ICC World Cricket League Division 6
Guernsey v Norway Semi-final
on Friday 11th September 2015
at Ashlyns Road, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex
Umpires: R Black (Ireland) and Sarika Prasad (Singapore), 3rd M Gray (Guernsey)
Match referee: GF Labrooy (Sri Lanka)
Toss won by Guernsey who elected to bat
Guernsey won by 22 runs
Man of the match – DR Hooper

Guernsey innings  RB4s6sSR Norway bowlingOMRWEcon 
LJ Barkerlbwb Crawford240050D Crawford802433(4w)
MWR Stokeslbwb Jawad Mir31631049.2Shehraz Khalid903503.88(2w)
OE Neweyc &b Crawford17272062.96PK Thangavadivel602113.5(2w)
TJ Ravenscroftb Thangavadivel490044.44Safir Hayat501903.8
TW Nightingaleb Raza Iqbal26600043.33Jawad Mir913213.55
LB Ferbrachec Shehraz Khalidb Waqas Ahmed25500050Raza Iqbal8.422633(1w)
DR Hooperc Jawad Mirb Crawford37494075.51S Waqas Ahmed30923(1w)
JC Martin†st †Iftikharb Waqas Ahmed9110081.81
JAJ Nussbaumer*c &b Raza Iqbal130033.33
WN Fazakerleyb Raza Iqbal160016.66
MLA Ellisnot out3100030
Extras(b 2, lb 5, w 10)17
Total(in 48.4 overs)173(at 3.55 rpo)
Fall of wickets 1-4 (Barker, 0.4 ov), 2-37 (Newey, 8.2 ov), 3-48 (Ravenscroft, 12.2 ov), 4-85 (Stokes, 25.3 ov), 5-91 (Nightingale, 28.1 ov), 6-149 (Hooper, 42.3 ov), 7-164 (Ferbrache, 45.1 ov), 8-166 (Martin, 45.5 ov), 9-166 (Nussbaumer, 46.1 ov), 10-173 (Fazakerley, 48.4 ov)

Norway innings  RB4s6sSR Guernsey bowlingOMRWEcon 
Raza Iqbal*c Stokesb Nussbaumer06000JAJ Nussbaumer1033113.1(1nb, 4w)
PK Thangavadivelb Newey4310133.33OE Newey401614
S Iftikhar†run out (Stokes)711286055.46MWR Stokes501503
Zeeshan Alic Barkerb Ravenscroft10440022.72WN Fazakerley20904.5(1w)
RR Shindelbwb Ellis4130030.76TJ Ravenscroft1023523.5(1w)
V Sarmac Stokesb Ravenscroft02000MLA Ellis1022212.2(2w)
Safir Hayatc †Martinb Hooper12271044.44DR Hooper8.121431.71(1w)
S Waqas Ahmedb Hooper04000
Shehraz Khalidrun out (Hooper)19490038.77
Jawad Mirc Stokesb Hooper7120058.33
D Crawfordnot out580062.5
Extras(b 2, lb 7, w 9, nb 1)19
Total(in 49.1 overs)151(at 3.07 rpo)
Fall of wickets 1-2 (Raza Iqbal, 0.6 ov), 2-6 (Thangavadivel, 1.3 ov), 3-57 (Zeeshan Ali, 17.3 ov), 4-62 (Shinde, 20.5 ov), 5-63 (Sarma, 21.4 ov), 6-93 (Safir Hayat, 31.2 ov), 7-95 (Waqas Ahmed, 31.6 ov), 8-137 (Iftikhar, 45.5 ov), 9-138 (Shehraz Khalid, 46.1 ov), 10-151 (Jawad Mir, 49.1 ov)

 ‘Promotion secured after real nailbiter’        by Gareth Le Prevost

GUERNSEY put their supporters through the wringer but came good in the end yesterday to win promotion to ICC World Cricket League Division Five. They held their nerve with an outstanding performance in the field to beat Norway by 22 runs in the WCL6 semi-final at Frinton. Having to defend 173, which was 40 fewer than Guernsey would have wanted ideally, they got off to the ideal start with Matt Stokes hanging on to a sharp chance at second slip during a rapid first over from Jamie Nussbaumer before Ollie Newey also struck in his first over from the other end. Norway put together a third wicket stand of 51 to come right back into contention, but the Sarnians kept the run rate under control with accurate bowling. Spinners Tim Ravenscroft and Max Ellis particularly impressive. Wickets started to come again with the spin twins taking three between them and David Hooper taking two in one over to reduce Norway to 93 for seven.

The required rate continued to increase and the pressure told with two run outs, including that of No. 3 Iftikhar, who made 71 Hooper then struck once again with first ball of the final over, with Matt Stokes taking the catch at point, to seal victory. Earlier, Guernsey had struggled to get going with the bat from the moment that they lost opener Lucas Barker in the first over. laying on the same pitch on which they scored 313 against Botswana, it was different in nature due to it being a worn surface and Norway bowled well to their fields. Guernsey were not helped by a couple of debatable leg before decisions, especially that to dismiss inform Matt Stokes, while Tim Ravenscroft was out in freakish fashion. There were partnerships in the 30s, but nothing more substantial until the sixth-wicket pair of Ben Ferbrache and David Hooper added 58 with good running and some innovative stroke play. However, when Hooper pulled a long-hop straight to square leg, it sparked a lower order collapse.

‘Pothas gave bowlers belief’        by Gareth Le Prevost

FRIDAY rather than yesterday was D-Day for the team chasing promotion from ICC World Cricket League Six in Essex. Whether they went up all depended on their semi-final result, so it was no wonder that the tension was palpable throughout Guernsey’s last-four clash with Norway at Frinton Cricket Club.

For the Samians, that tension was cranked up several notches during their innings in the morning after Jamie Nussbaumer had won the toss and elected to bat. In their group games they had done a fine job with the willow, reaching big totals on the first two days and a competitive one against Suriname. However, this time it was different on a worn track that made stroke play difficult. Three wickets fell before the total had reached 50, with Lucas Barker, Ollie Newey and Tim Ravenscroft all back in the hutch. Matt Stokes and Tom Nightingale stabilised things for a while with a partnership of 37, but they then fell in quick succession and Guernsey were 91 for five in the 30th over. The subsequent sixth-wicket stand of 58 between Ben Ferbrache and David Hooper was to prove crucial in the context of the game, with that man Hooper once again producing a typically busy innings of 37 in which his array of innovative shots helped him cope with the tricky pitch. Once he went, though, the final five wickets fell for just 24 runs and the mood was distinctly downbeat at the halfway point. ‘It was the same track that we got 313 on, so we knew it was a used wicket and did not expect to get as many this time, but we were still looking for 240-250 with 230 about par,’ Nussbaumer said. ‘In fairness, give credit to Norway because their seamers were pretty tricky, they wobbled it around, they were accurate and they were consistently on top of us, not giving anything away and we just never got going. ‘We knew we were light of runs and at half-time the boys were pretty down. Nic [pothas] had to pick me and the rest of the boys up and he said at the end of the day it was all about today, so put everything .into it in the field and give it your all. ‘That’s exactly what we did.’ The skipper led the way with a pacy first over that removed the Norway danger man Raza Iqbal, with Stokes taking a sharp catch at second slip. Ollie Newey castled other opener, Prateesh Kumar Thangavadivel, in his first over and Guernsey were right back in the game. Although a third-wicket stand of 51 between Suhail Ifthikar, who top scored with 71, and Zeeshan Siddiqui steadied the Norway ship, the run-rate was kept in check with spinners Ravenscroft and Max Ellis particularly effective. Once they made further inroads into the Norwegian line-up, Guernsey turned the screw in impressive fashion, with their excellent fielding accounting for two run outs while Hooper claimed three wickets on a track tailor-made for him, including the final one, caught by Stokes at point, to wrap up a 22-run win. ‘Me and Ollie knew we had  to  set the tone, we were fired up and as soon as those two wickets fell, everyone believed we could do this – they just lifted us massively,’ said Nussbaumer. ‘The key for us was to take wickets because we thought we would have to bowl them out, but the fact was we never let them get away, the run rate kept increasing towards the end and as soon as they needed eights off the last five overs, we were never going to lose. Hoops executed brilliantly and Ravo and Max did a brilliant job in the middle overs as well.’