CWC Qualifier Play-off: Jersey beat PNG, UAE stun Canada in close encounter

Jersey beat Papua New Guinea (PNG) in a thrilling encounter while United Arab Emirates (UAE) overcame Canada on Day Five of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-offs.

Opting to bat first, Jersey had a solid enough start, with an opening stand of 34. But they they lost both their openers in relative quick succession, with a big task ahead for the middle-order.

And Asa Tribe and Josh Lawrenson did exactly that. The pair eput on a mammoth stand which gave Jersey a real hope of posting a competitive total. Both notched up impressive tons as Jersey ended up posting total of 291/4.

Tribe scored 115 off 143 deliveries while Lawrenson contributed 114 off 105 deliveries, with their stand lasting for 232 runs. Chad Soper (2-40) was the pick of the bowlers for PNG.

The match turned out to be an absolute thriller, going down to the final over. Jersey were determined in their efforts to get their first points on the board, not allowing the PNG batters to settle in.

For PNG, skipper Assad Vala played a vital knock of 75 but it wasn’t enough. Riley Hekure (58) and Charles Amini (51) also contributed to the cause but Jersey were always ahead of the curve. Vala’s men would eventually fall short by 11 runs as Jersey finally had a win on the board.

For Jersey, it was a collective bowling effort as Harrison Carlyon, Charles Perchard, Elliot Miles and Julius Sumeerauer all scalped up two wickets each.

UAE keep their cool

After losing an early wicket, Pargat Singh and Matthew Spoors rebuilt the innings for Canada. Though Spoors departed for 33, Singh continued in the same vein and get great support from Nicholas Kirton from the other end.

Singh brought up a sensational century, while Kirton notched up a fifty. UAE though ensured that they never let Canada off the hook in terms of the scoring rate by picking up wickets at regular intervals.

The lower middle-order failed to fire for Canada as they failed to capitalise on the two brilliant knocks, being bowled out for 254 in 48.5 overs. For Canada, Aayan Afzal Khan was the outstanding performer with the ball (3-34).

In their chase, skipper Muhammad Waseem led from the front, scoring an impactful 80. He was supported brilliantly by Aryan Lakra (53) as the opening stand for UAE made their task much easier.

Despite losing some wickets, UAE kept their cool and Rameez Shahzad (54*) ensured that there were no hiccups as UAE sealed a six-wicket victory.

The Canadian bowlers tried their best but lacked the penetration to make inroads in the UAE batting unit. With the victory, UAE currently have 4 points, with Canada also on 4.

-IANS

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