Netherlands drift to 154 run loss

The match between South Africa and Netherlands could have finished in three hours if Netherlands had chosen to bat first. Instead, on winning the toss, RV Ierschot put the South Africans in to bat on a slow pitch at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy. The South Africans took to the Dutch bowling with joy and toyed with it for the best part of the morning. Yet, it was only Johan Myburgh who made it to the half century mark. For Netherlands, R de Graff, playing his first match of the tournament bowled a tidy line and picked up four wickets as Puttick (33), Smith (44) and U Abrahams (40) got starts but lost their wickets to careless shots.

Morkel used the long handle to good effect and clouted two sixes in his 10 ball essay that yielded 25 runs. In the end South Africa finished up with 278 runs off 50 overs.

The Dutch bowlers took half an hour longer than they should have, and ended up being penalised one over when they came out to bat. This, however, was of no consequence, as they never looked to seriously chase the total. The South Africans for their part did not appear to be operating in top gear. The Dutch struggled, played, poked and missed but somehow stuck around. In a replay of the match between the Americas and South Africa played at the same ground two days back, it was only the captain who showed any batting prowess. R van Ierschot made 31 before he swung across the line to an offspinner to Myburgh and was trapped plumb in front.

The Netherlands batted out their 49 overs in quiet fashion and ended up with 124. While it must have been a learning experience for the Dutch, it was also a loss by 154 runs.