ICC Europe T20 Division 1 Sussex 2013

Guernsey v Denmark

Semi-final

Played At County Ground, Hove, 13th July 2013
Toss won by Denmark who elected to bat
Denmark Won by 113 runs

Umpires H Jansen (Netherlands) – AJ Neill (Ireland) – RP Smith (Ireland)
Scorers  Injam Khokhar and S Veillard

Denmark Innings	How out	Bowler	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	S/R		Bowler	Ov	Mdn	Runs	Wkts	Wd	Nb	E/R
+FA Klokker	not out		129	65	19	2	198.5		Nussbaumer	4	0	44	1	2	1	11
CR Pedersen		b Nussbaumer	0	3	0	0	0		Stokes	3	0	31	0	0	0	10.3
A Ahmed		b Ellis	52	34	6	2	152.9		Frith	4	0	41	0	0	0	10.3
KT Mahmood		b Ellis	0	2	0	0	0		Ellis	4	0	42	2	1	0	10.5
RT Mahmood	not out		36	17	5	1	211.8		Martel	4	0	57	0	0	0	14.3
T Ahmed	dnb								Hooper	1	0	9	0	0	0	9
HAM Shah	dnb
AB Chawla	dnb
*MR Pedersen	dnb
Bashir Shah	dnb
RB Javed	dnb
Extras	(b0, lb2, w6, nb1, p0)		9
Total	fort 3 wkts in 20 overs		226
Fall of wickets
1-2(CR Pedersen,) 2-142(A Ahmed), 3-142(KT Mahmood)

Guernsey Innings	How out	Bowler	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	S/R		Bowler	Ov	Mdn	Runs	Wkts	Wd	Nb	E/R
JDJ Frith	c Bashir Shah	b RB Javed	11	14	1	0	78.6		Bashir Shah	4	0	17	1	2	0	4.3
LJ Barker	c KT Mahmood	b Bashir Shah	4	11	0	0	36.4		RB Javed	4	0	15	3	0	0	3.8
IDA Damarell		b AB Chawla	4	10	0	0	40		AB Chawla	4	0	19	3	0	0	4.8
DR Hooper		b AB Chawla	17	19	0	0	89.5		HAM Shah	4	0	36	1	0	0	9
GH Smit	lbw	b HAM Shah	23	18	3	0	127.8		KT Mahmood	4	0	21	1	0	0	5.3
R Kneller	lbw	KT Mahmood	6	4	0	1	150
*JAJ Nussbaumer		b AB Chawla	3	3	0	0	100
+TCR Kimber	c A Ahmed	b RB Javed	20	25	1	0	80
MWR Stokes	st FA Klokker	b RB Javed	15	13	1	0	115.4
JL Martel	not out		0	0	0	0	0
MLA Ellis	not out		4	3	1	0	133.3
Extras	(b0, lb5, w1, nb0, p0)		6
Total	for 9 wkts in 20 overs		113
Fall of wickets
1-9(LJ Barker), 2-18(JDJ Frith), 3-21(IDA Damarell), 4-51(GH Smit), 5-60(R Kneller), 6-63(JAJ Nussbaumer), 7-78(DR Hooper), 8-109(TCR Kimber), 9-109(MWR Stokes)

Frith is great value    by Matt Lihou

JEREMY FRITH goes into today’s finals day at Hove with another tournament ‘MVP’ award firmly on the cards. Guernsey’s star all-rounder has been in brilliant form with both bat and ball in his side’s progression to the semi-finals, which gives him a virtually unassailable lead at the top of the Most Valuable Player standings. His 227 runs at an average of 113.50 and strike rate of 156.55, as well as his six wickets at 15.17 and economy rate of 5.69 runs-per-over, give him 453 points before yesterday’s final group game against Sweden. That was clear of Frederik Klokker’s [Denmark] 346 and Philip Littlejohns’ [Isle of Man] 316, with no other Sarnian inside the top 15.

‘Clobbered by Klokker’   by Rob Batiste from The BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground, Sussex

A GLORIOUS week under endless blue skies ended in the blackest of moods. Guernsey, with real hopes of reaching the final under the lights at Hove, were simply blown away by Denmark. The Danes were, bluntly, too good and it showed in every aspect. While Nic Pothas’ young side had given Italy, the ultimate winners, a real battle on the Horsham Two pitch two days earlier, they were bludgeoned out of this one by a wonderful display of batting by Freddie Klokker, the captain.

It is a few years now since Klokker strutted the English county circuit, his wicket- keeping a useful ally to his pugnacious batting, but nevertheless not quite classy enough to nail down-a long-lasting career. But Klokker is’ still playing professionally in Holland and, he bulldozed Guernsey out of the tournament, smashing a match- winning 125 from 65 balls with 19 fours and two sixes.

Jordan Martel opens the bowling                                    ICC/CricketEurope

For non-Guernseymen it must have been wonderful to watch and, coupled with brisk cameos from Aftab Ahmed and Rizwan Mahmood, Guernsey were taken for 201 runs off the final overs. Yet, the island side could not have made a better start. Jamie Nussbaumer bowled the opener, Carsten Pedersen, third ball and his replacement, Aftab Mahmood, had to jag his head out of the way as the captain fired in another short ball under his nose. For the first time this week young Matt Stokes was entrusted with the new ball and the youngster’s first delivery whistled past the outside edge of Mahmood’s bat and through to keeper Tom Kimber standing up. He repeated it next ball and before the over was out he had rapped Klokker on the pads. Nussbaumer was bowling rapidly but when he overpitched on leg stump, he conceded the first boundary of the innings, clipped through mid-wicket. The third over ended with 15 on the board and in the next Stokes again kept beating the bat on the outside edge, in between being clobbered for one four. The fifth over ended with 25 on the board and everything was going swimmingly for the Greens.

But, in the next, Klokker clocked one in the slot from Stokes high over long-off for six – and cue mayhem. The former Derbyshire county player followed it up with a thrash over mid-wicket for four and, next ball, a delicate late cut brought another boundary, follow by another square. The last ball was chopped behind square for another four across the lightning outfield and 22 had come from the over. By the end of the sixth, Klokker was already on 41 and in this environment the Dane looked every inch a first class player. Not even the introduction of Jeremy Frith could slow him, the Guernsey spinner’s opening over down the slope yielding two boundaries to the star player. To make matters worse, the fifth ball flashed off the edge and through to fine third man for another four. Max Ellis replaced Stokes but there was no let up.

Jeremy Frith can bowl with his eyes shut!             ICC/CricketEurope

Klokker cut his way to 50 to an unprotected boundary and Mahmood got in on the act with a lofted drive over extra cover for another four. Guernsey were now taking a pounding, with 76 having come from the opening eight. But it was just a taste of worse to come. Halfway was reached with Mahmood smashing Max Ellis for six over long-off. At 98 for one Guernsey were being Dane-packed out of the tournament and the carnage continued with Klokker to the fore. Ahmed was now joining in the fun and one mighty strike off Ellis sailed over hospitality and into adjacent gardens. Thankfully, for the Greens, Ahmed attempted one swipe too many and was bowled by the young left-arm spinner, who bowled Kamran Mahmood in the same over. Frith followed it up with a tight over, but the damage had been done.

Klokker survived a stumping gaffe by Kimber in Ellis’s next, the 16th, and with four overs remaining Denmark were still on target for 200. Klokker moved to a brilliant century with a deflection behind square to third man and celebrated as if he had won the Ashes and as if he was compatriot Michael Laudrup scoring a winner in a World Cup. This is one very proud Dane. Nussbaumer’s return to the attack started with a waist high four no balls down the leg side and Rizwan Mahmood smashed him to the stands for six, followed by another four in the same direction to bring up the 200.

Max Ellis                                                 ICC/CricketEurope

Before the over was out, Klokker had picked up the pace for another six and it remained a painful experience right until the end as Denmark finished on a huge 226, the highest total of the tournament by far.

David Hooper tries the reverse sweep                                  ICC/CricketEurope

Guernsey were beaten before laying bat on ball. Only Frith, perhaps, or GH Smit, at his best, could save them. But we were dreaming. Frith pulled the opening ball of the innings for four in front of square, but Syed Bashir pushed them through quickly and tidily for the rest of the opening over which ended with six on the board. Frith and Lucas Barker were trying to play positively, but the Danes were showing they could a bowl, too, and at the end of the second Barker survived a run out shout which looked out.  He was not around much longer.  In the next he skipped down the track and skied a catch to long-off where Kamran Mahmood held a superb catch, much harder than the one which ended Frith’s innings in the sixth, the tournament MVP contender picking out the deep square fielder who barely had to move.

Tom Kimber crashes the ball through the off side                        ICC/CricketEurope

If it was not already, the game was up and respectability now the order of the late afternoon. Zak Damarell was bowled trying to force the leg spinner off the back foot. Smit’s cameo ended soon enough for 23 off 28 and Ross Kneller smote his second ball for six into the stand and a few yards beneath where seven bridesmaids were posing for pictures. Stokes brought up the century in the 18th over with a sweet back-foot cover drive for four, but he went, stumped for 15, and although Kimber hit the ball hard for his 20, it was barely a consolation that the Sarnians saw out the 20 without being bowled out.

‘Pothas criticises bowlers for feeding star Dane’

KLOKKERED … well and truly. Danepacked home even. Or, more simply, very well beaten. But having seen his young Guernsey side hit to all parts of Hove – including, very nearly – a wedding photoshoot high in the grandstand, as Denmark blitzed their way to the final with a brilliant century from skipper Freddie Klokker, Nic Pothas was not beating himself up about a huge defeat which took the gloss off a fine week for the national cricket team. The director of cricket was bruised, but phlegmatic and sympathetic even, while at the same time his reaction included words of warning. ‘Players who keep making the same errors time and again, you are going to be left out,’ he said the morning after Guernsey’s semi-final thrashing by a side who then relinquished their European Division One T20 title to the Italians and all their Australians, South Africans and Sri Lankans, in a thrilling floodlit final watched by a crowd of several hundred. Pothas was a shade reluctant to praise the man who had batted Guernsey out of the competition single handed. ‘Yes, Klokker was impressive to the point and he executed well (19 fours and two sixes) but we had asked our guys to make him hit down the ground straight. He scored where he wanted to score because we kept bowling square of the wicket. ‘I think we made his life very easy for him.’ Even before Klokker’s 90min of destruction, the Danish captain and former first-class player, had ended Jeremy Frith’s bid to win the tournament MVP award. Ultimately Frith, who could not pull Guernsey out of big a hole as this one, had to settle for the MVP runner-up, and along with many of the local side he has enhanced his reputation this week. But the manner of defeat was crushing to some. ‘The vast majority of the players were genuinely hurt yesterday and more important, a little embarrassed,’ said Pothas, who backs this new young team to improve, but at the same time will ensure there is never a free ride.

Stats:

Jeremy Frith was 3rd in the highest scores category with 99* against Norway and also 5th with 87* against Austria. Overall he was 2nd with an aggregate of 285 and 7th in strike rate with 149.

Max Ellis was 12th i bowling with 9 wickets, and had a best bowling of 4 for 15 against Italy.

Jeremy Frith and David Hooper shared an unbroken stand of 128 against Norway.

In wicketkeeping Tom Kimber was 5th with 7 victims.