Europe: Tons for Pedersen and Zameer in Denmark

Herning managed to overcome bottom side Albertslund in Denmark’s Elite Division on Saturday, but they were taken all the way by opponents determined to belie their lowly position on the table.

Albertslund had not achieved a total of 150-plus so far this season, but solid performances from the top order gave them a good platform, and then some aggressive batting from Ata Ur-Rehman enabled them to reach 253 before they were all out in the 42nd over.

Sameer Ahmed (34) and Kamran Ijaz (44) set things up with an opening stand of 53, and Bashir Khan (32) and Raja Ali (51) then added 62 for the third wicket, but Surya Anand with three for 42 and the rest of the Herning attack kept picking up wickets as the Albertslund total mounted.

Phil Mansfield led off the home side’s reply with a 51-ball 63 which included seven fours and three sixes, and a fourth-wicket partnership of 102 between Anand, who made 67 before becoming a third victim for Yasir Ayub, and Glenn Hedevang, seemed to put them in the box seat.

But Anand’s departure triggered a flurry of wickets, and it took Hedevang’s persevering 72 not out to get them home with only two deliveries to spare.
If that had been the visitors’ best effort to date, they reverted to their earlier form on Sunday, when they were thoroughly outclassed by leaders Skanderborg.

In a match reduced to 30 overs a side by rain, Skanderborg piled up a massive 267 for two, and then restricted Albertslund for 105 for nine.

The Skanderborg innings was dominated by Michael Pedersen, although he was only the minor partner in an opening stand of 57 with Nicolaj Damgaard, who smacked a 21-ball 57 while Pedersen contributed only nine.

But Pedersen then cut loose, and his unbeaten 103 came from just 84 deliveries, while Taranjeet Singh, who helped him add 161 for the third wicket, needed only 49 balls for his 86 not out, hitting five fours and four sixes.

Albertslund had no answer to this onslaught, and with Oliver Hald taking three for 15 and Omar Hayat three for 11 they limped to their disappointing total.
KB’s match against Soraner at Frederikstad was also curtailed by rain, and also turned out to be a one-sided contest.

Saif Ahmed got the home side going with a 50-ball 62, and then Zameer Khan took over, his 101 helping KB to 239 for nine from their 40 overs.

Like Albertslund, Soraner managed to avoid being all out, but they closed on 134 for nine, with Amjad Khan taking four for 12 for KB and Bashir Shah three for 9.

In the Netherlands the Women’s Hoofdklasse concluded with Quick Haag beating nearest rivals VRA Amsterdam by three wickets to clinch second place behind champions Voorburg.

Gwen Bloemen (32) and Miranda Veringmeier (42) contributed the bulk of VRA’s 131 for nine, Caroline de Lange taking a remarkable three for 3 from nine overs for Quick, and although Nathalie Hennis claimed four for 31 in Quick’s reply Robine Rijke guided her side to victory with an unbeaten 33.

At the wrong end of the table, Ajax Leiden remained winless, losing to Rood en Wit Haarlem by eight wickets.

Pietje Suurenbroek’s 45 not out enabled Ajax to reach 122 for six, Iris Zwilling taking four for 13 for the Haarlem side, and Zwilling then hit 35 not out as Rood en Wit knocked off the runs in 28.4 overs, opener Claire Dwyer making an unbeaten 53.

The last full weekend of matches in Italy’s T20 Championship saw all the places in the last 16 settled.

A busy weekend for Bergamo in Group A, in which they had two wins over Pak Lions Ghedi and then shared the points with local rivals Bergamo United, enabled them to overtake both United and Albano, who had also won one and lost one against United and who finished second in the group.

In Group B Cantù suffered a double loss to Torino, but their lead over their challengers was big enough t see them go through along with group winners Fresh Tropical.

Brescia finished top of Group C, but the combination of Jinnah winning one of their two matches against the leaders and Milan United’s two defeats at the hands of bottom side Janjua Brescia enabled Jinnah to squeeze into the next round.

It was even tighter in Group D, where Kings XI beat Bologna in the first of their two matches and then tied the second and joined Cricket Stars in the round of 16 by the narrowest of margins.

Venezia and Padova qualified from Group E despite Venezia’s loss to Royal Padova in their one remaining game, while in Group F Lucca’s double victory over Perugia took them past Aretina, who had completed their programme; Lucca and Neptunia were the qualifiers from this group.

Group G’s leading sides, Royal Parma and Napoli, won twice against Capannelle and Rome Bangla respectively and eased through as a result, and a similar situation in Group H saw Asian Latina and Roma complete the list of sides in the next round.

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