Netherlands and Canada pin hopes on batsmen in ICC Intercontinental Cup

The Netherland and Canada are hoping their batsmen will deliver the goods in the first-class ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 match which starts in Rotterdam on Wednesday.

It will be the Netherlands' first match in the tournament after it had finished fifth in the previous tournament, 18 points ahead of seventh-placed Canada in the eight-team contest.

Batting has been a major concern for both the sides with Canada struggling against Scotland in the tournament opener 10 days ago while scoring 142 and 213 in the match and the Netherlands not having played any cricket since last August when it hosted Kenya in the previous edition of the ICC intercontinental Cup.

To add woes to the Netherlands' worries, it will be without the experience of Ryan ten Doeschate (on county championship duty with Essex), Alex Kervezee (on county championship duty with Worcestershire), Mudassar Bukhari and Bas Zuiderent.

But all seems to be falling in the right place for the Canadians who have shown signs of recovery since the 29-run defeat against the Scots. It successfully chased a 287-run target to defeat Scotland by four wickets in the first ODI at Aberdeen with Sandeep Jyoti hitting a match-winning 117. Sunil Dhaniram then scored 92 the following day in the second ODI to help Canada collect 250 runs but the home side romped to victory by five wickets with 16 balls to spare to square the series.

Against the Netherlands in the first ODI on Saturday, Canada was bowled out for 187 while chasing 238 runs for victory. For the home team, Kervezee top scored with 75 and ten Doeschate contributed 35 while Rizwan Cheema was Canada's main run-getter with 92. Sunday's ODI between the two sides was washed out.

Canada captain Umar Bhatti is happy with way his batsmen have bounced back in the last three ODIs. "We can take a lot of heart and encouragement from our batting performance in the last three ODIs. I'm confident the batsmen will carry that form into the four-day version and help us end the European tour on a winning note," Bhatti said.

"I think the wicket will help the batsmen more than the bowlers which should give more confidence to the batsmen. In a longer version of the game, the batsmen have to put big totals on the board and the bowlers have to take wickets. It's as simple as that. Our bowling has been up to the mark and it is now up to the batsmen to make sure we have enough runs on the board," he said.

The Netherlands captain Peter Borren is wary of Canada's ability to take 20 wickets in the match but has vowed that his side will be able to counter it with its strength. "Canada is a good bowling side with bowlers like Henry Osinde, Umar Bhatti and Khurram Chohan. But our strength lies in batting and I am confident that we'll be able to counter these good bowlers," he said.

Khurram Chohan had an excellent event opener against Scotland when he recorded match figures of 34.4-13-89-9, including first innings figures of 6-37.

"It wouldn't be an easy task as we will be without our experience batsmen like Doeschate, Schiferli, Kervezee, Bukhari and Zuiderent. But we have tried to bolster our batting as much as possible by strengthening the middle-order," said Borren.

"It will all be about seeing through the new ball and the batsmen can do it by showing application and discipline. Of course, it is easier said than done considering the batsmen haven't played any four-day cricket in nearly 12 months but we have to switch to the four-day mode and this is where it all starts.

"Also it will be a great opportunity for the youngsters, who bat lower down the order in the presence of the experienced batsmen to bat up the order and show that they can handle the pressure and quality bowlers.

"We have seen a lot of the Canada players in the limited overs version and have the highest respect for them. We know what they are capable of which makes it easier for us to put together a game plan. But making a strategy and implementing it are two different things," he said.

When the two sides last met in the four-day format at the Maple Leaf North-West Ground, King City, the Netherlands had recorded a thrilling come-from-behind victory by 45 runs. Batting first, the Netherlands scored 297 with Kervezee scoring 98 and Bukhari contributing 66 while for Canada Osinde picked up 4-47 and Bhatti bagged 3-64. In turn, Canada scored 337 with Dhaniram hitting 73, Osinde contributing 60, Kevin Sandher chipping in with 57 and Shahzad Khan scoring 55.

The Netherlands, trailing by 40 runs on first innings, rode on Borren's 105 to score 310 and give Canada a 271-run target. The home side, in its chase, was dismissed for 225 with Mangesh Panchal bagging 4-50.

The umpires for this fixture will be Brian Jerling of the Emirates International Panel of Umpires and Neils Bagh of the ICC Associate and Affiliate Umpires Panel.

Teams:

Netherlands: Peter Borren (captain), Mark Jonkman, Pieter Seelar, Wesley Barresi, Tom de Grooth, Bart Schilperord, Nick Statham, Eric Szwarczynski, Berend Westdijk, Daan van Bunge, Jeroen Brand.

Canada (from): Umar Bhatti (captain), Zameer Zahir, Havir Baidwan, Geoff Barnett, Trevin Bastiampillai, Sandeep Jvoti, Sunil Dhaniram, Shaheeb Keshvani, Khurram Chauhan, Ashif Mulla, Henry Osinde, Qaiser Ali, Rizwan Cheema, Abdool Samad.

Key

P - matches played

WO - outright win, 14 points

WI - lead on first innings (retained irrespective of the outright result), 6 points

LO - outright loss, 0 points

LI - behind on first innings, points

TO - outright tie, 7 points

TI - tie first innings, 3 points

D1 - draw (In a match with 10 hours or more less lost due to interruptions each side will be awarded 7 points each for the draw, plus any points scored in the first innings)

D2 - draw (In a match with 10 hours or less lost due to interruptions each side will be awarded 3 points each for the draw, plus any points scored in the first innings)

A - match completely abandoned without a ball being bowled

Forthcoming matches:

14-17 August - Canada v Kenya, venue tbc

17-20 August - Scotland v Ireland, venue tbc

21-24 August - Netherlands v Afghanistan, venue tbc

About ICC Intercontinental Cup

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

There will be a total of US$250,000 in prize money for the Associate and Affiliate teams taking part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 with US$100,000 for the winners and US$40,000 for the runners-up.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event then 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.

This year's format will include seven teams (Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe XI), while a new competition, the ICC Intercontinental Shield will involve four teams below that, namely Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in all three events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider, Canada in the 2006-07 event and Namibia in 2007-08.

Go to http://www.icc-cricket.com/events_and_awards/intercontinental_cup/index.php to find out more.