The importance of high quality bowling attacks to nations’ ICC Trophy fortunes was again revealed here in Toronto today

John Polack29-Jun-2001The importance of high quality bowling attacks to nations’ ICC Trophy fortunes was again revealed here in Toronto today. Although Denmark’s Carsten Pedersen and Uganda’s Kenneth Kamyuka defied the trend with handsomely struck centuries, it was the bowlers who generally assumed starring roles in all four of the matches played on day two of competition.At King City, Denmark’s bowlers emphatically capitalised on the work performed by Pedersen (103) and his fellow batsmen in assembling a tally of 284/6 against a disappointing Hong Kong outfit. Fast bowler Amjad Khan (3/11) was the main hero as the Danes steamrolled their opponents by a margin of 181 runs, but all six of their bowlers snared wickets in a thoroughly impressive display.Alongside Pedersen, Khan (73) had also featured at the top of Denmark’s batting order earlier in the day. In an opening stand of 136, both players looked firmly in control and precious few false strokes were evinced from them on a generally true pitch. Pedersen, in particular, built an excellent innings. Perfect for the situation was his ability to wait on, and punish, the loose deliveries that were bowled during the middle stages of the innings.Having already captured the imagination of many followers in Toronto with their electrifying skill and enthusiasm, Uganda once again failed to let their new band of supporters down. Three days after a stunning win at the same ground in a warmup contest against Ireland, the Africans again relied on spectacular lower order batting and excellent pace bowling to secure their 64-run victory over Malaysia.Roared on by a delighted contingent of expatriate West Indians at Eglinton Flats, it was Kamyuka (100*) who set them on their way to what is likely to prove a crucial result in shaping the complexion of Division Two’s Group B table.Prior to the number ten’s arrival at the crease, the Ugandans had undergone a stern examination at the hands of Malaysian spin bowlers Rohan Suppiah (4/24) and S Vickneswaran (3/41). They did not fare well, disastrously surrendering seven wickets for the addition of only thirty-five runs at one point and almost completely squandering the position of early strength they had built at a score of 64/1.Enter Kamyuka, whose capacity to plant his big front foot firmly down the pitch and swing through the line of the ball worked wonders in an astonishing partnership of 124 runs with a comparatively silent Benjamin Musoke (21*) at the other end. His clean, predominantly straight hitting not only yielded eight meaty sixes and four boundaries but he also produced a century from the last ball of the Uganda innings having faced a matter of only 54 deliveries. By any measure, it was an amazing performance.In the reply, only Suresh Navaratnam (46) and Yazid Imran (25) showed genuine defiance as Uganda’s combination of four pace bowlers and an off spinner teamed brilliantly to make scoring strokes rare commodities.At Sunnybrook, the bowlers’ dominance was established from early in the piece in the battle between the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates. It was initially the turn of the Netherlands batsmen to struggle, only Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk (38) passing the twenty mark as the Dutchmen were restricted to a meagre-looking total of 144. Left arm orthodox spinner Khuram Khan (4/18) was intelligently used in bursts by his captain and his bowling was similarly outstanding, teasing flight and control proving too much for virtually the entirety of the middle order batting arraigned against him.But the UAE’s great start scarcely made any kind of impact on the finish, for their opponents came back in as comprehensive a manner as might have been expected of one of the top fancies in the tournament. And then some.Veteran new ball bowler Roland Lefebvre (5/16) ripped the heart out of the top and middle order in a devastating effort which reduced the United Arab Emirates to a staggering scoreline of 17/7 at one stage. Batting low in the order, Mohammad Atif (18) and Ahmed Nadeem (10) bravely defied the inevitable but could not prevent their side from falling to a comprehensive 90-run defeat nonetheless.And, in the final match of the day, the United States of America’s upset six-wicket triumph over Ireland was also predicated on the work of its bowlers.A classy 80 from Middlesex batsman Ed Joyce held the Americans’ bowlers at bay initially as Ireland reached a more than respectable 108/2 after winning the toss. But the complexion of the match then changed quickly, the Irish middle and lower order unravelled by the extraordinary mixture of medium pace, off spin and leg spin delivered by Nasir Islam (4/32) from his long run. Islam played a key role with his probing mix of full length, turning and well flighted deliveries albeit that rash strokes against him were also large in number. The Irishmen’s faltering progress toward their modest total of 209 was also influenced strongly by pace bowler Donovan Blake (2/27).With so few runs to chase on an excellent pitch, the USA batsmen then made light work of their target with some tremendous, attacking batting. There were still more than twelve overs to spare by the time that Mark Johnson (54), Richard Staple (46*) and Faoud Bacchus (44) had inspired the USA to its win.