Australia finally managed to win a game at the Over-50 Cricket World Cup on Sunday, while England suffered a surprise defeat and India and Wales cruised to victories.
The Aussies have had a wretched tournament, losing their first three games, but they bounced back at Durbanville Cricket Club with a five-wicket win after Damien Meek took an incredible 6/24 to dismiss Canada for 159. Steve Mace (52) and Leith Dawes (48*) then made sure there was to be no upset.
At Rylands Cricket Club, Murray Goodwin produced a stellar performance with the bat as Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka by three wickets. The Islanders posted a competitive 190/9 in their 45 overs and then had their opponents in trouble at 42/5, but former Test star Goodwin showed his class with an unbeaten 122 off 144 deliveries to get his team over the line.
At Rondebosch Cricket Club, Jamsahid Ali scored 55 as Pakistan reached 234/8 in their 45 overs against England, who were cruising at 133/2 before Naeem Tayyab’s 3/32 sparked a collapse which eventually left the English 40 runs short.
Wales recovered from 66/4 to post a very decent 231 against Namibia at Pinelands Cricket Club, with Iwan Rees (44), Mike Cann (43), Simon Wood (45*) and Matt Phillips (44*) all contributing. Roy Emmott then took 5/17 to dismiss Namibia for just 50 runs and secure a 181-run victory.
At Western Province Cricket Club, India made light work of the UAE, beating them by 90 runs in a low-scoring game. India only managed 145, but UAE crumbled to 55 all out - the only batsman to get double figures being the No 11. Krish Subramanian 4/21 and Iqbal Khan 5/19 were the chief destroyers.
At Cape Town Cricket Club, Sunil Dhaniram’s 72 off 62 deliveries helped the West Indies to 191/9 in their 45 overs, with the USA falling 14 runs short despite Parak Ananta’s 61. The Windies remain in the hunt for a semifinal spot.