Bangladesh Thrash USA, Ireland And Thailand Claim Semi-Final Spots
The second day of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier was played today in Dundee and Angus with PNG, Bangladesh, Thailand and Ireland recording victories as the tournament moved toward the end of the group stages.
USA vs. Bangladesh @ Arbroath Cricket Club
Toss: USA won the toss and elected to bat
USA, tasked with their biggest challenge of the tournament so far, showed no signs of apprehension as they faced Bangladesh at Arbroath with both opening bats playing their shots – albeit to their downfall – with Erica Rendler bowled attempting a big shot and Nadia Gruny scooping straight into the gloves of the keeper three overs into play to hand Bangladesh the perfect start.
With early wickets back in the shed, USA attempted to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking with a number of quick singles, but fell victim to two run-outs thanks to sharp work from the Bangladesh fielders.
At the conclusion of their 20 overs, USA could only manage a meager 46 as they were bowled out with one ball remaining but not without effort – Sugetha Chandhrasekar (who top scored with 15) batting for 37 deliveries and Samantha Ramautar occupying the crease for 30 balls on her way to 5.
Chasing 47, Bangladesh knocked off the runs required in 8.2 overs, with opener Sanjida Islam scoring the bulk of the runs with 30 from 34, striking three fours and one six on the way.
Two wickets in two balls for Akshatha Rao in the penultimate over of the game, both edges through to the keeper, lifted the spirits of the USA team but were not enough to avoid defeat.
Scotland vs. PNG @ Arbroath Cricket Club
Toss: PNG won the toss and elected to field
Scotland were dealt a huge blow to their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign as they suffered a 6-wicket defeat to Papua New Guinea at Arbroath Cricket Club.
Losing the toss and being asked to bat, Scotland could only manage a conservative 101/5 – with only three batters able to score boundaries throughout the innings – as Papua New Guinea’s bowling attack bowled tight lines and took pace off the ball to restrict Scotland’s scoring abilities.
Kathryn Bryce was again the mainstay for Scotland, with 45 off 50 balls. Lorna Jack (14) and Rachel Hawkins (14) the only other batters to reach double figures.
Papua New Guinea started cautiously in their pursuit of 102 but were able to score at a comfortable rate throughout their innings – building partnerships of 16, 20, 26, 17 and 23 to ensure there was never too much to do for the batters.
Knocks of 30 and 25 from Tau and Ruma all but confirmed the victorious run-chase, with skipper Arua (10) and Oala (13) hitting the winning runs at the end as Scotland struggled to pick up wickets.
Kaia Arua, PNG captain, said: “Today’s game against Scotland was a really good start to our campaign and aim of qualifying for the T20 World Cup. We knew Scotland would have a strong side and expected a hard-fought game, which we certainly got. We hope to take this momentum into our next game against Bangladesh tomorrow.”
Thailand vs. Namibia @ Forthill Sports Club
Toss: Thailand won the toss and elected to bat
Thailand survived an early scare to record a 38-run win over Namibia, a day after recording a 30-run win over Netherlands to make it two from two in the tournament and progress to the semi-final stage.
Winning the toss and batting first, Thailand suffered a rare top-order failure as they slipped to 37/6 in the ninth over at Forthill, with right-arm medium Sylvia Shihepo claiming excellent figures of 3/8 to give Namibia an unforeseen hope of victory.
Experience in Tippoch (37) at number seven and Liengprasert (22) at number eight meant Thailand were able to put on a 62-run stand for the seventh wicket and climb to 99/6 from their 20 overs.
Namibia got off to a nightmare start in reply, losing Adri van der Merwe on the very first ball of the game – Sutthiruang crashing into the stumps on her way to figures of 4/13 – before Kayleen Green (1) and Petro Enright (1) were dismissed in consecutive overs to set Namibia on their way to 61 all out after 19.2 overs.
Sornnarin Tippoch, Thailand captain, said: “Obviously, it’s not one of our best performances [with the bat] which put us under a bit of pressure. Our team showed a lot of courage and executed out plans well with the ball for the win.”
Ireland vs. Netherlands @ Forthill Sports Club
Toss: Ireland won the toss and elect to bat first
Ireland has claimed a spot in the semi-final stages of the tournament thanks to a 19-run win over Netherlands at Forthill, Dundee to escape from their group alongside Thailand.
Kim Garth (39) and Laura Delany (28) provided the bulk of the runs for the Irish as the pair recovered from the early loss of Gaby Lewis (1), Orla Prendergast (11) and Mary Waldron (6) to put 120/6 on the board – de Lange doing the work with the ball for Netherlands with 2/28.
Netherlands were spirited in reply with 46 at the top of the order from Sterre Kalis and 28 from Veringmeir at number four with 28 runs, but would eventually fall 19 runs short to finish 101/5 from their 20.
Eimear Richardson and Laura Delany bagged two wickets each with 2/18 and 2/17 respectively to help their side to a semi-final spot.
Scores in brief:
Papua New Guinea beat Scotland by 6 wickets at Arbroath Cricket Club
Scotland 101/5, 20 overs (K Bryce 45, L Jack 14; S Jimmy 2/16)
Papua New Guinea 102/4, 19.3 overs (B Tau 30, T Ruma 25; K Bryce 1/8)
Bangladesh beat USA by 8 wickets at Arbroath Cricket Club
USA 46, 19.5 overs (SK Chandhrasekar 15; N Akter 3/12)
Bangladesh 48/2, 8.2 overs (S Islam 30; Akshatha Rao 2/9)
Thailand beat Namibia by 38 runs at Forthill Sports Club
Thailand 99/6, 20 overs (S Tippoch 37, W Liengprasert 22; SN Shihepo 3/8)
Namibia 61/10, 19.2 overs (M Mwatile 16, SA Wittmann 11; S Sutthiruang 4/13)
Ireland beat Netherlands by 19 runs at Forthill Sports Club
Ireland 120/6, 20 overs (KJ Garth 39, L Delany 28; C de Lange 2/28)
Netherlands 101/5, 20 overs (S Kalis 46, M Veringmeir 28; L Delany 2/17)
Fixtures for Monday 2nd September:
Forthill Sports Club
10:00 – Bangladesh vs. PNG (rescheduled match)
Fixtures for Tuesday 3rd September:
Arbroath Cricket Club
10:00 – Netherlands vs. Namibia
14:00 – PNG vs. USA
Forthill Sports Club
10:00 – Ireland vs. Thailand
14:00 – Scotland vs. Bangladesh
