Burger's five bowls Namibia to victory
Namibia claimed a hard-fought 40-run win in their Intercontinental Cup clash against UAE in Sharjah with Jan-Berrie Burger taking a career-best 5 for 81
Cricinfo staff
26-Jan-2008
Namibia 164 and 396 beat UAE 224 and 296 (Khan 97, Ali 52, J Burger 5-84) by 40 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Namibia claimed a hard-fought 40-run win in their Intercontinental Cup clash against UAE in Sharjah with Jan-Berrie Burger taking a career-best 5 for 81 after a brave innings from Khurram Khan had kept UAE's hopes alive.
Already two down overnight as they chased 337, UAE needed a solid start to the final day but instead lost wickets steadily. When Amjad Javed was removed by Burger they were 103 for 6 and Namibia were sensing a swift conclusion to the match. However, the home side wouldn't lie down and a sixth-wicket stand of 127 between Khan and Amjad Ali (52) threatened a turnaround.
Khan faced 176 balls and struck nine boundaries as he and Ali chipped away at the target to increase the tension in the Namibia camp. Eventually Burger broke through as Ali fell for a well played 52 and the match finally slipped away from UAE when Khan was removed three runs short of deserved hundred, lbw to Kola Burger for a career-best 97.
Kola quickly trapped No. 10 Zahid Shah lbw to put Namibia one wicket away. Still, that final blow didn't come easily as Ahmed Raza (38) helped eke out a further 38 for the last wicket until Jan-Berrie Burger completed his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket by having Raza caught behind.
The 14 points Namibia take from the match are a major boost to their campaign and they shoot up to second in the table while UAE are left languishing in second-last position having played four matches.
Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | Aban | Pts | Quotient | For | Against |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kenya | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 1.757 | 961/23 | 951/40 |
Namibia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1.338 | 1142/31 | 1101/40 |
Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1.001 | 1410/50 | 1380/49 |
Ireland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2.882 | 997/15 | 692/30 |
Scotland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1.142 | 766/20 | 1040/31 |
Canada | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0.981 | 2085/69 | 1909/62 |
U.A.E. | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0.805 | 1508/64 | 1464/50 |
Bermuda | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.521 | 1657/80 | 1989/50 |