be confident of squaring the series. They are now left hoping for another of the famous Pakistan collapses that gave them the series the last time these two sides faced off.In the morning, a mix of old-school batting and innovation from Misbah-ul-Haq and butter-fingered fielding helped Pakistan frustrate Sri Lanka and cut into the first-innings deficit. After lunch, Sri Lanka needed quick runs to set up a declaration but, as in the rest of this match, the big hits proved elusive and the run-rate remained low. Some late Saeed Ajmal strikes even gave Pakistan an outside chance of winning the Test.On Saturday, Sri Lanka were buoyed by some late blows, and perked up even more after striking twice early today. Chanaka Welegedara removed Abdur Rehman in the first over of the day, getting the batsman to nick to the slip cordon, where Mahela Jayawardene fumbled but the ball landed in Paranavitana’s lap at first slip. Soon after, Umar Gul heaved a length ball to mid-off and Sri Lanka were eyeing an early end to the Pakistan innings.That would have happened if wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva had held on to a regulation take after Misbah edged Rangana Herath early in the day. That was the easiest of the three lives Misbah had – Angelo Mathews flew goalkeeper-style at mid-off but couldn’t latch on, and Tharanga Paranavitana put down a similarly difficult chance at square leg.Misbah made the most of those opportunities. He may have scored at a rate deemed slow even by Test standards, but there were also several moves from him that wouldn’t have been out of place in a limited-overs game: he kept shuffling around in his crease, especially against Herath, there was a reverse-sweep for four and a savage six over long-on.He regularly declined singles to shield No. 10 Ajmal and, though there were some close lbw calls, the pair defied Sri Lanka for 18 precious overs – that didn’t just reduce Sri Lanka’s lead but ate into the time available to force a result. Misbah looked headed for his fourth Test century, but top-edged a slog-sweep off Suraj Randiv to fall for 89.The final pair couldn’t last very long after that, with Welegedara removing Junaid Khan to wrap up the innings and complete his five-for.Sri Lanka’s reply got off to a horrible start as Tillakaratne Dilshan, the man most capable of providing them the early momentum, fell victim to Gul’s knack of striking in the first over. Paranavitana, with only two half-centuries in his previous 15 innings, would have been dismissed by Gul for the fifth time in the series if Asad Shafiq had pouched a chance early on. He wasn’t at ease against the spinners either, surviving several loud calls for lbw.Kumar Sangakkara extended his excellent run in the series, becoming only the third Sri Lanka batsman to make 500 runs in a series, but he too began watchfully. It was only once the slow bowlers came on that he began to open up. Mohammad Hafeez was greeted with a lofted on-drive for four, before Sangakkara crashed sixes in successive overs to boost the dawdling run-rate. He completed a fluent half-century before his second soft dismissal of the match, chopping a short ball to the point fielder.That dismissal prompted a bit more adventure from Paranavitana, who had crawled along to 30 off 111 deliveries, putting pressure on his partners. He slugged Ajmal over midwicket for six and followed that up with a glanced boundary as Sri Lanka had a productive six-over spell, going at nearly a run-a-ball.Just as Sri Lanka seemed to finally be hitting the gear they needed to, Gul trapped Mahela Jayawardene lbw with an incutter. The conventional offbreak then brought Ajmal two wickets in an over – Angelo Mathews and Silva.Paranavitana was unbeaten but has only the debutant Kosala Kulasekara and the tail for support, and Sri Lanka’s lead is still not sufficiently enough to declare. Even if they manage a quick burst of runs on Monday and declare early, the pitch still isn’t venomous enough for a bowling attack to run through a line-up in two-and-a-half sessions, especially one that is missing a specialist quick.

The Trinidadian duo – top-order batsman Jason Mohammed and unconventional spinner Sunil Narine – were the new faces in West Indies’ 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series in India

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2011The Trinidadian duo – top-order batsman Jason Mohammed and unconventional spinner Sunil Narine – were the new faces in West Indies’ 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series in India. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo and fast bowler Fidel Edwards were the notable omissions from the side.Both Mohammed and Narine did well in the recent Regional Super50 limited-overs competition, paving the way for their inclusion. Mohammed was Player of the Tournament in addition to getting the Richie Richardson Trophy after topping the run-charts with 227 runs in five outings. Narine rose to prominence during the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India where his mystery variations earned him 10 wickets at the impeccable economy-rate of 4.37 runs per over. He then claimed the Curtly Ambrose Trophy for being the top wicket-taker in the Super50, and was picked for the A-team unofficial Tests against Bangladesh.”In the Super50 Jason showed maturity, guts and fight in the way he batted on some difficult pitches,” WICB selector Robert Haynes said. “He scored vital runs to pull his team out of difficult situations, scored the most runs in the tournament and as selectors we also thought that with the pitches in Guyana not being very different to the pitches in India and Jason having done so well on those types of surface, it augured well for his selection to the ODI squad.”Haynes also said that Narine’s steady progress over the past year earned him a spot. “Sunil bowled well in the Indian conditions in Champions League for Trinidad and Tobago and then in the Super50 he was exceptional,” Haynes said. “Batsmen have difficulty reading him and we thought that he is deserving of his selection to show his worth against international batsmen.”He is also a capable lower-order batsman who can give the team 30 to 40 runs and overall we are impressed with the way he approaches batting both for Trinidad and Tobago and in the recent West Indies A match in St Lucia.”Darren Sammy will lead West Indies in the series, which kicks off on November 30 in Cuttack. Chris Gayle continued to miss out on selection, while Dwayne Bravo, who was dropped on form for the Bangladesh tour, was also left out.Squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons

Fast bowlers Riaz Afridi and Waqar Ahmed took four wickets apiece to keep Peshawar in control

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2011
ScorecardUmar Akmal made 93 but Peshawar were still in control•AFP

Fast bowlers Riaz Afridi and Waqar Ahmed, who troubled Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the first innings, took four wickets apiece in the second as Peshawar remained in control of the Division Two final at Arbab Niaz Stadium.SNGPL lost their openers cheaply, but their captain Umar Akmal and No. 3 Ali Waqas put on a 155-run third-wicket stand that raised their hopes of posting a tall target for Peshawar. Akmal made 93 off 155 deliveries, while Waqas reached 74 before being bowled by Waqar Ahmed, who also removed Khurram Shehzad later in the over.SNGPL’s hopes faded further as Riaz Afridi then managed to do one better than Waqar Ahmed – he struck three times in one over, dismissing Umar Akmal, Mohammad Awais and Bilawal Bhatti. An unbeaten 30 from Yasir Shah then pushed SNGPL on to 277 for 8, only 128 ahead by stumps.

Australia’s young fast bowling spearhead James Pattinson is out of the remainder of the Test series against India after scans revealed the early signs of stress fractures in the metatarsal bone of his left foot

Daniel Brettig06-Jan-2012Australia’s young fast-bowling spearhead James Pattinson is out of the remainder of the Test series against India after scans revealed the early signs of stress fractures in the metatarsal bone of his left foot.He has been replaced in the squad for the Perth Test by Mitchell Starc – the only change to the squad that was selected for Sydney. Ryan Harris is favoured to win a recall to the XI after making his own return to fitness.Pattinson bowled throughout the Sydney Test but complained of pain in his left foot towards the end of the match. Scans revealed the injury, which the team physio Alex Kountouris called an “early stage bone stress injury of the metatarsal bone of the left foot”.”He will be managed carefully over the next few weeks and will not be available for the remainder of the Test series,” Kountouris said.John Inverarity, the national selector, said his panel had already considered resting Pattinson for the WACA Test after he played four Tests in little more than a month since his debut against New Zealand in Brisbane.”The intention of the National Selection Panel was to rest James from the Perth Test match as this young man has played in four Test matches over a period of just five weeks,” Inverarity said. “This intention has become a necessity after post-match scans have revealed James’ foot injury.”Pattinson’s injury is a serious blow to Australia, given that in those four Tests he has taken 25 wickets at 18.12, while also impressing considerably with the bat. It also continues an unsettling run of injuries for young fast bowlers. Pat Cummins, who made an equally remarkable introduction against South Africa in Johannesburg in November, is missing the entirety of the home Test summer due to a heel injury.At the other end of the age scale is Harris, who would now appear certain to return to the XI for the Perth Test, after battling a hip problem and then building up his fitness for Test cricket with an intensive training regimen through December.Before Pattinson’s injury was known, Clarke said Harris’ recall as part of a pace quartet was a genuine option – he had also flirted with the idea before the Sydney match.”It is an option, there will certainly be at least four fast bowlers in our squad for Perth, and we’ll assess conditions once we get there,” Clarke said. “I’m hoping that wicket is similar to what we played on against England last summer, where it’s got a lot of pace and bounce and some sideways movement. If that’s the case there’s an option there [to play four quicks], but I always love to have a spinner in the team, and I continue to say that I think Nathan Lyon is doing a really good job for this team.”Clarke’s run as captain has been made far more agreeable by the presence of an effective pace attack, and he said the group’s collective ability to place pressure on India’s batsmen had been significant to the results so far.”We have [several] guys who can get a breakthrough, that’s one of the most pleasing things for a captain,” he said. “You can turn to any one of our bowlers to try and take a wicket, so that makes life easier for me. We’re able to build up pressure – at the moment, we’re bowling a lot of dot balls, bowling a lot of maidens, we’re restricting the scoring and I think that is what’s getting us wickets.”It’s not necessarily a one-off delivery that is getting somebody out. Against very good players you have to be able to build up pressure – if you think one-off balls are going to get six or seven of the best batsmen in the world out, you’re in for a rude shock. So you need the whole team and the whole bowling attack performing, and that’s what we’re doing at the moment.”

All overseas cricketers who sign up for a stint in English county cricket will be forced to complete the anti-corruption training

Andrew McGlashan22-Feb-2012All overseas cricketers who sign up for a stint in English county cricket will be required to complete the anti-corruption training that is now mandatory for domestic players in the wake of the prison sentence handed out to the former Essex seam bowler Mervyn Westfield for spot fixing.The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) is working closely with the ECB to ensure that non-English players cannot bypass the corruption course, even if their contract with a county side is a short one.During the sentencing of Westfield at the Old Bailey last week it was alleged that Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan leg spinner, was the go-between in a deal where Westfield was given £6000 to concede a set number of runs off an over during a Pro40 match against Durham in 2009.The PCA is already at an advanced stage in implementing online tutorials for all domestic players that must be completed before the 2012 season begins on April 5.Details of how to ensure 100% compliance with the new regime are still being hammered out with the ECB, but the PCA is insistent that every player in county cricket should take the course.”We want all overseas players to go through this process and we need to decide how much time they have to complete the process,” Angus Porter, the PCA chief executive, said. “We are currently in discussions with the ECB about the mandatory element.”The involvement of all overseas players brings additional challenges. One part of the process that still needs to be developed is to have the course available in multi-lingual formats for players whose first language is not English, one of 11 recommendations made by the MCC’s anti-corruption working party which has sent its full report to the ICC on Wednesday.”The language point is a good one and something we don’t have yet but we are very aware that it is something we need to explore,” Porter said.Despite events of recent weeks, Porter remains adamant that English cricket has the best anti-corruption systems available. “I have to say I think the level of anti-corruption training on offer to our domestic and England players is superior to anything on offer worldwide.”The MCC working party praised the ECB’s decision to create an amnesty for players to report suspicions about corruption and said that other boards should follow their lead. It is an offence for a player not to report an approach but the ECB has given players until April 30 to make concerns known.Following its January meeting in Cape Town the MCC world cricket committee produced ten recommendations for tackling corruption and an eleventh has been included on the final report submitted to the ICC asking for the ECB’s approach to be mirrored worldwide.”National Cricket Boards should follow the example of England and Wales Cricket Board in offering a short-term amnesty to any player or other person involved in cricket who, within the designated period, reports an approach or other suspicions or knowledge of illegal activity of a corrupt kind,” the working party said.Other MCC recommendations made at a meeting of their world cricket committee in Cape Town last month included lifetime bans for any captain, vice-captain or coach found guilty of fixing and the removal of minimal sentences in the ICC’s anti-corruption code to allow disciplinary panels more flexibility in sentencing.Steve Waugh, who chaired the MCC anti-corruption working party, said: “Cricket’s administrators need to be bold in their actions and cannot be complacent in the fight against corruption. I have for some time advocated the idea of amnesties for players or officials so am particularly pleased to see the ECB’s stance on this issue. I now hope that ICC takes on board what our committee – and what players around the world – are saying and we can stamp out corruption in the sport.”Edited by David Hopps

Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur has warned the tourists that a West Indies trip at the conclusion of a demanding and successful summer should not be regarded as an end-of-season holiday

Daniel Brettig12-Mar-2012Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur has warned the tourists that a West Indies trip following a demanding and successful summer should not be regarded as an end-of-season holiday.As the ODI squad adjusted to the vast time difference between Australia and the Caribbean, Arthur said that any complacency after a home Test series victory over India and a subsequent triangular ODI series final success against Sri Lanka had to be weeded out of the team ahead of Friday’s first match.Among other challenges, Arthur also pointed to the unfamiliarity of West Indian conditions and also the prevalence of new faces in the hosts’ squad as reasons for the visitors to be wary over the next seven weeks.”There’s three things we really need to guard against,” Arthur told . “One is attitude and complacency because we’ve come off a really good summer so we need to guard against that.”We’re in conditions that are very different to Australia so that’s something we’re going to need to get used to very, very quickly. Then the third one is an unknown opposition. Our preparation time is going to be so important to us. We can’t compromise on our preparation time.””An unknown opposition does present a lot more challenges,” Arthur said. “They can certainly hit you hard up front and we could be chasing our tails for the rest of the series. We’ve got the week now to make sure in all disciplines we’re right and ready to go come Friday.”Australia’s training schedule will begin with a sharp fielding session on Monday, before the team settles into its plans and tactics for five limited overs matches. Arthur is working closely with the acting captain Shane Watson, and said the allrounder had so far surpassed his expectations.”Shane’s been really good. He has been outstanding,” Arthur said. “I think he’s led very well, he’s led with authority which has been really good. I think he’s almost performed above expectation in that area which is great.””If things happen to Clarkey we want to have a really good and able vice-captain who can take over. He’s also a vice-captain playing all forms of the game. Shane’s doing that and can give a huge amount of support to Michael through the Tests and ODIs and to George Bailey through the Twenty20s.”One man not participating in the early matches of the series will be James Pattinson, as he recovers from a muscle strain. Though Pattinson has been afflicted by a foot ailment and now a buttocks problem in quick succession, Arthur said his preference was for young bowlers to train hard and learn to deal with the fact that injuries were a necessary evil of fast bowling.”I would bowl him every day of the week if I could and let him loose … the more for him the better,” Arthur said. “I feel the same for all the younger bowlers. I think we’ve got to live with the fact that bowling is a real tough gig and guys are going to break down. We’ve just got to get them ready to go again after that.”

A round-up of the preliminary finals and play-offs in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2012

Preliminary finals

The Afghanistan players celebrate after securing qualification for the 2012 World Twenty20•Getty Images

Afghanistan ensured they will appear at the ICC World Twenty20 for the second competition running with a comprehensive win over previously unbeaten Namibia in Dubai. Victory by 47 runs booked Afghanistan a place in the final of the qualifying tournament, where they could meet Namibia again; they will play either Ireland or Netherlands – who both won their first play-off games earlier in the day – for the second berth on offer for the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.Having chosen to bat, Afghanistan were dismissed off the final ball of their innings for 146. Against big-scoring Namibia, other sides may have felt that score was barely enough – but Afghanistan have swept all before them in the last week and the bowlers blew away their opponents’ dangerous top order, effectively ending Namibia’s hopes at 18 for 4 after four overs. Dawlat Zadran was the destroyer-in-chief, taking 3 for 1 in his opening two-over spell, including the wicket of Raymond van Schoor, the tournament’s leading runscorer, for a first-ball duck. Gerrie Snyman was also dismissed for 0 in the same over, before Dawlat had Craig Williams caught behind and Aftab Alam – who went on to claim 4 for 25 – removed Louis van der Westhuizen, ensuring that none of the top four made double figures.After that opening blitz, Namibia’s hopes were in tatters and they were eventually bundled out for 99. Their struggles put into perspective Afghanistan’s score, with several batsmen getting in and then out. Karim Sadiq and Javid Ahmadi put on 57 for the opening wicket in 6.3 overs but they both fell in quick succession as Sarel Burger claimed three for 16 from his four overs. With boundaries drying up – Afghanistan managed 10 fours and no sixes – Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi chipped away lower down the order. In the end, their efforts proved more than enough.Ireland swept past Canada in the first play-off stage, winning by 10 wickets at the Dubai International Stadium. Read the full report here.Netherlands edged out Scotland by three wickets at the ICC Global Cricket Academy to set up a meeting with Ireland in the next stage. Chasing 167 to win, Netherlands looked in control thanks to a steady hand from Tom Cooper, but his dismissal for 60 left them requiring 15 from the last two overs, with seven wickets down. The tension was broken swiftly, however, as Tim Gruijters smashed his second ball for six, with 11 runs coming off the penultimate over bowled by Kyle Coetzer, before Tom de Grooth’s top-edged four sealed victory with five balls to spare. Scotland, coming off a surprise group-stage defeat to USA, had earlier given themselves a chance of an upset thanks to another impressive opening stand between Richie Berrington and Calum MacLeod. They put on 59 in 6.3 overs before Berrington’s departure for 37, with MacLeod – a former bowler – going on to pass 50 for the third time in the tournament. Netherlands’ spinners slowed the scoring in the later stages though, with Mudassar Bukhari, Pieter Seelaar and Peter Borren each picking up two wickets as the Dutch kept the target down.

Play-offs

Nepal beat Kenya by five wickets and two balls to spare to win a semi-final for the seventh place play-off in Dubai. After choosing to bat, Kenya were restricted to 139 for 4. Their captain Collins Obuya top scored with 52 off 42 balls. Basanta Regmi took 3 for 23 for Nepal, while Shakti Gauchan conceded only 19 in four overs. Nepal’s openers gave the chase a steady start, adding 64 in ten overs and their captain Paras Khadka remained unbeaten on 26 to secure the victory. Nepal’s chase was aided by 17 extras.Papua New Guinea (PNG) defended a modest total of 118 for 9 against Italy to win the other semi-final for the seventh place play-off in Dubai. Damian Crowley took 4 for 18 to limit PNG after they chose to bat, while Carl Sandri claimed 2 for 18. Opener Tony Ura (37) was the only PNG batsman to make it past 20 and the innings was floundering at 69 for 6 before the tail propped the total past 100. PNG’s bowlers, however, bowled economically and struck regularly to hinder the Italy chase. Hitolo Areni took 3 for 9 in four overs, and had support from the new-ball attack, Willie Gavera and Rarva Dikana. Italy slipped from the comfortable position of 81 for 3 in 14.4 overs and were restricted to 106 for 7 in 20 overs.Hong Kong beat Uganda by five wickets to win one 11th place play-off semi-final in Sharjah. After putting Uganda in, Hong Kong restricted them to 130 for 8. Apart from the openers, Roger Mukasa and Arthur Kyobe, no Uganda batsman made more than 20. Irfan Ahmed to 3 for 32 for Hong Kong, while Roy Lamsam took 1 for 15 in four overs. Ahmed then scored an unbeaten 55 to lead the chase, while Waqas Barkat and Jamie Atkinson made 31 and 30. Hong Kong slipped in the later part of the innings, losing four wickets for eight runs, but still reached the target with four balls to spare.USA beat Bermuda by 34 runs after a powerful batting performance to win the second semi-final for the 11th place play-off in Sharjah. They amassed 193 for 5 after choosing to bat; Steven Taylor made 38 off 22 balls, Sushil Nadkarni 48 off 30 and Orlando Baker 39 off 32 deliveries. The least expensive Bermuda bowler was Joshua Gilbert, who conceded 8.33 an over. During Bermuda’s chase, Lionel Cann struck three sixes and four fours in his 73 off 47 balls but got poor support from his team-mates. Muhammad Ghous took 2 for 20 for USA, while Abhimanyu Rajp and Almore Hutchinson also took two wickets apiece. Bermuda were restricted to 159 for 8 in 20 overs.After losing all seven of their Group B matches, Oman beat Denmark by 17 runs in the 15th place play-off. Oman chose to bat and their openers, Zeeshan Siddiqui and Jatinder Singh, made half-centuries in first-wicket partnership of 113. After that stand was broken in the 14th over, though, Oman’s momentum slipped and they finished on 155 for 5. Denmark were well placed in their chase, having reached 109 for 2 in the 15th over, but then lost frequent wickets to finish on 138 for 6. Hemal Mehta was Oman’s most successful bowler, taking 3 for 29 in four overs, while Amir Kaleem took 1 for 11 in three.