Namibia makes winning start to its ICC Intercontinental Cup campaign

Namibia 480 for 9 dec (B Kotze 163*) and 102 for 2 (Burger 44*, Snyman 38*) beat Canada 286 (Iqbal 140) and 295 (Iqbal 88, Snyman 3-53) by 8 wickets
Scorecard

Namibia made a winning start to its ICC Intercontinental Cup campaign with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Canada at Wanderers Cricket Club in Windhoek, Namibia on Sunday.

Chasing a modest target of 102 runs in more than two sessions on the fourth and final day, the home side achieved victory midway through the second session for the loss of just two wickets.

Opener Jan-Berrie Burger and Gerrie Snyman put on 67 runs in an unbroken third wicket stand after Raymond van Schoor (2) and Michael Durant (7) had departed by the time the score had reached 35.

Burger remained undefeated on 44 including four fours and two sixes while Synman clubbed four fours and three sixes in a rapid 29-ball 38.

Earlier Canada, after beginning the day with a lead of 41 runs on 235-6 having been forced to follow-on, was bowled out for 295 with Namibia's new ball duo of Louis Klazinga and Synman sharing seven wickets between them.

Klazinga, who took 2-27 in the first innings, claimed 4-55, while Synman followed up his 4-63 with 3-53 to finish the match with figures 7-116.

The match ended Canada's miserable tour of Africa which saw defeats in two Intercontinental Cup matches (the other was against Kenya) and two ODIs against Kenya in a space of 16 days.

The defeat also left Canada, losing finalists to Ireland in the previous staging of the tournament, facing an uphill task to reach the final again this time.

It now has just one win and a total of 26 points from four games and with a tough looking run-in with matches against Ireland, 2004 winners Scotland and Bermuda.

The Netherlands leads the field with 34 points, followed by Ireland on 29 points from two games. Scotland shares third place with Canada on 26 points while Kenya has 20 points from its only match in the eight-team competition.

Both Canada and Namibia have no further matches this year. However, Kenya will go head to head against Bermuda from Thursday in Nairobi. Bermuda will then travel to Sharjah in the final match of the year where it will meet United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now ICC's premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members' cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada earlier this year in the 2006/07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007/08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be decided.