Bowlers take Namibia into Super Six

Seamer Louis Klazinga spearheaded an incisive bowling performance from Namibia to help the team reach the Super Six stage after securing a 100-run win against Uganda at the Bay Oval.

Klazinga finished with 4 for 27 to run through a Uganda line-up chasing 162, which offered no resistance whatsoever. Only Phillimon Selowa reached double figures- 23 not out- as JJ Smit and Christi Viljoen chipped in with five wickets between them to bundle the team out for a paltry 61 inside of 18 overs.

The Uganda bowlers, on their part, had earlier done well to restrict Namibia to 161 for 9 after the match had been reduced to 36 overs a side. Most of Namibia's top order made starts, but only Louis van der Westhuizen converted it into a fifty, making 52. Medium-pacer Charles Waiswa was the pick of the Uganda bowlers, finishing with 4 for 30, but the team's subsequent collapse with the bat meant that they would finish at the bottom of Group B without a single win.

"It was quite tough, with the ball seaming around so we just had to keep the composure and take it deep into the innings, and luckily I was able to do that," Van der Westhuizen, the Man of the Match, said. "We still have one game against PNG, so we'll prepare for that one and see if we can make it a white wash in the group stages."

Gyanendra Malla's 86 went in vain, as Nepal succumbed to a 12-run defeat to Canada in Christchurch, leaving them rooted at the bottom of Group A after losing all their four matches. The win however kept Canada's hopes of reaching the Super Six alive, as they must now beat Scotland by a big margin in their next game to progress.

Canada, choosing to bat, were propelled by a 67 from Nitish Kumar and an 89 from Raza-ur-Rehman that eventually took them to a competitive 255 for 9 after the match had been reduced to 41 overs a side. Canada were precariously placed at 54 for 3 in the ninth over, but Nitish combined with Rehman for a fourth-wicket partnership that yielded 84 runs, and set the platform for the team's innings. Both batsmen were dismissed by the 35th over, but the keeper Hamza Tariq scored 34 to add a late flourish.

Nepal, in reply, lost their opener Sagar Pun in the first over, but Malla strung together partnerships with the top and middle-order batsmen to lift the team to 170 in the 31st over. He struck nine fours during his knock, but was dismissed after being caught behind by Tariq off Khurram Chohan, who picked up four wickets, leaving Nepal to still get 86 runs. Basant Regmi blasted 25 off just 17 to try and overhaul the target, but with wickets falling regularly at the other end, the team could ultimately make only 243 for 8.

"It was one of the better batting efforts of the tournament - more than six runs an over for 41 overs. Hopefully we can bat like that in our next match against Scotland," Canada captain Jimmy Hansra said after the game. "We've got to do a lot better defending in the field. We'll pay for it if we drop catches like that against Scotland. We've got a hill to climb to progress in this tournament, but we've got to go for it."