ICC/CricketEurope

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On a warm and overcast day in Jersey, Guernsey overcame the Danes by 39 runs at Victoria College, thus securing their passage into tomorrow’s third-fourth play-off against the Netherlands.

Batting first on a pitch which had considerably quickened up from yesterday and which was now in pretty decent nick, Guernsey racked up an impressive total of 192 in their forty-five overs, and this was largely thanks to Adam Clark’s excellent 82.

Clark, who had shown glimpses of his potential against Ireland yesterday, struck seven boundaries in his 106-ball knock, and his effort was undeniably the bedrock upon which Guernsey built their innings.

CJ Peatfield (21 off 31) played the major supporting role, sharing in a stand of 60 with Clark for the fourth wicket, while Thomas Still gave the Channel Islanders a very welcome boost in the final overs, smashing two sixes in his nearly-a-run-a-ball 26.

Of the Danish bowlers, skipper Christian Peck-Thorsted was the most successful, picking up three wickets at a cost of forty runs, while Raja Basit Javed took a brace during an economical opening spell.

In reply, Denmark made the most of the six overs before lunch by reaching a more than comfortable 26 without loss, Kamran Tariq Mahmood striking the ball with abandon.

After the break, however, wickets fell at alarmingly regular intervals. Mahmood was the first to go, suffering from a desperately unlucky twist of fate as the ball rolled back off his pad and onto leg stump, while Thomas Brown followed soon afterwards, slicing an ambitious drive to cover point: Tom Still was the bowler on both occasions.

The procession continued as Yaqoob, Raja and the Ahmeds (Saad Hasnat and Fazan) either were comprehensively beaten or threw their wickets away: 80 for 2 became 101 for 6 in a short space of time. Yet, at the other end, hope remained, so long as Christian Peck-Thorsted continued his lone vigil.

But the Danish captain eventually fell for 45 when he made his only mistake, top-edging a slog sweep with the score on 121, and with him went his team’s chances of escaping the bottom-drawer clash with Jersey.

While Peck-Thorsted was at the crease he batted with great maturity, applied himself absolutely to the problems with which he was confronted, and at times displayed genuine class. Yet even this innings, perhaps the best of the tournament so far, could not shepherd the Danish lower order home.

Just as Glenn le Tissier had swept aside the middle order with his off-breaks, so Dane Mullen ran through the tail, his medium-pace picking up four wickets, including a stunning one-handed return catch to dismiss Anders Bulow.

In the end the Danes were dismissed 39 runs short, and with only nine balls left they cannot exactly point to not using all their overs. Obviously, they cannot afford to miss the four or five chances in the field they wasted today, while their middle order needs to offer much more support to their capable top three.

Guernsey now deservedly take their place in the third-fourth place play-off at FB Fields, and the Netherlands should find the Channel Islanders no walkover.