Afghanistan overcomes spirited Jersey fight back to win ICC World Cricket League Division 5 final

Hasti Gul Abed wins man-of-the-match award for his 3-17 and 29 not out

Afghanistan overcame a spirited Jersey fight back to win a dramatic ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) final by two wickets in Jersey on Saturday.

In a low-scoring match at the Grainville, Afghanistan achieved the target of 81 runs with just two wickets and 12.2 overs to spare after it had collapsed to 42-7 and then 62-8.

Fast bowler Hasti Gul Abed was the star of Afghanistan’s memorable victory when he followed up his 3-17 with an invaluable 29 not out to pick up the man-of-the-match award.

A delighted Abed said: “This game was very important to the team and to the country.

“Jersey got a small total but when I came into bat, all I wanted to do was to guide my team home and I am delighted to have accomplished the job,” said the 24-year-old all-rounder.

"There will be lots of people waiting in Kabul to see the trophy and all of Afghanistan will be very happy,”said Abed.

Afghanistan and Jersey join Hong Kong, Fiji, Tanzania and Italy in the six-team ICC WCL Div. 4 set for the Tanzanian capital of Dar Es Salaam from 4 to 11 October.

In turn, the top two teams from that tournament will progress to WCL Div. 3 in Argentina next January and hope to finish in the top two to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 in the UAE, which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2.

The top four Associate or Affiliate teams from the ICC World Cup Qualifier will book their places at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Electing to bat first, Jersey would have hoped for its opening pair of Peter Gough and Steve Carlyon, who put on a century opening stand against the USA in the semi-final yesterday, to give it a solid start.

But fast bowlers Dawlat Ahmadzai and Hasti Gul Abed bowled an outstanding opening spell and gave no room to the two openers. Abed’s accuracy was rewarded with the wicket of Peter Gough moments after he had accidentally received a blow to the back of the head from a throw while attempting a quick single.

The reliable trio of Matt Hague, Ryan Driver and Andy Dewhurst quickly followed as Jersey was reduced to 25-4, with Abed claiming three of the first four wickets to fall.

A 42-run stand for the fifth wicket between Carlyon (17) and Jonathan Gough, who top scored with 23, brought some kind of respectability to the innings by taking the score to 67.

But Jersey then suffered a sensational collapse as it lost its last six wickets for 13 runs to be bowled out for 80 in 39.5 overs.

Hamid Hassan was instrumental in ripping through the lower-order with some hostile fast bowling as he finished as the pick of Afghanistan bowlers with figures of 9.5-1-27-4.

Jersey knew it would need quick wickets before the lunch interval if it was to stand a chance of victory and opener Karim Khan gave the home team the start it had hoped for when the Afghan opener was run-out after a mix-up with Ahmad Shah Ahmadi.

The 29-year-old Driver then lifted the spirits of a large Jersey crowd when he brought the downfall of Noor Ali Noori who was caught by Sachin Patidar while attempting an over-ambitious shot off only his second ball as Afghanistan went for lunch at 25-2.

After lunch, paceman Driver (4-27) brought into play his experience of playing in the English county championship for Lancashire and Worcestershire to leave Afghanistan in all kinds of trouble as it slumped to 42-7.

However, a 20-run partnership for the eighth wicket between Asghar Stanikzai (10) and Hasti Gul Abed, younger brother of coach Taj Malik, edged Afghanistan closer to the target until Matt Hague grabbed the vital wicket of Stanikzai with the visitors still 19 runs away from victory with two wickets standing.

But as a crowd of over 1,000 cheered for the home side, Abed took control of the proceedings and hit some telling blows before steering Afghanistan to victory by sealing the winning single through gully which led to memorable scenes of celebration.

Driver, who was inspirational throughout the week, was proud of his side. “Obviously the guys are disappointed to lose the final but to be all out for 80 and come within two wickets of victory shows the true grit and determination of the team. I’m proud of all the boys,” he said.

Driver also paid tribute to the wonderful support from the magnificent crowd, which included former England captain Geoff Boycott, who presented the trophy to the winning captain.

“The crowd were absolutely fantastic," said Driver. “Cricket in Jersey really is on the up.”

In the third/fourth position match, Nepal recorded a comprehensive 98-run victory over the USA at Farmers Field.

Scores in brief:

Final

At Grainville, Afghanistan beat Jersey by two wickets

Jersey 80 all out, 39.5 overs (Jonathan Gough 23; Hamid Hassan 4-27, Hasti Gul Abed 3-17)

Afghanistan 81-8, 37.4 overs (Hasti Gul Abed 29 not out; Ryan Driver 4-26; Tony Carlyon 2-13)

Third/fourth place

At Farmers CC, Nepal beat USA by 98 runs

Nepal 189 all out, 49.3 overs (Paras Khadka 48; Khawaja Shuja 5-34)

USA 91 all out, 42.4 overs

Fifth/sixth place

At FB Fields, Singapore beat Botswana by 15 runs

Singapore 119 all out, 42.1 overs (James Moses 3-22)

Botswana 104 all out, 37 overs (Abdul Razak 4-24)

Seventh/eighth place

At Victoria College, Germany beat Mozambique by two wickets

Mozambique 152 all out, 45.5 overs (Syed Shah 46 not out; Ehsan Latif 3-36)

Germany 157-8, 46.1 overs (Abdul Bhatti 36)

Ninth/10th place

At Les Quennevais 1, Norway beat Japan by seven wickets

Japan 181 all out, 48.3 overs

Norway 182-3, 43.2 overs (Shahid Ahmed 81 not out)

11th/12th place

At Les Quennevais 2, Bahamas beat Vanuatu by six wickets

Vanuatu 113, 29.4 overs (N Ekanayake 4-15)
Bahamas 116-4, 35.2 overs