Belgium 188 for 7 (Shah 58, Iqbal 40, Subhash 3-35) beat Austria 115 (Simpson-Parker 48; Khaliq 4-11) by 73 runs

The Belgium team celebrate the tournament-clinching wicket © ICC

Hosts Belgium won the final of the ICC European Division 2 Championship at Royal Brussels on Saturday with an emphatic 73-run win against Austria.

They were always in charge after posting 188 for 7, with Nirvam Shah (58) and Amir Iqbal (40) sharing an opening stand of 85. Simon Newport hit a brisk 30 from 15 balls, and Abdul Rehman struck two sixes in his 12-ball 23.

Satyam Subhash (3 for 35) was the most successful of the Austrian attack, who seemed a bit jaded. The bowlers weren’t helped by some poor support in the field. Shahid Muhammad (2 for 33) removed both Austrian openers early, and from that point, it was always difficult. Andrew Simpson-Parker (48) and Benjamin Loader (26) added 59 for the fourth wicket, but Faisal Khaliq took 4 for 11 to wrap up the innings as Austria were bowled out for 115 in 17.5 overs. Wicketkeeper Ali Raza took six catches, to take his tournament total to 11.

Isle of Man 155 for 4 (19 overs) (Webster 68) beat Portugal 142 for 9, 19 overs (Butt 53) by 13 runs

In the third-fourth place play-off game, the Isle of Man bounced back from their loss against Austria the day before to beat Portugal by 13 runs.

Oliver Webster hit 68 from 42 balls (9 fours), while there were useful cameos from Peter Lewis (28 not out), and Gareth Morris (23), in their 155 for 4 in 19 overs. Khalid Izaz (2 for 17) was the pick of the Portugal bowling.

In reply, opener Nadeem Butt struck 53 from 31 balls, which included six fours and two sixes, as he shared in a partnership of 80 with Intesab Medhi (23) for the second wicket. Zafar Ali struck three sixes in his 33 from just 13 balls, but Oliver Webster completed an excellent all-round day as he took 2 for 1, as Portugal went from 134 for 4, to 141 for 9 in the space of two overs, finishing on 142 for 9.

Spain 141 for 8 beat Hellas 106 for 9 (Hussein 3-13) by 35 runs

At Ghent, Spain made sure of fifth place when they defeated Hellas by 35 runs. A solid batting display by Spain saw seven of their players make double figures, with Gary Crompton (26), Farhat Mahmood (25), and Pedro Venus Valiente (20), the main contributors in their total of 141 for 8.

Hellas then self destructed as they suffered no fewer than three run outs, and that coupled with the bowling of Mohib Hussein (3 for 13), meant they could only manage 106 for 9 when the overs ran out, with Alexandros Souvlakis 24 the only contributor of any note.

Spain had further good news when James Morgan won the Most Valuable Player, beating off the challenge of Amir Iqbal, Gareth Morris and Michael Caruana. The afternoon game saw Finland edge out Luxembourg in the battle to claim 7th place. Joost Mees (19) and Tony Whiteman (16) added 39 for the first wicket, before an amazing collapse inspired by Madhu Bhandari (3-18) and Amrik Bhatia (2-17) saw them lose 6 wickets for just 13 runs. Nishith Gandhi and Piran Merkl both reached double figures as Luxembourg ended with 101 for 9.

Finland 104 for 8 beat Luxembourg 101 for 9 (Bhandari 3-18) by 2 wickets

A steady reply by the Finns ensured they were always in control, although they wobbled slightly going from 62 for 2 to 78 for 6, but MT Sarfraz, with an unbeaten 14, held his nerve to seal the two-wicket win off the first ball of the last over.

At Mechelen, Malta clinched 9th place with a thrilling three-run win against Sweden in a contest reduced to 12 overs per side due to rain. Justin Brooke top scored with 36 from 28 balls a Malta total of 95 for 4 in 12 overs.

In reply, opener Bilal Zaigham anchored the innings with 31 from 30 balls, and looked to be taking his team to victory, until a leaping, one handed catch on the boundary by Michael Caruana turned the game.

Malta 95 for 4 (12 overs) (Justin Brooke 36) beat Sweden 92 for 9 (12 overs) (Naudi 4-9) by 3 runs

Maltese skipper Andrew Naudi bowled the final over, off which Sweden required seven to win, with three wickets remaining. He bowled Hassan Zaigham from the first delivery, and Aman Zahid from the fourth, to leave five runs needed from the last two. They could only manage a leg bye, to leave Malta winners by three runs.

It didn’t get any better for Sweden in the afternoon game, as they lost to Cyprus by 78 runs, to finish in 11th position. Nimal Durayalage top scored with 56 after Cyprus had been given a great start by Syed Hussain. He scored 49 from 27 deliveries dominating an opening stand of 65 with his captain Michalis Kyriacou.

Cyprus 199 for 7 (Duralanga 56, Hussain 49, Mohammed 3-42) beat Sweden 121 by 78 runs

Dineja Agathocleous (29) gave the innings a further late boost as Cyprus finished on 199 for 8. Ewan Prezens (3 for 6) and Azam Mohammed (3 for 43) were best with the ball for Sweden.

Bilal Zaigham (32) was again his team’s top scorer, and Azam Khalil made 27, but they were never really in the hunt. Their innings finished on 121 all out with 3.4 overs unused. Yasir Nazir (3 for 16), and Babar Ayub (3 for 21) both caused the Swedish batsmen problems.

The Cypriot bowlers were backed up by their fielders, and in particular, Stelios Michaelides, who took no fewer than five catches on the boundary.

ICC European Division 2 Final Placings

1 Belgium
2 Austria
3 Isle of Man
4 Portugal
5 Spain
6 Hellas
7 Finland
8 Luxembourg
9 Malta
10 Cyprus
11 Sweden

Muhammad Akhtar grabs a crucial wicket for Austria © ICC/CricketEurope

Austria shocked favourites Isle of Man to record a six wicket win in their play-off game at Royal Brussels in the ICC European Division Two Championships.

Having won the toss and elected to field, Austria fully justified their decision with a quite amazing start to the game. Gareth Morris and Oliver Webster both perished in identical fashion during the opening over, caught by Andrew Simpson-Parker at first slip - Muhammad Akhtar the successful bowler.

Things got even worse for the Isle of Man, when Peter Lewis slipped and was brilliantly run out by Qamar Abbas. Jaco Jansen was brilliantly caught by Benjamin Loader on the boundary, as he sprinted and dived full length to take the ball inches from the ground. Ahktar claimed his fourth wicket, when he trapped Max Stokoe in front, to give him the quite amazing analysis of 4 for 5 in his spell.

Daniel Hawke fell first ball, Simpson-Parker claiming his third catch off Satish Kaul, and the scoreboard at that time read a scarcely believable 6 for 6. Indeed it got worse for the Manxmen when Daniel Kniveton was run out backing up, after the bowler deflected the ball onto the stumps.

That made the total 10 for 7, and it looked like it could a very early finish. Their innings was given respectability by an 8th wicket partnership of 75 in 65 balls between Christopher Hawke and skipper Richard Kniveton.

Hawke benefited from a drop on the boundary by Benjamin Loader when he had scored 20, which was pushed over the ropes for six. He went on to score 58 from 47 balls (8 fours, 1 six), before being last man out with the score on 94. Satish Kaul (2 for 11) and Satyam Subhash (2for 20) also bowled well in addition to Akhtar.

Sometimes a low total can be difficult to chase, but that didn’t prove the case for Austria, thanks primarily to the efforts of opener Lakmal Kasthuriarachchige, who played some delightful shots in his 43 from 31 balls. Andrew Simpson-Parker sealed the six wicket win in style, smashing a quite magnificent straight six, to spark off jubilant scenes amongst the Austrian camp.

The win means they are promoted to ICC European Division 1, and will take part in that tournament next month in the Channel Islands. They now play Belgium in the final at Royal Brussels tomorrow, where once again the underdogs will be hoping to defeat the fancied hosts

Belgium overpowered Portugal in Ghent on Friday morning to ease their way into Saturday’s final, and to make sure of a place in next month’s ICC European Division 1 Championship.

Portuguese captain Akbar Saiyad gambled on the success of his bowlers by putting the hosts in after he had won the toss, but the plan misfired as openers Nirvam Shah and Amir Iqbal put on 51 for the first wicket in just 38 deliveries.

Iqbal was eventually caught behind by Rizwan Khaliq off the bowling of Muhammad Shoaib for 27, but Shah and Jamie Farmiloe maintained the pressure, adding 70 from 44 balls, Shah reaching 69 before he was caught by Abu Butt off Babar Khan.

Three interruptions for rain did nothing to disrupt the momentum of the Belgian innings, and Portugal were to have no further success as Farmiloe and Shaheryar Butt plundered 115 from the final 45 deliveries to reach the highest total of the week so far – a massive 236 for 2 from twenty overs.

Butt’s 73 from 27 balls was one of the outstanding innings of the tournament, and included five fours and five sixes. Farmiloe gave him splendid support, making 40 off 26 deliveries and producing some extremely enterprising running between the wickets.

Portugal had no answer to the pace and accuracy of the Belgian opening bowlers, Shahid Muhammad and 19-year-old left-armer Waqas Shafiq taking seven wickets between them in their eight overs. Shafiq struck the first blows by removing Abu Butt and Shahzad Hassan with successive deliveries in his opening over, and went on to take 4 for 25, while Shahid claimed 3 for 26.

Only Nadeem Butt (18) and Zafar Ali (17) were able to handle the bowling with any confidence, and by the time the two Belgians had completed their spells Portugal were in desperate trouble on 52 for seven.

There was a little more resistance in the later stages of the innings, but only Intesab Medhi and last man Muhammad Shoaib were able to reach double figures as Portugal were bundled out for 91 in 17.1 overs, giving Belgium a 145-run margin of victory.

In the first match of the triangular play-off series for 9th to 11th places, Malta struck the first blow with a 39-run win over Cyprus in Mechelen, despite a fine all-round effort from Cypriot captain Mike Kyriacou.

The Maltese total of 158 for 8 was built around an innings of 62 from Andrew Naudi, with Kyriacou taking 3 for 22.

Cyprus then collapsed to 49 for 9 in their first ten overs, before Kyriacou led a fight back with an unbeaten 72. But it was not enough, and he eventually ran out of partners with the total on 119. Naudi took 3 for 23 for Malta, and Mike Caruana 4 for 16 to engineer the Cypriot collapse.

The most exciting game of the day came at the ICC European Division Two Championships came at Ghent, where Austria edged out Spain in Group B, by virtue of their point gained in a tied game with Hellas. They went into the game level on points with Spain, but knew they needed a positive result given their vastly inferior net run rate in comparison with the Iberian side.

It looked like rain might give them that point, but eventually the skies cleared to enable a 15 overs per side contest. Austria batted first and made 116 for 8, with Amar Naeem top scoring with 55 from 44 balls. He shared in a 3rd wicket stand of 52 with Satyam Subhash (21). Best with the ball for Hellas were Spyridon Goustis (2 for 15) and Stamatos Giourgas (2 for 21).

In reply, it was nip and tuck all the way, as Hellas recovered from the loss of early wickets to look poised for a win, thanks to a stand of 52 between Iordanis Kontarinis (42) and Stavros Nikitaris (16).

With seven needed off the last over, Hellas came agonizingly close, with Goustis run out coming back for the 3rd run which would have won the game. Nandeep Soggi (2 for 13) and Satish Kaul (2 for 18) both bowled well for Austria who now take on the Isle of Man at Brussels tomorrow.

Portugal won a rain affected contest against Cyprus at Mechelen, to edge out Finland in the battle for second place in the group. The final calculations were very tight, as Portugal has a net run-rate of 0.45, compared to -0.31 for Finland after both had finished on five points.

The game itself was somewhat marred by two rain stoppages, firstly when Cyprus were in full flow, at 103 for 5 off 14.5 overs. The stoppage broke their rhythm as they had scored 34 from the last 11 balls before the rain came, while only managing 13 from 13 balls when play restarted.

Nimal Durayalage smashed three sixes and two fours in his 33 from 16 balls. Cypriot openers Syed Hussain (31), and Andrew Mulkern (21) shared an opening stand of 59 in 64 balls, to lay the foundations for a late assault.

Zafar Ali (3 for 22) was the pick of the Portugal bowlers, although Muhammad Shoaib must be commended for his economy rate, conceding just 15 runs in his four overs spell.

Any nerves Portugal had chasing a revised DL target of 124 in 17 overs were soon soothed by skipper Nadeem Butt smashing 20 from the first over bowled by his Cypriot counterpart Michalis Kyriacou. Abu Butt, went quickly, and the skipper followed soon after to leave the game in the balance at 39 for 2.

The crucial phase of the game came when Rizwan Khaliq was dropped twice when he had scored only 5 and 9. He proceeded to score a match winning 53 not out from just 32 balls, which included 7 fours and 2 sixes.

Portugal had reached 86 for 4 off 9.2 overs when another heavy downpour meant no further play was possible. Their margin of victory being 20 runs on the D/L method.

Portugal will now face hosts Belgium, who earned their fifth consecutive win by beating Malta by 118 runs in a 19 overs per side game at Royal Brussels.

Batting first Belgium racked up an imposing total of 194 for 6, with teenager Jamie Farmiloe anchoring the innings, top scoring with 63 which included 4 fours and a six from 52 balls.
He was well supported by Shaheryar Butt (45) and Simon Newport (43). Simon Newport provided some late impetus scoring his 43 from just 18 balls.

Isle of Man completed the group stages unbeaten, but only just after being pushed all the way by Portugal – just nine runs separating the sides at the end.

Gareth Morris went early for just four, and when Oliver Webster followed soon after, an upset looked a distinct possibility. Max Stokoe however held firm, and he made a run a ball 59 which included three boundaries. He shared in a stand of 68 with Peter Lewis (29), and helped by 18 wides, Isle of Man finished on 142 for 8. Babar Khan (3 for 31) the most successful bowler.

In reply, Portugal made a sedate start, and looked to have no chance when the run rate climbed to above double figures. That changed however when Zafar Ali came to the crease – he smashed 5 sixes and a four as he raced to 38 from just 17 balls, before falling to Jaco Jansen.

Daniel Hawke (3 for 20), and Arne van Den Berg (2 for 19) both bowled well, as Portugal fell at the final hurdle.

Rain played a major role in the game between Luxembourg and Finland at Kampong. Batting first, a well disciplined Finland bowling unit restricted Luxembourg to 86 for 8 in 17 overs, with Sebastian Finch making a top score of 17.

Rain meant that Finland would need 70 in 13 overs in reply, and that proved no trouble as they coasted to the easiest of 9 wicket wins with two overs to spare. Michael Shaw (22*) and Roholah Sadiqui (15) added 40 for the first wicket, while skipper Jonathan Scamans (17no), eased his team over the line.

The Austria versus Sweden game was a thrilling encounter, with the Austrians claiming a one wicket win as they chased down Sweden’s 154 for 6. Sunny Sharma (83) and Bilal Zaigham (35) shared an opening stand of 106 for Sweden.

Lakmal Kasthuriarachchige hit 47 from just 33 balls to get the Austrian innings off to a brisk start, but two wickets apiece from Khalil and Khawaja pegged them right back. Andrew Simpson-Parker (29) and Erwin Grasinger (23) got them close, before a late wobble.

Needing four for victory, they lost two wickets in quick succession, before Satish Kaul held his nerve to score the winning runs off the last delivery of the game, to spark off scenes of great celebration from his team-mates.

Belgium won the top of the table clash at Royal Brussels, beating Spain by 26 runs, in a result which would ultimately dash Spanish hopes of promotion.

Belgium produced yet another solid batting display in posting 169 for 6, with Sherez Sheikh making 38, and Shaheryar Butt 30. Skipper Andre Wagener chipped in with a quickfire 37 from just 27 balls, and that late surge was to prove crucial, Farhat Mahmood with 3 for 35 was the pick of the Spanish bowlers.

In reply, Spain were always up against the run rate, despite useful innings from James Morgan (27) and Muhammad Shafique (25). Talat Nadeem Ali offered some late resistance, hitting three sixes in his 26, before being the last man dismissed. Amir Iqbal had the excellent analysis of 4 for 29, while Andre Wagener completed a fine all-round performance by claiming 3 for 24.

Spain kept their qualification hopes very much alive at the ICC European Division Two tournament when they timed a potentially difficult run chase to perfection to defeat Hellas by seven wickets at Mechelen.

A slow start from Hellas meant they were always on the back foot, and it took a late surge from Georgios-Chry Stogiannos to take their total up to 142 for 6. The belligerent right hander scored 45 from just 21 balls.

The early wickets of Mehmood Ahmed and Anastasios Manousis, both without scoring, meant Hellas required a period of consolidation. That was provided by Andreas Koutsoufis (26), Oliver Hutton (25), and Stavros Nikitaris (29).

In reply, Hellas were given an early boost by the run out of Sajad Ali, but a second wicket partnership of 65 between James Morgan (22) ans Shafique Ali settled the nerves. Shafique Ali scored exactly 50 from 34 balls, before being well caught on the deep midwicket boundary by Iordanis Kontarinis off the bowling of Mehmood Ahmed.

Tanveer Iqbal then proceeded to blast Hellas out of the game, hitting five sixes, two of which sailed out of the ground, to finish unbeaten on 39, as the win was secured with 15 balls remaining.

Spain now take on Belgium tomorrow at Royal Brussels, in a crucial game which will go a long way to decide on who tops the group.

In the bottom of the table clash at Royal Brussels in Group A, Luxembourg defeated Cyprus by 41 runs (D/L) to earn their first win of the competition. An unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 101 between Taral Desai and Nishith Gandhi was the bedrock of their victory. Desai top scored with 56 from just 42 balls, while Gandhi made his unbeaten 29 from 25 balls.

Luxembourg captain William Heath had earlier made 31 from 23 balls, having come in when early wickets fell. Babar Ayub (1 for 22), Michalis Kyriacou (1 for 23), and Yasir Nazir (1 for 27), were the wicket takers for Cyprus as Luxembourg scored 141 for 3 in 18 overs – two overs being lost due to a rain shower.

On the resumption, the Duckworth-Lewis target for Cyprus was 143 in 17 overs, but in reality they were never in serious contention. That was due to the bowling of Piran Merkl (3-14), and Taral Desai (2 for 16) who blew away the Cyriots top order, reducing them to 36 for 5. A middle order rally saw them to a respectable total of 101 for 7, with Yasir Nazir scoring (26no), and Nimal Durayalage 23.

Malta’s batting woes continued at Ghent, when they were skittled for just 48 runs in 18.5 overs by Sweden. Only wicket-keeper John Grima, batting at number ten, managed double figures, as they had no answer to the accurate and penetrative Swedish attack. Usman Azim (4 for 14), and Azam Mohammad (2 for 12) claimed the bowling honours in their comprehensive victory.

Earlier, a consistent batting display, which saw six of the seven batsmen score double figures, saw Sweden post 160 for 5. Sunny Sharma (29) and Bilal Zaigham (28) shared an opening partnership of 54, while Piyal Rahman (37no) and Christopher Tebbutt (29) added 41.

Andrew Naudi and Michael Caruana each took two wickets, while Ronnie Sacco (1 for 26) also bowled well.

Malta finish the group stage with a game against hosts Belgium, while Sweden take on Austria.

Belgium retained their unbeaten record in Group B at the ICC European Division 2 tournament on Wednesday morning with a seven-wicket victory over Hellas, largely thanks to an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 67 between opener Nirvam Shah and Shahreyar Butt.

The Greek side had set a fairly testing target of 150, although the tournament hosts had done well to haul their way back after a rather higher total had seemed on the cards at one stage. Anastasios Manousis (37 from 32 balls) and Andreas Koutsoufis (34 from 24) had given their side a good start, and they were well placed at 72 for 3 at the half-way stage.

But their cause was not helped by three run-outs, and with leg-spinner Amir Iqbal bowling a fine spell to take 2 for 22 in his four overs and Abdul Rehman conceding just 17 in three, Belgium were able to restrict the scoring rate well in the third quarter. Captain Stavros Nikitaras struck a couple of fine blows towards the end, and Hellas finished on 149 for 9.

Amir Iqbal then started at a gallop when the hosts replied, striking five boundaries in the first two overs, and by the time he was bowled by Manousis for a 26-ball 33 the total had reached 55 from just 41 deliveries.

A bizarre incident followed, when Sheraz Sheikh was given run out, only to be called back because the keeper had not had the ball in his glove when he broke the wicket. So Sheikh returned, only to depart three balls later when he fell to a magnificent catch by Koutsoufis at forward square leg.

Shah continued, however, first in partnership with Simon Newport, and then with Butt. Accumulating steadily, Shah made 43 from 46 deliveries with four boundaries, while Butt characteristically went onto the attack, hitting two sixes and six fours as he reached a 22-ball 45.

In the other Group B match, Austria maintained their pressure on the leaders with a comfortable 80-run win over Malta in Ghent.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Austrians made 171for 7, with opener Lakmal Kasthuriarachchige smashing 22 from just 14 deliveries, and Amandeep Amandeep making a 38-ball 40. hen Qamar Abbas hit 29 from 19 balls, with five fours, and Ben Loader 30 from 21 as Austria piled on the agony in the closing overs.

Nowell Khosla was the most economical of the Maltese bowlers, conceding just 25 runs from his four overs, while Andrew Naudi took 3 for 26. Malta reached 23 before losing their first wicket, but they were unable to score at a rate which gave them a real chance of reaching their target, and as wickets began to fall the gap steadily widened.

In the morning Group A match, Portugal and Finland only managed six overs before the rain came down and the match was abandoned.

Isle of Man made it three wins out of three to assume control in Group A when they recorded a comprehensive nine wicket win against Finland at Royal Brussels.

A thoroughly professional performance in the field restricted the Finns to just 87 all out in 17.2 overs, with only Bilal Khan (26) reaching double figures. All six Isle of Man bowlers shared the wickets, with Ross Berry claiming 4 for 14. Jaco Jansen taking 2 for 9, but his championship tally of five is still well short of his colleague Arne van der Berg, who has 9 wickets, at an incredible economy rate of just 3.11.

A target of 88 was never likely to prove difficult for the powerful Isle of Man batting line up, and so it turned out, as they lost just the one wicket. Gareth Morris was the batsman dismissed, bowled for 26, which included three fours and six sixes. He is now the leading run scorer in the competition, with 262 runs at an amazing average of 131, and a quite incredible strike rate of 225.86.

Fellow opener Max Stokoe scored 29 not out from 41 balls, as he shared in an unbroken second wicket partnership of 56 with Oliver Webster (27 not out). Webster’s innings contained three fours and a six, and came from 24 balls.

Austria pulled off a stunning run chase to defeat Spain by six wickets at Mechelen. Chasing what appeared an unlikely 216, the victory was set up by a second wicket partnership of 123 between Amar Naeem and Qamar Abbas. Naeem top scored with 73 from just 39 balls, while Qamar Abbas scored 69 from 38 deliveries.

Both were dismissed by Armaghan Khan (2 for 35), but Andrew Simpson-Parker (20), and Satyam Subhash (17not out) settled the nerves and pulled off a quite remarkable run chase with just a ball remaining.

Earlier Spanish captain James Morgan had been the mainstay of his side’s innings, as he raced to 71 from just 36 balls, which included six sixes and three fours. Boundaries were indeed a feature of the game – in total 28 sixes and 27 fours were scored, both sides favouring the shortish straight boundaries.

Shafique Ali scored a rapid 42 from 19 deliveries, while Tanvir Iqbal chipped in with 36 from just 20 balls at the end. Three Austrian bowlers took two wickets apiece, namely Subhash, Kasthuriarachchige, and Asif.

The Belgium versus Sweden game at Ghent was another high scoring affair, as the Swedes failed narrowly to chase down Belgium’s 196 for 8.

Opener Amir Iqbal anchored the Belgian innings, scoring 74 from 75 balls, while Abdul Rehman scored 29 from just 18 balls. Azam Khalil was the most successful of the Swedish attack, claiming 2 for 39.

In reply, Sweden were always in contention thanks to a 126-partnership between Sanaullah Habibzai and Bilal Zaigham. Habibzai top scored with 78 from 52 balls, while Zaigham scored his 55, taking 51 deliveries. Belgian skipper Andre Wagener (2 for 42) and Abdul Rehman (2 for 36) took wickets at vital times, as Sweden faltered finishing 22 runs short.

There were comprehensive victories for the Isle of Man over Cyprus in Group A, and for Spain over Malta in Group B in the morning games.

In Ghent, Isle of Man opener Gareth Morris followed up his 95 yesterday with a magnificent unbeaten 141, made from just 62 balls with ten fours and ten sixes, which took his side to an imposing total of 224 for 4. He shared in a second-wicket partnership of 76 with Oliver Webster, who made a 24-ball 38.

Syed Hussain was the only bowler of note for Cyprus, taking 3 for 30 in his four overs.

In reply, Cyprus were never really in contention, being dismissed for 74 in 17.1 overs. Arne van den Berg was again among the wickets taking 4 for 15, while Jaco Jansen claimed three for 6 as the Isle of Man ran out winners by 170 runs.

Portugal took the honours in the Group A clash with Luxembourg at Royal Brussels, but the match went all the way to the last of the scheduled overs before a six by Zafar Ali settled the issue.

Zafar shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 55 off 56 deliveries with Intesab Medhi, which took the Portugese to within three runs of their target. Zafar finished with 41 from just 18 deliveries, with three fours and three sixes, while Medhi made 32 from 31 balls.

Luxembourg, defending a total of 139 for 3 to which Taral Desai’s 34-ball 59 not out, including four fours and three sixes, were ahead of the game for much of the Portuguese innings, and it was only in the final four overs that a flurry of runs saw Portugal home.

Wayne Codd, with 1 for 24, and Pirin Merkl with 2 for 19 bowled economical spells, but in the end it was Zafar’s blitz which gave Portugal the final word.

The Luxembourg innings had followed a similar course, Anand Pattabiraman and Joost Mees getting them off to a steady start with an opening stand of 44. The Portuguese attack kept things under control until Desai cut loose, with Muhammad Shoaib and Medhi the most economical.

The game between Spain and Malta in Mechelen was even more one-sided, as the Maltese could manage only 30 in 9.4 overs in response to Spain’s total of 215 for 8.

Top-scorer for Spain was opener Shafique Ali with 72 from just 39 balls, including nine fours and four sixes. He and his opening partner Sajad Ali (21) put on 60 for the first wicket, and then skipper James Morgan helped add another 51 for the second.

The real fireworks, however, came towards the end, as Mark Spencer smashed 46 from 15 deliveries, including five sixes, before he was forced to retire hurt. Ronnie Sacco with 3 for 24 and captain Andrew Lenard with 2 for 42 were the main wicket-takers.

Malta lost two wickets in the first over and swiftly collapsed to 8 for 5 and 15 for 8 before the last two partnerships doubled the total. Talat Ali took 5 for 13 for Spain, and Tanvir Iqbal 3 for 2.

Greece's Georgios Stogiannos lines up for a big shot against Malta © Getty Images

Tournament hosts Belgium began their ICC European Division Two campaign in style with a relatively comfortable 60 win run win against Austria at Mechelen in Group B.

An opening partnership of 69 between Nirvam Shah (40) and Amir Iqbal (25), laying the foundation for their total of 183 for 6. Abdul Rehman smashed eight sixes as he raced to 58 from just 18 balls, sharing in a match winning stand of 82 with Nadeem Khan (20no). Satyam Subash removed three of the Belgian top order to finish with the excellent analysis of 3 for 26.

In reply, Belgian opening bowler Waqas Shafiq dismissed three of the top order to reduce Austria to 28 for 4, and virtually seal the contest. Benjamin Loader played some delightful shots in a spirited half century from 46 balls, as he shared in a stand of 58 for the 6th wicket with Satyam Subash (26). In the end, Austria finished on 123 for 8, with Amir Iqbal (2 for 16) the other bowler of note.

Spain took the honours in their opening Group B match against promoted side Sweden in Ghent, who nevertheless made a promising debut at this level.

An unbeaten 54 by captain Piyal Rahman enabled Sweden to reach 141 for 5 after Bilal Zaigham and Sunny Sharma had put on an opening stand of 40. Farhat Mahmood finished with 3 for 25.

Hassan Zaigham then struck a couple of early blows when Spain replied, but a superb 44-ball 70 from James Morgan swung the game Spain’s way. By the time he was fifth man out only five were needed for victory, and the Spanish, too, had 16 balls to spare as they reached their target without further loss.

In the other Group B match, in Mechelen, the Hellas batsmen, given first use of the crease, set a cracking pace despite losing Andreas Koutsoufis to the first ball of the match, with Georgios Stogiannos hitting six fours in a 23-ball innings of 36. Iordanis Kontarinis chipped in with 21 from just nine deliveries and the innings closed on 98 for six. Mike Caruana was the pick of the Maltese bowlers with two for 7, and Ronnie Sacco also claimed two wickets.

Malta made a steady start in reply, but in the third over three wickets fell in the space of four deliveries, two of them for George Toulantas and the third a run-out, and the side never really recovered from these reverses. Spinner Mehmood Ahmed took three wickets for 15 for Hellas, and Malta could only manage a disappointing 68 for 9.

The weather was the winner in the Hellas versus Sweden clash at Royal Brussels. Just 8.2 overs were possible with Hellas reaching 53 for 2 before a torrential downpour left the umpires with no option but to abandon the game despite the efforts of the groundstaff. Both sides earn a point apiece from the game.

In Group A, Finland drew first blood with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Cyprus at the Royal Brussels CC.

Put in to bat, Cyprus managed 134 for 9 in their twenty overs, with opener Syed Hussain making 24 from 25 deliveries, and Nimal Durayalage picking up the momentum in taking just 10 balls to reach the same score. Ekhpelwak Kuchey did most of the damage for Finland with 3 for 23.

Michael Shaw and Roholah Sadiqui got the Finns away to a good start, and then skipper Jonathan Scamans (47 not out) and Shabir Sheerzad (32 not out) shared an unbroken stand of 86 for the third wicket which saw their side home with 16 balls to spare.

Isle of Man produced a powerful batting display to record a convincing 125-run win against Luxembourg in Ghent.

They were always in control following an opening partnership of 121 runs in 14 overs between Gareth Morris and Max Stokoe. James Barker removed Stokoe for 42, well caught by Merkl, and immediately number three Oliver Webster fell first ball.

Gareth Morris was particularly severe on anything straying in length or width and his 95 came from just 42 balls. His innings included eight sixes and seven fours, and deserved a century, before Wayne Codd claimed his wicket. There was no respite for the beleaguered Luxembourg attack, as Jaco Jansen smashed an unbeaten 46 from just 22 balls to take the Isle of Man to a mammoth 200 for 3.

Luxembourg reached 50 for 5, when the rain intervened to give them a new Duckworth-Lewis target of 184 in 18 overs. Captain William Heath top scored with 18, while Sebastian Finch and Joost Mees both made 11 in their final total of 58 for 9.

Portugal’s captain Akbar Saiyad, who was born in Mozambique, will aim to show age is no barrier when he leads his country at the age of 64 in the ICC European Division Two Championship in Belgium.

The winners of the 11-team tournament – Switzerland have recently withdrawn from the event – will progress to Division One which will be held in the Channel Islands in July while there is an ultimate prize of a play at the global Twenty20 qualifiers in UAE next March.

At the other end of the age spectrum to Saiyad is 15-year-old Sebastian Aycock from the Isle of Man who will be the youngest player in the tournament while Luxembourg twins Timothy and James Barker are also 15.

Isle of Man are the top ranked team in Group A while Spain takes that honour in Group B although it is expected to be a closely fought tournament.

Squads

Austria Amar Naeem (capt), Muhammad Akhtar, Imran Asif, Amar Deep, Erwin Grasinger, Lakmal Kasthuriarachchige, Satish Kaul, Benjamin Loader, Tiran Indika Perera, Wasif Saluja, Andrew Simpson-Parker, Nandeep Soggi, Satyam Subhash, Amandeep Amandeep, Syed Qamar Abbas Rizvi, Shivam Subhash

Belgium Andre Wagener (capt), Shaheryar Butt, Jamie Farmiloe, Javed Iqbal, Amir Iqbal, Nadeem Khan, Faisal Khaliq, Shaival Mehta, Sheraz Sheikh Muhammad, Shahid Muhammad, Simon Newport, , Ali Raza, Abdul Rehman, Nirvam Shah, Shahzad Jillani, Akshat Sanghvi, Sebastien Shukla, Waqas Shafiq, Charles Wright

Cyprus Michalis Kyriacou (capt), Dhanuka Agathocleous, Dineja Agathocleous, Babar Ayub, Alan Broadbent, Nimal Durayalage, Syed Hussain, Stelios Michaelides, Andrew Mulkern, Yasir Nazir, Georgios Papaonisiforou, Niroshan Pelawattha, Malik Tariq, Mohamedriyaz Kajalwala, Muhammad Khan, Christos Markides, Sakhawat Rubel, Sampath Tsangarides

Finland Jonathan Scamans (capt), Madhu Bhandari Amrik Bhatia, Shakil Pervage Bin Islam, Zakiullah Kamal, Zahidullah Kamal, Ekhpelwak Kuchey, Shidhu Chanrakant, Kanade, Bilal Khan, Obaidullah Sadiqui, Michael Shaw, Roholah Sadiqui, Muhammad Tariq Sarfraz, Shabir Ahmad Sheerzad, Sebastian Knight, Zahoor Ahmad Khan

Hellas Mehmood Ahmed, Stamatios Giourgas, Spyridon Goustis, Oliver Hutton, Iordanis Kontarinis, Spyridon Kontos, Andreas Koutsoufis, Anastasios Manousis, Christos Molinaris, StavrosNikitaras, Georgios-Chry Stogiannos, Alexandros Souvlakis, Georgios Toulantas, Dimitrios Triantafillidis

Isle of Man Sebastian Aycock, Ross Berry, Daniel Hawke, Christopher Hawke, Jaco Jansen, Daniel Kniveton, Richard Kniveton, Shaun Kelly, Peter Lewis, Gareth Morris, Garreth Roome, Max Stokoe, Arne Van Den Berg, Oliver Webster

Luxembourg William Heath (capt), Timothy Andrews, Timothy Barker, James Barker, Wayne Codd, Graham Cope, Taral Desai, Sebastian Finch, Nishith Gandhi, Deepak Gianchandani, Piran Merkl, Joost Mees, Anand Pattabiraman, Tony Whiteman, Saravanan Narayanan

Malta Andrew Lenard, Samuel Aquilina, Justin Brooke, Michael Caruana, Malcolm Crabbe, Balakrishnan Dhandapani, Joydeep Ghose Roy, John Grima, Darren Grech, Nowell Khosla, Andrew Naudi, Mark George Sacco, Ronnie Sacco, Anthony Slater, Sarfraz Ali, David Borg Known As Newton, Robert Krishna, Javeed Shah, Frankie Spiteri

Portugal Akbar Saiyad (capt) Zafar Ali, Paulo Buccimazza, Syed Bukhari, Nadeem Butt, Abu Butt, Shahzad Hassan, Khalid Izaz, Rizwan Khaliq, Babar Khan, Intesab Medhi, Muhammad Mirza, Nadeem Nazar, Muhammad Shoaib, Ricardo, Antunes, Carlo Buccimazza, Silkesh Deuchande, Jose Ricardo Pais

Spain Sajad Ali,Muhammad Shafique Ali, Gary Crompton, Mohib Hussein, Tanveer Iqbal, Muhammad Irshad Khan, Armaghan Khan, Farhat Mahmood, James Morgan, Christian Munoz-Mills, Talat Nadeem Ali, Mark Spencer, Wasim Ur Rehman Khan, Luis Pedro, Venus Valiente, Faran Afzal, Mohammed Akmal, Shoaib Hussein, Gurmeet Singh

Sweden Piyal Rahman (capt), Imran Amjad, Usman Azim, Sanaullah Habibzai, Azam Khalil, Maqsood Khawaja, Azam Mohammad, Ewan Prezens, Sunny Sharma, Sadat Sidiqi, Christopher Tebbutt, Aman Zahid, Bilal Zaigham, Hassan Zaigham, Adnan Raza, Sandeep Sharma, Noman Zahid

Nigeria have put together a 23-man squad that will go into a training camp ahead of the ICC Africa Twenty20 Cricket League Division One tournament in Uganda. The group is dominated by the players who gained promotion into the World Cricket League Division Six in May, while former captain Dolapo Gafar is set to return to national duty after being included.

Cricket’s foothold in Nigeria was strengthened after they won Division Two of the African Twenty20 tournament, and the Division One competition is another step in their goal of qualifying for a World Twenty20 event.

The training group also includes Seun Odekwu, Endurance Ofem, Kunle Adegbola, Ademola Onikoyi, Segun Olayinka, Emmanuel Okwudili, Joshua Ogunlola, Jide Bejide, Seye Olympio, Ramit Gill, Tope Olayinka, and Osita Onwuzulike among others.

The camp, which resumed June 11, will continue until June 26. Nigeria’s first match of the Division One competition will be against Namibia in Kampala on July 9.