Netherlands surges to top of ICC Intercontinental Cup table with innings victory over Bermuda

The Netherlands surged to the top of the ICC Intercontinental Cup league table by beating Bermuda by an innings and 44 runs at the VRA ground in Amstelveen on Wednesday.

Wrist spinner Mangesh Panchal followed up his 5-34 in the first innings with 3-44 as Bermuda was bowled out for 183. The visitors had resumed this morning at 51-3 and required another 176 runs to make the Netherlands bat again.

However, on the third day, the Bermuda innings lasted just 42.2 overs in which it added 132 runs to its overnight score. Only Dwayne Leverock (52), James Celestine (31) and Irving Romaine (23) offered any sort of resistance to the home team's push for a big win.

Earlier on the first day, Bermuda had made 183 in the first innings and the Netherlands, in its reply, took a commanding 227-run first-innings lead by posting a substantial 410, thanks chiefly to opener Tom de Grooth's career-best 196.

Besides Panchal, Edgar Schiferli also bowled well and was rewarded with 3-49 after his 2-33 in the first innings.

The Netherlands is now on top of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007/08 table with 34 points from three matches. Canada and Scotland are joint second on 26 points from three matches with defending champion Ireland fourth with nine, although the Irish have only played one game.

Bermuda will now travel to Dublin for its second match in the tournament where it takes on the hosts and defending champions Ireland from 23 to 26 August.

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 2006-07 event.

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