T20 World Cup qualifiers: Hong Kong hammered by Netherlands, slump to seven-wicket defeat in Zimbabwe

Hong Kong slumped to a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of the Netherlands on Tuesday, all but ending their hopes of qualifying for this year’s T20 World Cup. Max O’Dowd hit a quick-fire 45 and Bas de Leede made an unbeaten 36 as the Netherlands cruised past Hong Kong’s paltry 116 all out in just 13.2 overs at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B in Zimbabwe. That Hong Kong had something to defend was down to skipper Nizakat Khan, who scored 60 of his side’s runs. But he got little support from the rest of the team and the innings ended with Hong Kong losing their last four wickets without adding a run, as Logan van Beek took the first hat-trick of the tournament. It was another poor performance all round from Trent Johnston side, with the bowlers largely failing to find the right line and length to curtail O’Dowd and De Leede, who never really got out of second gear. Defending a small total, Hong Kong needed everything to go their way, but the sight of one of the team putting their foot on the boundary rope having caught an O’Dowd slog for the boundary rather summed up the day. “Our target was to score 145 plus but again, our batting, we lost wickets at crucial times and it was never going to be enough,” Nizakat Khan said. Ehsan Khan eventually accounted for O’Dowd, who was the second man out after Aizaz Khan’s early dismissal of Stephan Myburgh. But by that stage the Netherlands were 77 for two, with O’Dowd and De Leede having put on 64 in six overs. Hong Kong lose to Uganda by two wickets in low-scoring T20 World Cup qualifier Tom Cooper’s cameo performance of 20 from 15 balls hastened the inevitable, and despite being trapped lbw by Ehsan Khan with the scores tied, a misfield the next ball ended the game. “It was real good from the boys, the bowling unit stuck at it, and although they got on top at times we pegged them back,” Scott Edwards, the Netherlands captain, said. “It was a good performance and it’s always nice when a bloke gets a hat-trick.” Netherlands moved to the top of Group B and have made the semi-finals, alongside Zimbabwe and the United States from Group. But who joins them will depend on the last round of matches, with Uganda and PNG both having lost once. After his reckless dismissal against Uganda, Nizakat Khan played a much better innings this time around and his 60 from 55 balls deserved to be part of a larger total. The Hong Kong skipper kept his head while others were again losing theirs, and it took a fine diving catch from Stephan Myburgh at backward point to finally end his innings with his side 116 for six. Netherlands have sealed their spot in the ICC Men's #T20WorldCup Qualifier B semi-final 💥 Watch the tournament LIVE on https://t.co/CPDKNxoJ9v (in select regions) and FanCode (in the sub-continent) 📺 pic.twitter.com/kymrUXNLY0 — ICC (@ICC) July 12, 2022 Babar Hayat (12) and Kinchit Shah (13) were the only other Hong Kong batsman to get into double figures, and Shah should probably have done better after helping his side recover from 37 for two, before he was out caught on the boundary trying to hit spinner Shariz Ahmad out of the ground with the score on 76. Partners came and went at regular intervals from that point, but Nizakat Khan kept his head, and the controlled push for a single that brought up his 50 highlighted that approach. Khan though might have expected his team to at least see out the overs, but his departure with the third ball of the 17th over triggered a collapse that saw van Beek finish with figures of four for 27. Wicketkeeper Scott McKechnie was next to go, trapped lbw, and Ehsan Khan followed in exactly the same manner, although which set of stumps the umpire expected the ball to hit given its trajectory down the leg side, only he will know. Opening bowler Fred Klaasen, who had helped keep Hong Kong honest at the start of the innings returned to deal with last man Haroon Arshad, uprooting the tailender’s middle stump with 11 balls remaining.