Fance's tour to the Netherlands got underway yesterday at Kampong with two T20 matches against the Dutch North Sea Pro sides, the Seafarers and the Hurricanes. Both games were tense affairs on a bright but cool Saturday, with the Dutch sides initally looking dominant, but the French fighting back hard to tie the first game against the Seafarers, the visitors eventually bested in a super over, before defeating the Hurricanes in a low-scoring encounter.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Stephan Myburgh got the Seafarers off to a rollicking start. Doing good work for the Nepal relief initiative, the left hander hit six sixes on his way to 63, including three off consecutive balls off Asan Khan. Tobias Visee hit some attractive shots before holing out for 15 trying to match the pace, and Myburgh eventually followed in like fashion with the score on 93 and gradually the French came back at their hosts. Tim Etman made a brisk 24 before becoming the third batsman caught in front of the wicket, and Wesley Barresi chipped a tame return catch to Malik soon after. Some late hitting from Seelaar and van Schelven got them past 150, though at the half-way point a total closer to 200 had looked on the cards.
153 was the target, and Komalan Thalavingham was determined to get his team there, building partnerships with Wasim Bhatti and Usman Khan to keep in touch with the required rate. Ahsan Malik stuck the first blows for the Seafarers, having been hit for ten off the first three balls of his second over, came back to take two wickets in two balls. Jeroen Brand chipped in with two wickets in consecutive overs, but so long as the Dutch were unable to dislodge Thalavingham the runs continued to come.
A good over from Viv Kigma at the death brought the reckoning to ten needed off the final over and five wickets in hand, with Malik to bowl. A close-run two followed by a single, a dot and a four off the fourth ball got the French in sight of victory, but a fine running catch in the deep by Seb Braat brought the Seafarers back into the contest. Thalavingham had got himself to the strikers end, but couldn't find the rope. Instead a hard run two, a misfield on the boundary and a run out coming back for the third saw Thalavingham go for 90 and the innings close with the scores level. The dramatic tie to set up a Super Over - something of a novelty in Dutch cricket.
In the event, novelty value was the sole redeeming feature of what ensued. France struggled to 7-1 from Ahsan Malik's six balls with the aid of a dropped catch and two byes, whilst the Dutch reply saw only six runs off the bat from Pieter Seelaar and Stephan Myburgh, but on the final ball a single to the keeper and another overthrow saw the Seafarers claim a somewhat anticlimactic victory.
The locals seemed on top early again in the second game, Saqib Zulfiqar was lightning sharp coming in from point to run out Thalavingham on the first ball of the innings, and Leon Turmaine followed it up by taking a screamer low to his left off the bowling of Paul van Meekeren to dismiss Ayyavooraju five overs later as ther French looked to rebuild.
Borren accounted for Ihsan with a judicious full slower ball floated into middle, and a perfect bouncer next ball did for Niaz as the Dutch skipper bagged two in two. The Hurricanes were near faultless in the field, Saqib Zulfiqar and Turmaine combining to effect another fine run-out, before Turmaine, already having a reasonable claim on two wickets, put one next to his name on the scorecard by persuading Malik to cut at an arm-ball, taking the edge on the way to Rahil Ahmed's gloves.
The parade continued as Bhatti chopped van Meekeren onto his stumps for 27, which would prove to be the joint top-score for the French. Robin Murphy posted the same in a brave rear-guard partnership with Usman Khan, but fell to Mahesh Hans with the score on 90, and the French managed only another three runs for the remaining two wickets.
The Hurricanes top-order contrived to inject some excitement into what should have been a reasonably straightforward chase, a series of soft dismissals seeing them enter the 8th over on 31-4. Three runs later Turmaine's outing at number 6 came to a premature end, and it fell to Borren to stabilise the innings with Saqib Zulfiqar. A sharp run-out chance on the second ball of the partenrship threatened to turn the screw, but the pair managed to add 25 to take the hosts to 59-5.
Both fell victim to their own needless aggression, however - Zulfiqar smashing a full toss straight to cover and Borren skying a sweep shot - to leave the game poised at 60-7. Their partnership would prove the best the Hurricanes could manage, with Mudassar Bukhari bowled through the gate by Ali with 30 needed and Quirijn Gunning becoming his third victim in the 18th over. Last pair Mahesh Hans and Paul van Meekeren added another ten runs, but van Meekeren fell victim to a fine direct hit from Arslan Rameez on the final ball of the penultimate over to leave the Hurricanes 14 short of the total and seal a well deserved French victory.
The 2nd placed kenyans will also join them in the qualifiers
