Middlesex cruise past the Dutch

Middlesex 105 for 3 v Netherlands 104 by seven wickets
Scorecard

Middlesex strolled to a seven-wicket win over Middlesex with fully 17 overs to spare in their Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A clash with Netherlands at Deventer.

The home side crumbled to 104 all out in 32.4 overs despite Michael Swart's 57, Corey Collymore and Steven Finn taking three wickets apiece. A stand of 59 between Paul Stirling and Chris Rogers then made Middlesex's victory a formality.

Visiting captain Neil Dexter won the toss at Sportpark Het Schootsveld and invited the Dutch to bat first, and Collymore was unplayable from the outside. The West Indian began with a double-wicket maiden, with Eric Swarczynski skying a catch to Stirling from the fourth ball and opening partner Wesley Barresi following from the sixth.

Tom Cooper became Collymore's third wicket (3 for 17) when he edged the last ball of the ninth over to wicketkeeper John Simpson but Swart and Tom Heggelman then put on 62. They fell within three balls of each other with the score on 87, Swart bowled by England international Finn before Ollie Rayner removed Heggelman for eight.

There was little further resistance, with captain Peter Borren's 11 the only other double-figure score as Finn removed Tom de Grooth and Mudassar Bukhari to finish with 3 for 26.

Scott Newman and Dawid Malan made a steady start to the reply with a stand of 30 in nine overs before both fell in successive Shane Mott overs, the Australian taking 2 for 30. Rogers made 32 from 34 balls before he was removed by Heggelman, whose two overs yielded one for 20.

Stirling remained unbeaten on 39, made from 37 balls with six fours, while Dexter was two not out.