Christchurch, Jan 30 (IANS) Scotland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have secured the final two positions in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after recording victories on the last day of the Super Six stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier New Zealand 2014 (CWCQ) here Thursday.
On a day when all three matches were do-or-die encounters, UAE finished top of the table with a 36-run victory over Namibia, while Scotland finished second following their nail-biting three-wicket victory over Kenya.
The two sides will now contest the tournament final, to be played at Lincoln Oval, Christchurch, in a match live-streamed on the official ICC website, www.icc-cricket.com, Saturday.
The final will determine which group the teams will join in cricket’s pinnacle event, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, which will be played in Australia and New Zealand from Feb 14 to March 29, 2015.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson congratulated the two teams, saying: “Congratulations to Scotland and UAE for a tremendous effort in qualifying to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. It has been a tough tournament, one in which every game counts, and both teams have performed remarkably well to finish in the top two.
“I would also like to recognise the efforts of those teams who came so close but did not make the top two. Hong Kong and PNG were in the running right up to the final round of Super Six matches and deserve credit for their fine performances at the tournament,” he said.
In the third Super Six match of the day, Hong Kong recorded a comprehensive three wicket victory over PNG at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln to secure third position.
Scores in brief:
At Rangiora Oval, Christchurch, South Island —
UAE: 263 all out in 49.5 overs (Khurram Khan 49, Shaiman Anwar 47, Amjad Ali 46, Swapnil Patil 38; Louis Klazinga 5-36, Sarel Burger 2-47)
Namibia: 227 for nine in 50 overs (Sarel Burger 54, Gerrie Snyman 48, Nicolaas Scholtz 33; Amjad Javed 3-35, Manjula Guruge 2-34, Khurram Khan 2-45, Kamran Shazad 2-48)
Result: UAE won by 36 runs
Man of the Match: Louis Klazinga (Namibia)
At Hagley Oval, Christchurch, South Island —
Kenya: 260 all out in 50 overs (Alex Obanda 89, Rakep Patel 38, Collins Obuya 29; Safyaan Sharif 2-65)
Scotland: 261 for seven in 49.3 overs (Preston Mommsen 78, Matthew Cross 55, Rob Taylor 46 not out, Richard Berrington 30; Thomas Odoyo 3-53)
Result: Scotland won by three wickets
Man of the Match: Preston Mommsen (Scotland)
At Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln, South Island —
PNG: 255 for eight in 50 overs (Geraint Jones 82, Assad Vala 57, Jack Vare 38, Mahuru Dai 26; Haseeb Amjad 3-70, Tanwir Afzal 2-33, Irfan Ahmed 2-34)
Hong Kong: 259 for seven in 36.1 overs (Irfan Ahmed 90, Mark Chapman 64, Jamie Atkinson 36; Willie Gavera 3-53, Raymond Haoda 2-69)
Result: Hong Kong won by three wickets
Man of the Match: Irfan Ahmed (Hong Kong).