USA Cricket: Dutch young guns too much as USA loses by 225 runs at ICC Women's WC Qualifier

openingbat — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:15:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

The Netherlands opener Miranda Veringmeier stroked 99 to help her side to an insurmountable total of 329 for 5 on the way to a 225-run win over USA on Thursday at the 2011 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The 19-year-old Veringmeier was named player of the match for her efforts, which included a 118-run stand for the second wicket with the Netherlands captain Helmien Rambaldo. USA remains winless at 0-2 with the loss while the Netherlands moves to 2-1.

The Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat first as USA conceded the second highest total of the tournament and the highest by an Associate team at the event. South Africa’s total of 343 for 5 against USA on Tuesday is the highest team score so far in the qualifier. Veringmeier and Denise Hannema added 48 for the first wicket until their partnership was ended when USA captain Doris Francis ran out Hannema for 17 in the 12th over.

From there, USA’s bowlers failed to make an impact as Rambaldo and Veringmeier combined for one of two century partnerships on the day for the Dutch side. Veringmeier appeared well on her way to a ton but was denied by Samantha Ramautar, who bowled the teenager just a run short of reaching the coveted three-figure milestone to make it 166 for 2 in the 32nd over. Rambaldo was given lbw for 41 five overs later as Ramautar claimed her second scalp to make it 190 for 3.

USA failed to exert pressure with the fall of wickets though as Esther Lanser joined Kerry-Anne Tomlinson at the wicket and the two gave the innings a rapid acceleration, posting 110 runs for the fourth wicket in just 12.1 overs. By comparison, the 118-run stand between Rambaldo and Veringmeier spanned 19.5 overs. The Netherlands ended the 38th over with the score at 201 for 3, but less than 10 overs later they’d reached 300 when Lanser hit her seventh boundary. It brought up her half-century in just 41 balls, but one delivery later she was bowled by Claudine Beckford.

The 21-year-old Tomlinson kept motoring along without her as the Netherlands wound up adding 109 runs in the final 10 overs, including 51 in the final five. Tomlinson reached her 50 in the 45th over off just 42 balls with seven fours and a six. She fell in the last over to Beckford for 80 off 58 balls, finishing with 10 boundaries and a six in her brisk knock.

Beckford was introduced for the first time in the 46th over and despite taking two wickets proved very expensive, giving away 31 runs in three overs. Ramautar finished with 2 for 55 in her 10 while opening pacer Triholder Marshall was the most economical bowler for USA with figures of 0 for 52 in 10. Two days after giving away just nine wides and 19 extras overall to South Africa, USA contributed 23 wides and 33 extras to the Netherlands.

USA demonstrated determination by grinding their way to 145 against a Full Member nation on Tuesday, but took a step back on Thursday batting against an Associate attack. Tomlinson showed just as much skill with the ball by removing both USA openers, Durga Das and Nadia Gruny, inside the first eight overs for 5 and 7 respectively to make it 17 for 2. Shebani Bhaskar came to the crease and scored 19 runs in a 28-run stand with Francis before she was dismissed by off-spinner Esther Lanser who struck again four balls later to remove Joan Alexander for a duck. Lanser continued to put the clamps down on USA’s lineup by bowling five maidens in her 10-over spell. Along the way she had Francis stumped for 12 to make it 57 for 5 in the 22nd over.

Erica Rendler joined Marshall to produce a 29-run stand for the sixth wicket. The partnership was the longest of the tournament for USA in terms of deliveries faced as the pair shared the crease for 21.4 overs. While the two women kept the Dutch attack at bay, they also struggled to score runs as the maidens continued to pile up. The Netherlands bowled 16 maidens in all, four more than South Africa tallied against the USA. USA’s bowlers have managed just one maiden in two games.

The partnership ended when Marshall gave a return catch to off-spinner Esther de Lange to make it 86 for 6 at the end of 43 overs. Ramautar lasted two deliveries before she was bowled by de Lange and Rendler fell to the same bowler at the start of the 47th for 15. Rendler and Bhaskar, the only two American-born players in the squad, wound up with USA’s highest scores off the bat in the match. Still, they were outdone by extras which contributed 29 to USA’s total.

Tomlinson came back late for a second spell and trapped Sara Farooq lbw for a duck to make it 94 for 9 in the 48th over. Beckford was run out by Veringmeier for 4 to seal the innings with one ball left unused as USA was bowled out for 104 in 49.5 overs. de Lange finished with the best figures for the Netherlands, taking 3 for 8 in 10 overs with five maidens. Lanser finished with 3 for 11 while Tomlinson took 3 for 21.

In the other match in Group A on Thursday, Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets. Sri Lanka sent Zimbabwe in to bat and wound up bowling them out for 62 in 41.4 overs before chasing the target in 10.5 overs. The Netherlands had a near identical experience against Sri Lanka in their encounter on Tuesday when they were bowled out for 61 in 41.3 overs before losing by seven wickets.

USA’s next match is against Zimbabwe on Friday at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. The match will be televised live on Bangladesh local television channel ATN Bangla beginning at 10 pm EST in America.

USA Cricketer : Sri Lanka

USA Cricket: Dutch young guns too much as USA loses by 225 runs at ICC Women's WC Qualifier