Bowlers helped us: Mendis
Oman coach pays tribute to his pacers and spinners in T20 WC qualifiers
dubai — Now with the 14-team ICC Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier-2015 back into its main fold of deciding the top six positions, the semifinals and the fifth/sixth playoff take place on Saturday, and the final rounds on Sunday in Dublin.
Oman made a historic entry into the ICC World Twenty20, which will be played in India in 2016, as one of the six nations from this qualifying event jointly hosted by Scotland and Ireland from July 9-26 when they beat Namibia by five wickets in the fourth playoff on Thursday.
The win sealed Oman’s first ever spot in a major ICC event with a trip to India now booked and the triumph for Oman also secured them T20 international status for the next four years.
In the fifth/sixth place match on Saturday, Oman meet Afghanistan, runners-up of the 2013 qualifying event in the UAE where Oman went winless in their group matches.
The semifinals will see Scotland meet giant-killers Hong Kong and Ireland taking on the Netherlands in morning and evening fixtures at the Malahide Cricket Club in the Irish capital. The rest matches in Dublin from Saturday to Sunday, will have no bearing on the confirmed qualifying status of the six nations — Ireland, Scotland, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Oman and Afghanistan — for the India showdown.
Former England pacer Derek Pringle who is the technical advisor to the Oman team for the qualifying event said: “I’ve offered suggestions and wanted them to play smarter cricket. T20 cricket is all about making the right decisions under pressure. It’s a game where you’ve got to get on with it and be aggressive.
“There’s aggression that’s controlled and there’s aggression that’s madness, and we want the former. I’ve spoken to them and sometimes they forget themselves but generally they’ve listened hard and tried to put things into practice.”
Oman, coached by former Sri Lankan legend Duleep Mendis look a well groomed bunch where the experienced hands have helped to get the best out of the younger players.
Oman narrowly lost to Kenya by
Zeeshan Ahmad of Oman, is lifted by teammates after hitting the winning run to defeat Namibia and qualify. —
seven runs in their first match of the tournament, but bounced back against Canada by chasing 134 in 11.2 overs. As the group stage progressed, they went on to stun the Netherlands by 40 runs after a brilliant late-innings spell from right arm fast bowler Munis Ansari. Thirty one-year old Ansari who hails from Madhya Pradesh in India has a low sling arm action similar to that of Sri Lankan star Lasith Malinga, and along with Afghanistan’s impressive pace battery is among the quickest in the Associate Nations cricket setup.
Mendis said: “Our bowlers both the quickies and the spinners have helped us bounce back especially in the death overs all through, the latest being the last hurdle Namibia.”
The Gulf side kept up the good work started by the UAE who entered the main 2014 T20 World Cup, which looked tough with so many impenetrable walls to cross at the beginning of the 2015 qualifiers. They clinched a five-wicket win over Namibia on Thursday as thirty sixyear old Zeeshan Ahmed Siddiqui with a timely half ton in 32 balls half saw to it that the red shirted men celebrated in style on the field seconds after he hit the winning runs in Dublin in the history making playoff.
Game triers Afghanistan put aside the spirited Pacific men from Papua New Guinea by six wickets in the morning on Thursday in the penultimate qualifying playoff. Prolific batsman Nawroz Mangal has been an inspiration for Afghanistan, as he showcased by batting through its successful run chase against the determined islanders on Thursday. He also showed that when the situation demands he can also accelerate the scoring rate with explosive hitting.
Our bowlers both the quickies and the spinners have helped us bounce back especially in the death overs all through
Duleep Mendis
Supplied photo