Rain and Van Bunge deny Canada victory in Rotterdam
Daan van Bunge played a defiant knock of an unbeaten 98 which helped the Netherlands to escape with a draw against Canada in the ICC intercontinental Cup match at Rotterdam on Saturday.
Rain also helped the Netherlands' cause as only 59 overs were possible on the last day of the four-day match as the home side finished at 233-8 after starting the day at 120-5.
The Dutch were set a target of 368 and had required another 248 runs for an unlikely victory.
Van Bunge, instead of going for his maiden first-class century, ensured his team escapes with a draw as he finished on 98 that came off 294 balls and included 10 fours and a six.
He lost his overnight partner Jeroen Brand (10) in only the second over of the day when Umar Bhatti trapped him leg before wicket, but got remarkable support from the lower-order batsmen.
Debuant Bart Schilperoord (27) added 53 precious runs for the seventh wicket stand during which van Burge also completed his well deserved half-century. After Schilperoord's departure, Mark Jonkman (12) frustrated Canadian bowlers for another 27.1 overs in a stand of 37 runs before he was also trapped leg before by Qaiser Ali.
After Jonkman returned to the pavilion, Peter Seelaar and Bunge survived 42 of 20 balls without being separated as the North Americans were denied victory by weather and a gutsy Bunge.
Qaiser Ali recorded 20 remarkable figures of 8-7-1-1 but Umar Bhatti finished as pick of Canada bowlers with 4-32 but failed to get through to the defences of Bunge.
Scores in brief
Canada 177 all out, 65.4 overs (Sandeep Jyoti 37, Ashif Mulla 28; Daan van Bunge 3-11, Peter Borren 3-37, Peter Seelaar 3-54) and 419-9d, 100 overs (Sunil Dhaniram 144, Qaiser Ali 61, Geoff Barnett 37, Ashif Mulla 40, Khurram Chohan 36 not out, Umar Bhatti 36, Sandeep Jyoti 35; Berend Westdijk 4-85, Daan van Bunge 3-19)
The Netherlands 229 all out, 81.3 overs (Nick Statham 57, Tom de Grooth 36, Wesley Barresi 31, Peter Borren 24, Jeroen Brand 20, Sandeep Jyoti 3-59, Rizwan Cheema 2-10, Zameer Zahir 2-31) 20 and 233-8 (Daan van Bunge 98 not out, Bart Schilperoord 27, Umar Bhatti 4-32, Khurram Chohan 2-55)
Points: The Netherlands 10, Canada 3
ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10
| P | WO | WI | LO | LI | TO | TI | D1 | D2 | A | Points | |
| Scotland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 09 |
| Kenya | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 03 |
| Canada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 03 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 09 |
| Zimbabwe X1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Afghanistan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
**P -**number of matches played
WO - outright win - 14 pts
WI - lead on first innings (retained irrespective of the outright result) - 6 pts
LO - outright loss - 0 pts
LI - behind on first innings -0 pts
TO - outright tie - 7 pts
TI - tie first innings - 3 pts
D1 - In a match with more than 10 hours lost due to interruptions, each side will be awarded seven points for a draw, plus any points scored in the first innings.
D2 - In a match with 10 hours or less lost due to interruptions, each side will be awarded three 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