Bangladesh made short work of their Dutch opponents in a Group B match to keep their World Cup quarter-final hopes very much alive yesterday but England will not be amused.
The six-wicket victory at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong catapulted the co-hosts to fourth place in the group, leapfrogging England, with six points from five matches.
Bangladesh face South Africa in their final group assignment on Saturday but could be assured of a quarter-final berth even before that if England, trailing them by one point, go down to West Indies on Thursday.
Photo: AFP
Four teams from each group make it to the quarter-finals and Bangladesh fancy their chances after the comprehensive win against the Dutch.
“It was a nervous game because we had to win to stay in the contest,” Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said.
“We’ll be watching that [England v West Indies] match very closely but it’s still within our hands and if we do well against South Africa [on Saturday] we’ll qualify,” he said.
While that would probably need an even better performance, Bangladesh did well against the Dutch.
Shafiul Islam’s first spell — the pace bowler conceded only seven runs from his first six overs, three of which were maidens — stifled the Dutch batsmen after skipper Peter Borren decided to bat first.
Bangladesh soon unleashed their battery of left-arm spinners, most prominently Abdur Razzak (3-29), who tormented the Dutch with a nagging line and length as runs dried up.
The Dutch batsmen did not help their cause with four run outs.
Ryan ten Doeschate (53 not out) waged a lonely battle before running out of partners as the Dutch folded for 160 in 46.2 overs.
Bangladesh wobbled early in their chase, losing Tamim Iqbal to the fourth ball of the innings but Imrul Kayes’ 73 not out saw them home.
That triggered a celebration in the port city which had declared the day a public holiday.
AUSTRALIA V KENYA
AFP, BANGALORE, INDIA
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said on Sunday it was good to get out in the middle against Kenya and “blow some cobwebs off” after more than two weeks with very little cricket.
The defending champions, whose win takes them through to the World Cup quarter-finals, scored 324 in their 50 overs. Kenya finished on 264 for six.
It was Australia’s first completed match since they beat New Zealand on Feb. 25 in Nagpur. Their clash with Sri Lanka on March 5 was ruined by rain.
“Bit of rust on the team today, even with the batting. We got 320, but a few of us were a little bit rusty and needed some time in the middle,” Ponting said.
“We’ve done plenty of training. We needed to be out there today to blow some cobwebs off and we’ve done that,” he said. “Full credit to Kenya. I thought they fought the game out particularly well.”
The skipper said he was delighted to have Michael Hussey back in the squad, as a replacement for the injured Doug Bollinger.
“Great to have Huss back around the squad. He fitted back in beautifully today and played the way we know he can play,” Ponting said.
Hussey, who made 54, said the team could still improve in many areas.
“Canada is going to be another good hit out for us, but Pakistan is going to be a huge game down in Colombo and we should be starting to try and peak around that stage as well,” he said, referring to the final two group matches.
Kenya skipper Jimmy Kamande said despite success for his batsmen “at the end of the day we came out second. It’s a bit disappointing.”
“It was a bit disappointing not to see Collins [Obuya] get a 100 against the defending champions,” Kamande said.
Obuya finished 98 not out.
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