For Super League, read super variation
John Polack09-Jul-2001For Super League, read super variation.Toronto not only basked in warm, sunny weather that contrasted completely with the grey and wet conditions which prevailed when last we left this tournament on Saturday evening. But the first of arguably the four most important days of the event yielded wins to teams at different ends of the Super League table and they also came in vastly differing sets of circumstances.On the opening day of this new phase of the competition – which brings together the 2001 ICC Trophy tournament’s eight best teams – it was the Netherlands which secured probably the most important victory of all. With their 41-run triumph over Denmark at Ajax, the Dutchmen have already stolen a substantial march on the field by ensuring that they will be one of the four teams that do battle for the three World Cup places on offer at the end of this event.Another superb bowling performance was at the heart of their victory, pacemen Asim Khan (2/14) and Roland Lefebvre (3/14) and Adeel Raja (3/28) combining to dismiss Denmark for 133 as it responded to a tally of 174.But the presence of a pitch offering significant movement off the seam and encouraging turn for the spinners ensured that any total in excess of 150 was likely to prove challenging. The contribution of Feiko Kloppenburg (36) at the top of the batting order was therefore crucial in laying the platform for victory, as was the effect of some controlled late hitting from Jacob Jan Esmeijer (28).Denmark’s Soren Vestergaard (3/26 & 39) continued his excellent tournament with a fine double, albeit that he fell into the same sluggish scoring trap at the batting crease as many of his teammates. Remorselessly good line and length has been the Dutch attack’s calling card all tournament long and there was to be no reversion from the pattern today.If the Netherlands’ win was significant, then Namibia’s was certainly not too far behind it in importance. To date, the Africans have made every post a winner in this competition and today prolonged their unbeaten run with a thrilling last-over success against Canada. Following a tough, dour struggle over seven hours, it was eventually a masterful innings from wicketkeeper Melt van Schoor (68) which settled the match’s fate.Van Schoor walked to the crease with his side in dire straits – and it plunged even further into the mire at 59/5 shortly thereafter – as it pursued Canada’s total of 189. Just over two hours later, he walked away from it having defied some superb mid-innings bowling from the Canadians – spinners Barry Seebaran (2/20) and John Davison (2/25) particularly impressive – to lift his team to an emotion-charged two wicket victory with only three deliveries to spare.Where the strokes of his teammates were occasionally rustic and agricultural, the tempo of his scoring and his placement of the ball were both outstanding.Earlier, the host nation had relied substantially on three batsmen to struggle toward its score, only Ian Billcliff (54), Muneeb Diwan (29) and Joe Harris (29) coming to terms with an attack excellently led by paceman van Vuuren (4/33). A late collapse was especially costly, as was some disappointing ground fielding and the lack of an inexpensive fifth bowler.If it is to be left among the final four teams standing in the tournament, then the United Arab Emirates side would probably need to win at least three of its four Super League matches. To that end, its impressive seven wicket win over the United States of America at Maple Leaf was a great way to build on its effort two days ago in winning through to this section of the competition via the sudden-death playoff round.The in-form Ahmed Nadeem (2/17 and 47*) was again in great touch, adding a crunching unbeaten half-century to ten overs of pace bowling high on both economy and control. New ball partner Asim Saeed (1/37 and 52*) was another to produce a fine double, and the irrepressible Khuram Khan (1/14) similarly could not be denied.For its part, the USA has waged a battle with consistency throughout this tournament. At various times, its form has been sparkling and the style of its play delightful to watch. At others, it has given all the look of a rather mediocre side. Today, it was far closer to the latter model: too many of its batsmen spirited their wickets away with poor strokes and too many of its bowlers’ deliveries erred on the short side.For sheer professionalism, there were few who could ignore Scotland’s impressive seven wicket win over Ireland in the final match of the day at Malton.It was a victory crafted around bowling sufficiently disciplined and batting sufficiently methodical to guarantee that Ireland was on the back foot from close to the outset of the game. Although spinner Keith Sheridan (2/35) ultimately returned the best figures, it was James Brinkley (1/26) who played the biggest role in forcing Ireland to scramble its way to a mark of 174/8 from its fifty overs. He bowled three glorious spells, the second of them almost immediately netting the key scalp of Dominick Joyce (36) after the right hander and his brother Ed (33) had assembled a promising stand of 46 runs for the third wicket.After captain George Salmond (21) had promoted himself to a role as an opening batsman and nearly found a way to be run out without facing a delivery, there were few alarms for the Scots. Salmond ultimately fell to a sharp catch at slip, and then Douglas Lockhart (64) and Asim Butt (0) were out late in the innings attempting to crash strokes to the boundary. Otherwise, though, it was a ruthless performance, at no time more so than when Colin Smith (68*) and Lockhart were adding 114 runs for the second wicket.By the end of a day with more permutations than there were clouds in the sky, the Scots had moved neatly into second place on the Super League table behind the Netherlands. But a logjam of teams is already congregating just behind them, leaving a diet of important fixtures to come tomorrow and then again on both Thursday and Friday.If there are more days like this, there surely won’t be too many causes for complaint. The serious business of winning a cricket tournament has begun.