Canada goes top after comprehensive victory over UAE

Canada sits on top of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 table following its convincing defeat of the United Arab Emirates in Toronto this week and interim coach Pubudu Dassanayake is delighted with how the side performed over the three days.

"The guys were so determined to win here - they were not going to settle for anything less than an outright victory," said Dassanayake, who has been coaching the team since May.

"Against the Netherlands we lost just when we thought we had it in the bag, which was really disappointing. But the way they bounced back from that was very encouraging for me," he said.

Dassanayake, who has made no secret of his desire to take on the job full time, was particularly impressed with some of the more inexperienced players in the side.

"In the first innings, we bowled them out cheaply (for 112) but then we lost two early wickets and so I told Trevin (Bastiampillai) and Asif Mulla just to hang around, play only the balls they needed to play and build a partnership. They did that really well for me and that set things up nicely for (Sunil) Dhaniram coming in later."

Dhaniram ended up unbeaten on 141 as Canada posted a big first innings total of 450 and then Canada bowled UAE out in the second innings for just 110 to win by an innings and 228 runs.

It is still the early stages of the competition and four of the eight teams (Bermuda, Namibia, Kenya and defending champion Ireland) have yet to get their campaigns underway but for the time being Canada, the beaten finalist from 2004 and 2006, is top of the table.

Having played two, the Canadians have 26 points and although they lost to the Netherlands in that tight game last week, the fact that they gained six points for winning the first innings may be crucial in the long run.

The Netherlands, which has played just one match so far, sits in second place with 14 points while Scotland and the UAE are in joint third position, with three points each to their names following their rain-affected draw recently in Ayr.

Notwithstanding the batting of Dhaniram, Mulla and Bastiampillai, medium-pacer Steve Welsh was the real hero for Canada as he followed up on his seven wickets in the first innings with another five in the second as the UAE crumbled.

Only Shadeep Silva put up any kind of resistance on day three as he added 43 before becoming another of Welsh's victims. But no one else made the Canadians sweat as the UAE collapsed from 85-2 in its second innings to 110 all out.

Welsh ended with match figures of 12-93, his best first-class effort, and was the clear choice for the man of the match award.

"Welsh bowled beautifully on what was a good track for batting. At times I would say he was unplayable as he has a great action and can swing it both ways. He and Henry (Osinde) did very well for us," said Dassanayake.

Indeed, as well as Osinde, Welsh was well backed up on Sunday by Durand Soraine who took 3-8 off five overs. "The key for us in this competition is getting our preparation right. There is a huge amount of enthusiasm and the team spirit is great," said Dassanayake.

"We were underprepared for the first game against the Dutch but we really played well against the UAE. It is vital that we get the chance to train hard and prepare ourselves when we go away to places like Kenya and Namibia later in the competition. If we can do that then I think we can be very competitive again.

"I believe cricket in Canada is on the up. It is definitely growing here and it's a very positive time for the sport in this part of the world," he said.

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC's premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members' cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada earlier this year in the 2006-07event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be decided.