Denmark, Bermuda, Uganda triumphant in WCL

KUALA LUMPUR: Denmark captain Hamid Shah stood out with both bat and ball as his team defended 179 to remain unbeaten and hand Malaysia their first defeat of the WCL Division Four.

He struck 37 off 78 balls, anchoring the innings after they chose to bat on a difficult pitch and also picked up a couple of wickets to seal a 33-run victory at UKM-YSD Oval in Bangi. The timing of those breakthroughs were very crucial. Malaysia were 39 runs away from winning the game, and with nine overs still left, the required rate wasn’t really a challenge.

However, they were six down, Hamid made it seven, breaking a feisty 53-run partnership between Suharril Fetri and Muhamad Syahadat and paved the way to a stunning victory. The last four Malaysian wickets fell for only five runs. Hamid was also an important contributor with the bat. Building on a good start provided by opener Zameer Khan’s 44 off 72 balls even as the Malaysian bowlers made good use of a surface that had plenty of cracks. With boundaries hard to come by - there were only 11 in the entire 49 overs that Denmark batted - he ran aggressively throughout his innings and was very nearly run out on several occasions.

Scores: Denmark 179 (Zameer 44, Hamid 37, Pavandeep 3-24, Wafiq 3-32) beat Malaysia 146 (Bashir 3-24, Hamid 2-18) by 33 runs.

Comfortable win for Bemuda: After being benched for Bermuda’s first two matches at the WCL Division Four for disciplinary reasons, star allrounder Kamau Leverock reminded Jersey of his talent with a devastating 66 off 43 balls to set up a 58-run win over Jersey at Kinrara Oval. Returning to the scene of Saturday’s training-session tirade that earned him a two-match ban, Leverock punished Jersey’s bowling attack after they had sent Bermuda in at the toss. Leverock, and his opening partner Okera Bascome, each hit a four and two sixes off Cornelis Bodenstein and Anthony Hawkins-Kay to take Bermuda to 32 for 0 in two overs. Leverock brought up a 28-ball fifty in the 10th over, off Charles Perchard.

Scores: Bermuda 242 (Leverock 66, Fray 56, Watkins 3-36, Stevens 3-42) beat Jersey 184 (Stevens 42, Ferraby 31, Stovell 4-33, Tucker 2-31) by 58 runs.

Elliot Miles eventually ended the opening stand at 52, but Leverock and capain Terryn Fray put on another 58 for the second wicket to take Bermuda to a commanding 110 for 1 in 15 overs. Irfan stars in thumping Uganda win: Two days after taking a career-best 6 for 23 against Bermuda, Mohammad Irfan was at it again. His blistering half-century and a three-wicket haul with his offspin helped Uganda beat Vanuatu by 81 runs at WCL Division Four.

Irfan’s 17-ball 51 at Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur included seven sixes. This astonishing assault came after Uganda were struggling for momentum at 92 for 4 in 37 overs. From there on, Uganda scored at 10 runs an over. Scores: Uganda 222 for 8 (Irfan 51, Kayondo 44, Riazat 38, Stephen 3-37) beat Vanuatu 141 (Mansale 69, Riazat 3-16, Irfan 3-24) by 81 runs.