Israel defeat Isle of Man to remain undefeated

The Israel U17 team awoke to a pleasant surprise this morning being informed the umpires had made a mistake at the conclusion of yesterdays game and Israel had in fact won the game against Germany as although the scores had finished level, Israel had lost less wickets and according to the regulations won the game.

Losing the toss and being asked to field by the Isle of Man, Israel, back to 11 players after three players had sat out the opening match as it was played on Tisha B'Av, were far more impressive, bowling good line and lengths and sharp in the field. Levy Divekar picked up a wicket in his first over, and although the second wicket only came in the 15th over, runs were being kept down. The Isle of Man managed to reach 148 having patiently batted out their 40 overs, with Divekar (3 for 31) the pick of the bowlers, and Gabi Schachat (2 for 19) was also close to his best.

Israel lost Rafi Schachat (1) early, but Shifron Waskar and Shlomi Korman played steadily against a good Isle of Man opening attack. Waskar (6) and Mikki Cohen (1) went cheaply, before Korman (15) and Schachat began building a solid partnership. Wickets continued to fall regularly but Schachat maintained his composure to finish 31 not out and seal a 2-wicket win with 3 overs in hand.

Israel play Italy on Wednesday, with the winner almost assured a place in Friday´s final.