Some of Jersey’s top players over the last decade have a chance to demonstrate their skills and ability at a completely new level, on the world stage, when they host Division Five of the World Cricket League later this month.

Jersey’s squad benefits from a number of all-rounders whose fitness and stamina will be tested under the tournament itinerary - a demanding seven games in nine days.

Their principle allrounder, Ryan Driver – formerly of Lancashire and Warwickshire - has fulfilled the four-year ICC qualifying period enabling him to make his long-awaited debut for Jersey. Mat Hague, another allrounder, will welcome Driver’s support while he captains the side.

Tom Minty and Andy Dewhurst provide inspiration for the younger players
on the fringe of the squad, while at the other end of the age spectrum
Meeku Patidar and Bradley Vowden will bring vast experience and – in spite of their seniority - are two of the very finest and fittest fielders in the squad.

James Caunt, the wicketkeeper, also qualifies as supremely fit and is a
welcome new addition to the squad. He has been in Jersey for 12 years
but has now qualified to play for the team in ICC competitions
Sharing wicket-keeping duties is Bobby Minty who also possesses high
levels of natural fitness and is flexible enough to be used as a fielder too.

Jamie Brewster's attacking and powerful batting are a luxury that the
strength of this squad can afford and he can turn a match inside five
overs.

Peter Kirsten – the former South Africa batsman, and now Jersey’s coach - arrives this week and the squad and management are looking forward to his impact – particularly with the fielding.

Afghanistan will be one of 12 nations dreaming of a place in the 2011 World Cup when the World Cricket League Division Five begins in Jersey later this month.

Click here for the full story.

Ghana will play Swaziland in the final of the ICC World Cricket League Africa Region Division Three.

Ghana had the easiest match, thrashing Rwanda by eight wickets with more than 39 overs in hand. Rwanda were bowled out for 23 in 11.1 overs, but that represented a recovery after they found themselves 13 for 8. Abdul-Karim Sumaila (4 for 11) and Isaac Aboagye (6 for 9) bowled unchanged throughout, while extras (9) contributed more than any individual batsman. Ghana lost both their openers in easing home.

Swaziland had to work harder, and survived a mini collapse within sight of the finishing line, before overcoming Sierra Leone by four wickets with 20 overs to spare in the battle of the group winners. Sierra Leone managed 116 thanks to an eighth-wicket stand of 50 which bailed them out from 50 for 7. Joseph Wright (5 for 17) was the man who blew away the top order. Swaziland were wobbling on 27 for 3 but Wright (48) and Abdulazis Patel (35*) put on 73 for the fourth wicket, and strikes from Lansana Lamin (4 for 19) came too late.

Lesotho lost to a South African Invitation XI by seven wickets in the fifth-place play-off.

Click here for the tournament scorecards.

The semi-finals of the ICC World Cricket League Africa Division Three tournament will be played today in Benoni, South Africa, with Sierra Leone meeting Swaziland and Rwanda opposing Ghana.

The tournament, which features most of the African Affiliate ICC members, began on Sunday.

The standings for the two pools after the preliminary matches are:

Pool One: Sierra Leone 6, Rwanda 4, Lesotho 2, Malawi 0
Pool Two: South African Invitation XI 6, Ghana 4, Swaziland 2, Gambia 0

The semi-finals to decide the lower placings are Lesotho v SA Invitation XI (which is not eligible to contest the main semi-finals) and Malawi v Gambia.

Swaziland's win over Gambia was its first win in an official ICC tournament.

Click here for the points table.

Some things remain depressingly constant and one of them is the media crusade against Cricket Kenya in The Nation.

“This was a year when Kenyan cricket sunk further into mediocrity despite Kenya’s triumph,” Richard Mwangi writes in an article mischievously and misleadingly entitled Kenya’s game still in the gutter, before a long rambling column which does little to substantiate his claim. He ends with a comment that the Cricket Kenya failed to hold an AGM “which could have ushered in new officials”. An explanation why might have helped but it suited his argument not to go into that.

Mwangi, like any reporter, is, of course, entitled to his views. But as we have stated before, there have to be questions as to who is pulling the strings of the general sniping. The board are privately angered by the stance of the Nation after several olive branches have been spurned or used to beat those offering them.

Kenya has issues for sure, but a year in which they won the World Cricket League and won 14 out of 17 ODIs, signed a new TV deal and a new sponsor cannot be all bad. But that’s not the kind of story that the Nation is interested in peddling. Kenyan cricket needs all the help it can get to rebuild, while being subjected to valid criticism, but they know by now that the mainstream newspapers won't be the ones to do that.

UAE underlined their ambition to take part in the 2011 World Cup by winning the World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia, defeating Oman in the final. Denmark and Namibia also booked their place in the 2009 Qualifer, but Uganda and Argentina finished in the bottom two and were relegated back to Division Three.

Click here for Cricinfo’s full coverage of the tournament.

The World Cricket League Division Two has begun in Namibia with the home side laying down an early marker with an eight-wicket win against Denmark. For a full round-up of the opening day click here.

A squad of 14 Kenya players are lending their support to Uganda to play two friendlies at the Lugogo Oval this weekend, to help them prepare for the World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia later this month.

Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, along with Thomas Odoyo and other senior players are all participating, but Kenya have given Maurice Ouma the captaincy. They also called up a couple of younger faces, Ken Migai and Moses Otieno to gain experience.

Uganda will fight it out with United Arab Emirates - who today beat Bermuda in the Intercontinental Cup - Argentina, Denmark, Oman and Namibia for the four slots reserved for the group in the 2009 World Cup qualifier.

Click here for the fixture list

The 2007-08 Argentine cricket season kicked off in the last weekend of October with the Saturday Championships (Second Division tournament). This year’s Saturday Championship league includes nine teams.

The month of November will see the continuation of the Saturday Championships along with the First division Twenty20 League (six teams). It is also an action packed month for the juniors with the School U-15 and open leagues and the first ever ADE Trios Festival. There will also be a number of Kanga festivals held.

Argentina will also host a combined South American team (consisting of four players from Chile and Brazil respectively). The South American team will play a four match series (including two Twenty20 games) against the Argentina national team in preparation for the forthcoming ICC WCL Division 2 tournament, due to be held in Windhoek, Namibia from November 24 to December 2.

The Argentina National team are finalising their preparation for the ICC WCL Division 2 tournament. The team will depart Buenos Aires on November 17 and will spend five days based in Potchefstroom (South Africa) where they will play two warm up matches kindly hosted by North West cricket. The schedule for the ICC WCL Division 2 tournament is as follows:

Nov.24 – Argentina vs Oman

Nov. 25 – Argentina vs Namibia

Nov.27 – Argentina vs UAE

Nov.28 – Argentina vs Uganda

Nov.30 – Argentina vs Denmark

Courtesy ICC Americas

The UAE team will tour South Africa as part of their preparation for the ICC World Cricket League which takes place in Namibia.

"The ICC World Cricket League is the qualifier for the 2011 World Cup. We will be playing against Uganda, Denmark, Argentina, Namibia and Oman. Prior to the series, UAE will tour South Africa to play a few warm-up matches," Mazhar Khan, administrator of the Emirates Cricket Board, told Gulf News.

Israel will host Croatia in November for a play-off game to gain entry into the second division of the ICC’s World League tournament in 2008.

The match, to be played on either Sunday November 11 or 18, with the Monday set aside as a rain day, is being embraced by the Israel Cricket Association, with chairman Stanley Perlman delighted at the opportunity to host an international match.

"We have been trying to host international cricket in Israel for many years now, and hope that the visit of the Croatian team will pave the way for other countries to tour in the future," Perlman said. "We will invite the Croatians to play a couple of friendly matches before the game against our national team as well."

Patrick Ochan and Jimmy Okello have been banned for life by the Ugandan Cricket Association (UCA), after the duo went missing at the end of the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Darwin.

The bans are unlikely to have a significant impact on the duo - it has been reported that they have now taken up residence in Adelaide after applying for, and successfully obtaining, working visas.

"By the rules of the association, we dissociated ourselves from the act [their disappearance] and banned them from playing cricket for Uganda ever again. They would have no cause to come back to us at all," William Kibukamusoke, the chairman of UCA, told Cricinfo on telephone from Kampala.

Continue reading "Life bans for Ugandan duo"

Two Ugandan cricketers who disappeared at the end of the World cricket League in Darwin earlier this month have been found by Australia’s Immigration Department in Adelaide.

The Age reported that Patrick Ochan, 18, and Jimmy Okello, 19, are expected to apply to stay in the country. It said that the pair were staying with Ken Skewes, a young South Australia player, and he contacted the authorities when he realised that the men were being sought. The paid have valid visas until June 28, so no further action is expected until then.

Despite the lack of preparation, the Uganda’s chairman William Musoke is delighted with his team winning Division Two of the World Cricket League.

“We persevered and insisted on training despite the inadequacies in the association. It was total sacrifice for the players and officials to make the Darwin trip.”

Continue reading "Uganda chairman delighted with success"

Leave your thoughts and feedback of Uganda's win in the comments below

Uganda celebrate their victory © ICC

At one stage Uganda, the hot favourites, had slumped to 79 for 7, after being asked to bat, with Argentina captain Esteban MacDermott, who was later adjudged player of the tournament, taking three wickets. However Frank Nsubuga, who made 55 from 38 balls, and Laurence Sematimba added a vital 80 for the eight wicket. Sematimba and Patrick Ochan, 56 from 34 balls, then posted 82 for the ninth wicket as Uganda reached 241 for 8. Nsubuga outstanding all-round day continued, taking 4 for 27 as Argentina were bowled out for 150 in the 47th over.

Click here for a full report

Leave your thoughts

Uganda and Argentina have been promoted to Division Two of the World Cricket League following their march into the final of Division Three in Darwin. Division Two, in Namibia, gets underway in November.

1st semi-final

Esteban MacDermott, the Argentina captain, produced a match-winning performance when he captured 4 for 20 to bowl out the Cayman Islands for 102 in the 40th over. Steve Gordon, who scored a century in the opening game against Tanzania, top-scored with 38 but only Saheed Mohamed (29) and Keniel Irving (19) reached double figures. Argentina's chase began poorly, stumbling to 58 for 4, but Alejandro Ferguson saw them through to the final with a composed 25.

"The boys could have easily lost focus or confidence after the one-wicket defeat against Italy," MacDermott said, "but they remained committed and stayed on track because they trusted their instincts. This is the reward for their dedication and continuous hard work.

"The credit for our promotion to Division 2 not only goes to the team but to the entire support staff and all those who backed us all the way. Our performance in the tournament shows how rapidly cricket is growing in our country where soccer remains the first-choice sport."

2nd semi-final

Plate semi-finals

Argentina and Papua New Guinea (PNG) complete the semi-final line-up of the World Cricket League Division 3 after recording impressive victories on the last day of the group matches in Darwin. Argentina take on Cayman Islands in the semi-finals tomorrow, while PNG meet Uganda.

Group A

PNG beat Italy by eight wickets, but it was their superior net run-rate which edged them into the semi-finals, after both teams were tied following two wins each. PNG, who suffered a shock five-wicket defeat against Argentina on Tuesday, had to beat the Italians by a convincing margin to earn a berth in the last four. They did just that, dismissing Italy for 134 before cruising to their target in the 34th over. Arua Uda top-scored with 58 from 92 balls.

Group B

Tanzania tasted its first win of the tournament, overpowering Hong Kong by five wickets. Hong Kong made 161, with Rahul Sharma notching 43 while Bhavesh Govind took 3 for 31. Tanzania cruised home with Abhik Patwa and Rishen Patel putting on 77 for the opening stand, edging over the line in the 47th over.

Hussain Butt is bowled not playing a shot by Franklyn Hinds © Travis Pittman

Uganda and Cayman Islands booked their places in the semi-finals of the World Cricket League Division Three as ball dominated bat on the second day of the tournament in Darwin. Both teams made short work of their opponents, comfortably winning low-scoring games in the first session.

The wins gave Uganda and Cayman Islands maximum points from two games in Group B and left Tanzania and Hong Kong winless with just one match remaining. Despite Italy's second successive win, Group B remains wide open as PNG and Argentina have one win from two games. After Tuesday's rest day, PNG will meet Italy at Nightcliff while Argentina meet Fiji at Kahlin Oval in the last group matches.

Group A

Group B

The World Cricket League Division Three got off to an action-packed start in Darwin on Sunday.

Group A

Christopher Amini's unbeaten 71 held Papua New Guinea's innings together as they defeated Fiji by one-wicket. PNG, chasing a victory target of 139, were seemingly down and out as they slipped to 105 for 8 and then 125 for 9. But Amini batted sensibly before hitting the winning boundary off the penultimate delivery.

Read the full report here.

Eight of cricket’s emerging nations will be hoping to take one step towards qualification for the 2011 World Cup when the World Cricket League Division 3 gets underway this Sunday (May 27) in Darwin.

The top two teams from this event will join UAE, Namibia, Denmark and Oman
in Windhoek, Namibia at the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 November. The top four teams from the event in Namibia will automatically qualify for the ICC World Cup Qualifier in the UAE in 2009, while the two remaining teams will have a second chance to qualify for the UAE tournament at the World Cricket League Division 3 in early 2009.

Click here for the full team-by-team preview.

The Fiji Times reports that the national side have been preparing for their World Cricket League Division Three matches in Australia with games against the army over the last three weeks.

In Fiji, one-day matches in the island’s league are played over 30 overs. This is due to the lack of suitable playing surfaces.

"We have been strengthening our batting during the training sessions," Seci Sekinini, the team manager, said. "It’s a different game. We will have to bat longer. Our players are prone to rush things. Sometimes the teams don't even last the full duration of the club games. And that's 30 overs. So we have a lot to work on.

“The bowlers are also working on their techniques. They are bowling more dot balls at practice. I don't believe our fielding will be a problem. All the players will need to put in their best effort."

Jersey will host the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) tournament in 2008, the ICC confirmed on Tuesday.

The decision follows a recent visit to the island by an ICC Development team to inspect the country's suitability for promotion to Associate membership, which will be voted on at the ICC Annual Conference at Lord's in June.

Ronnie Kintu

Uganda have dropped Benjamin Musoke and Junior Kwebiiha, their two allrounders, ahead of Division Three of the World Cricket League next month. Uganda named their final 14-man squad yesterday.

Uganda will be among the eight nations to take part in the tournament which gets underway on May 27 in Australia. They are joined by Tanzania, USA, PNG, Oman Republic, Malaysia, the Cayman Islands and Fiji in the seven-day event.

After a poor show at the 2007 World Cup qualifiers in Ireland two years ago, in which they finished bottom of the 12-nation championship, Uganda were relegated to the third division along with the fractious USA and PNG.

The top two countries in Division Three will qualify to play in Division Two which, in turn, acts as a mini World Cup in 2009

Uganda squad
J. Olweny, P. Ochan, R. Mukasa, A. Kyobe, C. Waiswa, H. Saleh, J. Okello, R. Okia, R. Semanda, K. Kamyuka, L. Sematimba, F. Nsubuga, D. Ruyange and R. Otim.

Scotland's cricketers last night sent an SOS home for extra supplies of a special energy drink after going through a six-week supply in just over a fortnight.

Officials admit they were caught out by the fierce heat and humidity in Mombasa during the recent Tri-Series with Kenya and Canada.

Read the full story in The Herald

Time is running out for Bermuda’s under-fire players to prove to the national selectors that they are the men to take the side into the World Cup.

Back-to-back defeats in warm-up matches in Trinidad has added to deepening concerns following a poor tour of Africa at the end of last year, but Irving Romaine, their captain, remains upbeat … in public at least.

“It’s all up to us because we have the talent and can match our opponents talent-wise … it’s just that they are more disciplined than we are at the moment. But if we can get control of our discipline and play to our full ability then we should win because we do go into games definitely looking to win.”

Read the full interview in The Royal Gazette

Martin Williamson looks at what message is being sent to the Associates by the ICC deciding to appoint Darrell Hair to officiate in their tournament ... and do the ICC even know where they stand.

Continue reading "Mixed messages from Dubai"

Ryan Steede, the medium-pacer and Kwame Tucker, the wicketkeeper, are the two notable omissions of Bermuda's squad for the World Cricket League to be held in Kenya later this month.

Read the full story.

Bermuda are in Trinidad to prepare for the World Cricket League which gets underway at the end of this month. Three club sides - Clico Preysal (who won all five of their matches on a tour to Bermuda last September), Wanderers Cricket Club and Clarke Road United have all been lined up.

“Trinidad really is a good fit for us,” Logie said of his homeland yesterday.

“It’s obviously where we are going to be playing our World Cup matches so it’s important we give the players as much time as possible to get used to the conditions there. And we’ve got everything we need in terms of practice facilities and support.

“Traditionally we’ve always done quite well after a training camp down there and with the World Cricket League tournament coming up at the end of January (in Nairobi, Kenya), we saw it as a perfect opportunity to get the guys away from everything again and prepare thoroughly.

“We always try and play some practice matches while we’re down there and we’re going to play three teams who we’ve come up against before, who’ve got some good players and who are steeped in the art of swing and spin.

“It’s just the sort of challenge we need ahead of Kenya.”

Read more at the Royal Gazette, and leave your thoughts on Bermuda's preparations below.

Should Canada reach the final of the World Cricket League - to be held in Nairobi at the end of this month - thus qualifying them for the Twenty 20 World Cup in September, each player will receive a bonus of USD$5,000. More info can be found at their web site.