ICC Europe T20 Division 1 Sussex 2013

Guernsey v Norway

at Horsham Cricket Club, 8 July 2013
ICC Europe Division One T20

Toss won by Norway who elected to bat
Result Guernsey win by 7 wickets
Match Referee Ray Holyer
Umpires H Kearns, H Jansen (3rd: N Bagh)

Norway Innings		Bowler	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	S/R		Bowler	Ov	Mdn	Run	Wkt	Wd	NB	E/R
Ansar Iqbal	c MWR Stokes	b M Ellis	69	58	6	2	119		Nussbaumer	4	0	26	1	4	0	6.5
+Suhail Iftikhar		b JDJ Frith	22	18	2	0	122.2		Van Vliet	3	0	28	0	1	0	9.3
Ehtsham Ul-Haq		b D Hooper	8	12	0	0	66.7		Ellis	3	0	19	1	0	0	6.3
Safir Hayat		b JDJ Frith	22	15	2	1	146.7		Frith	4	0	23	2	0	0	5.8
Ali Saleem	not out		17	8	3	0	212.5		Hooper	4	0	40	1	0	0	10
Iftikhar Hussain	run out	(Hooper)	9	4	0	1	225		Stokes	2	0	20	0	0	0	10
*Shahbaz Butt	c I Damarell	b J Nussbaumer	2	3	0	0	66.7
Zeeshan Shahzad	run out	(Hooper)	1	1	0	0	100
Tafseer Ali	not out		1	1	0	0	100
D Crawford	dnb
Waheed Aamir	dnb
Extras	(b1, lb2, nb0, w5,p0)		8
Total	for 7 wickets	in 20 overs	159	at 7.95 r/o
Fall of wickets
1-56 (Suhail Iftikhar, 7.1 ov), 2-87 (Ehtsham Ul-Haq, 12.3 ov), 3-128 (Ansar Iqbal, 16.5 ov), 4-129 ( Safir Hayat, 17.2 ov), 5-145 ( Iftikhar Hussain, 18.4 ov), 6-152 (Shahbaz Butt, 19.3 ov), 7-154 (Zeeshan Shahzad, 19.4 ov)

Guernsey Innings		Bowler	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	S/R		Bowler	Ov	Mdn	Runs	Wkts	Wd	NB	E/R
L Barker	c Ehtsham Ul-Haq	b Tafseer Ali	0	1	0	0	0		Tafseer Ali	4	0	23	2	4	0	5.8
J Frith	not out		99	59	9	5	167.8		Crawford	3	0	25	0	2	0	8.3
I Damarell	c Suhail Iftikhar	b Tafseer Ali	14	14	1	0	100		Waheed Aamir	3	0	30	1	0	0	10
R Kneller	c Iftikhar Hussain	b Waheed Aamir	1	3	0	0	33.3		Shahbaz Butt	3.4	0	40	0	0	0	10.9
D Hooper	not out		41	35	4	0	117.1		Zeeshan Shahzad	1	0	10	0	0	0	10
*J Nussbaumer	dnb								Ali Saleem	3	0	23	0	0	0	7.7
+T Kimber	dnb								Ehtsham Ul-Haq	1	0	10	0	0	0	10
GH Smit	dnb
M Stokes	dnb
C Van Vliet	dnb
M Ellis	dnb
Extras	(b0, lb2, w6, nb0, p0)		8
Total	for 3 wkts	in 18.4 ov	163	at 8.7 r/o
Fall of wickets
1-1 (Barker, 0.1 ov), 2-32 (Damarell, 4.5 ov), 3-35 (Kneller, 5.5 ov)

‘Mr Cricket comes up trumps again’       by Rob Batiste

COMETH the hour and in Guernsey international cricketing terms that normally means cometh Jeremy Frith. The star all-rounder again came up with the goods as the national side opened their ICC European T20 Division One campaign with a seven-wicket win over the Norwegians at Horsham. Frith, who had already produced the best bowling spell (2 for 24) to check the Norwegians’ attacking intent on the small and picturesque ground, steered the young Guernsey side to their first two points of the week with a superb 99 that came from just 59 deliveries and contained nine fours and five sixes. His main ally was the effervescent Dave Hooper, who scored a vital unbeaten 41 from 35 balls as the pair turned potential defeat into a morale-boosting opening win with a stand of 128. Afterwards, Hooper said his fourth-wicket partner had delivered with ‘perfect timing’. ‘He said he wanted to win in the 19th over rather than the 20th and he did just that. It was a perfect T20 innings to finish the game.’

Jeremy Frith clips the ball to leg              ICC/CricketEurope

Team manager Lee Savident said that there had been no panic in the ranks as the side lost three early wickets in chasing 160 to win and were soon behind the run-rate to the extent that 10 an over were required entering the final third of the game. ‘I think it was only a par scored and we clawed it back nicely with some wickets at the back end,’ said Savident, who was full of praise too for Hooper, who made a fine 41 at more than a run-a-ball. ‘It was the normal Frithy knock and he set up the chase brilliantly. But Hoops’ knock was equally good for moving the field around, He only had four or five dot balls.’ Savident said it was important to start well. ‘They are two very important points. The last tournament we started with a loss and we were playing catch up.’ Today Guernsey take on Austria, who beat Gibraltar, in a morning game at Preston Nomads. Another win is a necessity as Italy have come flying out of the blocks with two crushing wins in a day in group A.

Matt Stokes                  ICC/CricketEurope

FOR an hour or more at idyllic Horsham yesterday Guernsey were seemingly in trouble deeper than the Norwegian fjords. But all of us nervous doubters had conveniently forgotten that when it comes to ICC international tournaments, a certain Jeremy Frith comes to the party. He is a match-winner of uncanny consistency. In world competition terms there can be fewer better performers than the one fellow players refer to as ‘Mr Cricket’. He may not be the quality of that other international of the same pseudonym – Australian Mike Hussey – but at Guernsey’s level there is surely no more consistent performer anywhere. Yesterday he pulled Nic Pothas’s young side out of the lurch when they lost three cheap wickets as they chased a very decent target set by the swing-from-the-hip Norwegians. Chasing down eight-an-over targets is difficult enough, but when you lose your in-form opener Lucas Barker for a second ball duck and then, in no time at all, two more top order players follow, one to a flukey one-handed catch the perpetrator may never be capable of repeating, you tend to wonder whether it is going to be your day. But Frith is a mightily cool customer and little Dave Hooper is just the sort of man you need in a mini crisis. Together they set about righting the Guernsey ship, which was in danger of slipping under the moment Ross Kneller, one of the Greens’ power performers, tried smacking a marginally short delivery over long on and Iftikhar Hussain, struggling to get near the ball, stuck out his right hand and it stuck perfectly.

Chris Van Vliet                         ICC/CricketEurope

Suddenly, a big rebuilding job was required and quickly too. The run-rate was ballooning and by the end of the ninth the Greens were requiring nine an over. Team manager Lee Savident was to confide later that he and head coach Nic Pothas were not overly concerned. ‘Basically, when you have got pitches that size with 55m boundaries and the way we are set up with the hitters to come, it wasn’t a big worry,’ said the injured island star. But it made for nervous watching, nevertheless.

With just six required Guernsey needed 61. Frith, who was never any bother, moved to his half-century in the 15th over with a sweetly timed late cut and in the next he produced a shot only he of island ilk can play, the finest of reverse glances to fine leg which reduced the target to 42 in four.

It was at that point he stepped up a gear and in the 17th skipped down the wicket to loft a superb straight six towards the Horsham second pitch. The next ball he stroked a glorious cover drive for four and the target was down to 28 from three. We onlookers did not know, but in Frith’s mind he had aimed to get the job done quickly and not allow for any last-over horrors. In the 18th Frith moved back in his crease a touch and smashed a six into the members stand and into the Guernsey team contingent where skipper Nussbaumer put down the chance. The all-rounder then added a second maximum and the target was now just eight from 12 balls. The pressure was off and Norway had that sinking feeling. Their demise was soon complete. Frith hit a monster six over long on to tie the scores and the very next ball launched another four through the onside to move to 99 and end the game with eight deliveries to spare.

Overall, it was a nervy performance from the Greens, but one to be expected given the youth of the side, and it was day one of the tournament. Having won the toss and inserted the Norwegians, beaten now on all four occasions they have met the Sarnians, Guernsey did not bowl particularly well and the early ground fielding showed anxiety. With Ansar Iqbal dominating, the Norwegians had the launch pad for a very big total, but their natural inclination to attack proved their downfall. Frith, who else, and Max Ellis put something of a break on the innings and from 128 for two the innings subsided to 159 for seven. Frith was the pick of the bowlers with two for 24 from his four, but he was closely followed by the captain, who bowled with real pace despite his first three overs being into the teeth of a stiff wind.