Dutch Lions U19 win first game in Denmark by eight wickets
Published at 27 July, 2024The Dutch Lions kickstarted their campaign in the Cricket World Cup U19 Qualification – Europe Division 2 on July 25 with a convincing win versus Isle of Man. The total set by Isle of Man (72) was chased in 13.1 overs at the beautiful venue of Svanholm Cricket Klub.
In the first game of a tournament, teams winning the toss prefer to have a look at the circumstances first, so it was no surprise that captain Cedric de Lange chose to field first after winning the toss. The journey from Isle of Man to Copenhagen had had some obstacles, and the team only arrived at 11.45 pm in the hotel on the day before the match.
Whether this had any effect or not, one of their opening batsmen fell already after three balls (wicket Sam van Giezen, caught by Aaditt Jain), and after 3.5 overs it was 7 for 3 (wickets Sam van Giezen and Aaditt Jain). Isle of Man never succeeded in any partnership beyond 14 runs, and after 32.2 overs the Netherlands had bowled their opponents out for only 72 runs. Pick of the bowlers was Shirsak Banerjee (3-10 in six overs). Tom de Leede chipped in nicely with two catches and two clean bowleds.
Although the Dutch team lost a quick wicket, it never got into any real danger. Cedric de Lange (25), Teun Kloppenburg (29*) and Shirsak Banerjee (15*) brought the men in orange the victory in only 13.1 overs. Man of the Match was Shirsak Banerjee, contributing with ball and bat.
An early finish and convincing victory, allowing the youngsters to save energy for the game on Thursday versus Sweden.
