Denmark lose four wickets in final over, pipped by one run | Cricket

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Uganda 215 for 8 (Kayondo 51, Masaba 47, Javed 2-48) beat Denmark 129 all out (Shah 37, Bharaj 32, Mukasa 2-3) by one run via DLS method

Scorecard

© Peter Della Penna

How the tide turns. Uganda scripted a comeback only dreams are made of. Denmark needed five runs off the final over, with four wickets in hand. Then, they committed hara-kiri as Roger Mukasa, the captain, brought himself on for the first time and created magic at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur.

Mukasa darted his part-time offspin from around the stumps into Denmark's right-handers, denied them the room for the swing and created panic that delivered two wickets and two run outs. This meant Denmark were delayed promotion to Division Three, while Uganda gave themselves an excellent chance to get there.

It boiled down to No. 11 Bashir Shah needing three off the final ball. He flicked the ball into the gap at deep midwicket, only for Frank Nsubuga's athleticism and a sharp relay to Fred Achelam catching Bashir short of the crease to trigger wild celebrations.

Denmark were at 73 for 4 in 23.4 overs when rain delayed play for a little over two hours. When they returned, Denmark were set a revised target of 131 in 29 overs. They took it till the end, only for it to disintegrate at the last moment.

For the third match in a row, Mohammad Irfan and Nsubuga took the new ball and they reduced Denmark to 7 for 2 inside four overs. With rain clouds lurking, Denmark continued to trail on DLS par. They suffered another setback when Freddie Klokker chipped softly to midwicket off Deusdedit Muhumuza in the 22nd over, just 14 balls before play was halted.

Uganda's chances of setting a defendable total looked bleak at 155 for 7 in 45 overs. Despite a 79-run third-wicket stand between Masaba and Hamu Kayondo, their platform for a rocket boost cameo from Irfan backfired when he was out for 3 in the 37th over.

It took a ferocious assault from Achelam and Kenneth Waiswa to add 60 off the last five, including a backbreaking 20-run 49th over. Achelam was eventually named Man of the Match for his 39 off 28 balls to go along with his clean takes to complete the pair of last-over run outs.

Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo's USA correspondent @PeterDellaPenna

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Denmark defend 179 to strengthen promotion hopes | Cricket

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Denmark 179 (Zameer 44, Hamid 37, Pavandeep 3-24, Wafiq 3-32) beat Malaysia 146 (Bashir 3-24, Hamid 2-18) by 33 runs

Captain Hamid Shah roars after Denmark clinches victory © Peter Della Penna

Denmark captain Hamid Shah stood out with both bat and ball as his team defended 179 to remain unbeaten and hand Malaysia their first defeat of the WCL Division Four. He struck 37 off 78 balls, anchoring the innings after they chose to bat on a difficult pitch and also picked up a couple of wickets to seal a 33-run victory at UKM-YSD Oval in Bangi.

The timing of those breakthroughs were very crucial. Malaysia were 39 runs away from winning the game, and with nine overs still left, the required rate wasn't really a challenge. However, they were six down, Hamid made it seven, breaking a feisty 53-run partnership between Suharril Fetri and Muhamad Syahadat and paved the way to a stunning victory. The last four Malaysian wickets fell for only five runs.

Hamid was also an important contributor with the bat. building on a good start provided by opener Zameer Khan's 44 off 72 balls even as the Malaysian bowlers made good use of a surface that had plenty of cracks. With boundaries hard to come by - there were only 11 in the entire 49 overs that Denmark batted - he ran aggressively throughout his innings and was very nearly run out on several occasions.

Denmark were 108 for 3 in the 33rd over when left-arm spinner Pavandeep Singh rallied Malaysia back into the match by inducing Hamid into a drive that was caught at cover. He then trapped Rizwan Mahmood lbw and induced another ill-advised drive, this time from Taranjit Bharaj, to finish with 3 for 24 from his 10 overs.

Momentum swung back Denmark's way thanks to a brilliant late cameo by Mads Henriksen, who swatted a series of boundaries over the leg side as he raced to 32 off 28 balls taking the score to 170 on a pitch where 160 looked par. Denmark were eventually bowled out in the 49th over with new-ball bowler Muhammad Wafiq wiping out the tail with his 3 for 32.

Malaysia's chase got off to a disastrous start when captain Anwar Arudin was run out off the second ball trying to run off a misfield at midwicket. After Bashir Shah struck another key blow to remove Ahmed Faiz, Suhan Alagaratnam and Shafiq Sharif teamed up for a 40-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

But just as Malaysia were pulling away, debutant left-arm spinner Nicolaj Laegsgaard beat Alagaratnam's back foot prod to bowl the middle-order star for 26. Offspinner Saif Ahmad had Sharif caught at mid-off and suddenly the score was 88 for 6 with Denmark in firm possession of the game. They had to weather unexpected resistance assault from the tail but now are looking at a scenario where a win over Uganda on Thursday will clinch them promotion with a match to spare in the group stage.

Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo's USA correspondent @PeterDellaPenna

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Denmark ace rain-hit chase to topple Jersey

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Denmark 114 for 3 ( Klokker 39, Zameer 38) beat Jersey 238 for 6 (Watkins 86, Stevens 69, Bulow 2-30) by seven wickets via D/L method

Freddie Klokker pulls behind square for a boundary on his way to top-scoring for Denmark Peter Della Penna

After a sterling bowling effort at the death and a two-and-a-half hour delay in a revised chase of 114 from 23 overs, Denmark finished off Jersey with seven wickets and seven balls to spare via Duckworth-Lewis method at Royal Selangor Club.

Opener Nat Watkins was named Man of the Match after top-scoring for Jersey with 86 off 111 balls in a losing cause. But after reaching his fifty off 79 balls in the 30th over, he struggled to accelerate in the stifling heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur.

Appearing energy-sapped, Watkins went 14 overs without a boundary until striking one off left-arm spinner Bashir Shah in the 42nd over. Another four and six came off Bashir's next over before Watkins was bowled charging Bashir to leave Jersey at 194 for 4.

Denmark's bowlers were brilliant at tying down the Jersey middle order with changes of pace. Jersey's last five overs netted only 33 runs, and just 100 runs came off the last 15 despite being at 138 for 1 in 35 overs on a flat pitch that gave the bowlers little to work with. Denmark's attack, however was incredibly disciplined throughout as they conceded just two extras, both of them leg byes.

A day after scoring a century in a win over Bermuda on the same pitch, Freddie Klokker steered the chase, helping Denmark to 55 for 0 in 13 overs, 24 ahead of the D/L par score, when a massive thunderstorm swept across the ground. The field became flooded within an hour but Royal Selangor's solid drainage system allowed play to eventually resume once the rain subsided. The target was revised to 114 in 23 overs, leaving Denmark needing 59 off 60 balls.

Denmark fell slightly behind in the first three overs after play resumed before Zameer Khan struck Watkins for four in a 10-run 17th over to put Denmark ahead again. Klokker and Zameer fell in the next two overs, but Denmark continued to speed away as 11 was taken off Stevens in the 20th over. A head-high no-ball from Watkins clinched the winning runs for Denmark.

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