The European Regional T20 qualifiers got under way in The Netherlands on Wednesday with Austria winning twice in Group A, while the rain played a part in the other groups.

Bilal Zalmai (47) and Kasthuri Arachchige (34*) shared an opening stand of 82 in ten overs as Austria chased down 119 in 16.1 overs to beat Portugal.

Tariq Aziz (32*), Nadeem Butt (27), and Umar Farooq (25) had all been among the runs as the Portuguese posted 118 for 3.

The Austrians were even more emphatic victors over France, as Shadnan Khan's hard-hit 39 from 23 balls (5 fours, 1 six) saw the chase down a modest 104-run target in just 11.5 overs.

Noman Amjad (26) and Jean-Luc Lamboudiere (24) top-scored for France in their 103 for 7.

Waqar Zalmai (3-33) and Shadnan Khan (2-11) were best with the ball for Austria.

Germany ran out convincing 46 runs (DLS) winners against Cyprus.

A second wicket stand of 77 in just 45 balls between Amith Sarma (69) and Mudassar Muhammad (49) laid the foundation for their total of 179 for 7.

Sarma hit 6 fours in his 52-balls innings, while Muhammad's 49 came from only 28 deliveries.

Abdul-Shakoor Rahmzei (4-9) then produced an inspired spell as Cyprus could only manage 70 for 9 in their reply.

One o the tournament favourites Denmark beat Germany in another rain-affected match.

Germany scored a disappointing 86 for 8, and Demark had reached 25 without loss when the game ended - Hamid Shah's 18 not out ensuring a narrow 8-run win on DLS.

In Group B, 3 of the 4 scheduled matches got completed, with only Italy's game with Jersey not making it.

Italy looked to be in trouble against Jersey, as four wickets from Ben Stevens and three from skipper Chuggy Perchard reduced them to 101 for 9 at the half-way stage, only for the elements to intervene.

The Italians - a much changed team from years previously - beat Spain by 32 runs in their other scheduled game.

Nicolas Maiolo scored a Man-of-the-Match 41as they hit 147 for 9, while Spain's Atif Mehmood was the stand-out performer with the ball, taking 4 for 21.

Michael Ross and Gaya Munasinghe each took two wickets as Spain were kept to 115 for 6, despite 40 from Paul Hennessy.

There were mixed fortunes for the Isle of Man, who lost to Belgium but beat Finland.

Ollie Webster (42*) and Dan Kniveton (30) were in the runs as they scored 121 for 4 against Belgium.

Belgian skipper Faisal Khaliq (23*) steered his team over the line in a nervy chase to seal a three-wicket win with two balls remaining - two wickets apiece for Chris Langford and Nick White.

Nathan Knights (36) and Ed Beard (33) helped the Manxmen to 136 or 5 in their clash with Finland.

The Finns were 14 runs adrift on DLS at 34 or 3 (7 overs) when play was halted.

Guernsey's campaign got off to the best possible start as they thumped Gibraltar by 10 wickets.

There was little sign of the mauling to follow as Balajai Pai (33) and Nick Ferrary (17) added 42 for the opening wicket for Gibraltar.

Three wickets apiece for William Peatfield and Anthony Stokes saw them lose 10 wickets for 28 runs to collapse to 70 all out.

Guernsey knocked off the modest target in 65 balls, with Lucas Barker hitting 52 from 37 balls (8 fours, 1 six) as he dominated the stand of 76 with Josh Butler (20*).

Two games were abandoned at the 16-over mark, with Israel on 105 for 5 against Gibraltar, and Norway 101 for 3 against Sweden. Raza Iqbal had been 60 not out for Norway when play was called off.

Sweden beat the Czech Republic by six wickets, as Azam Khalil took 3/11 as the Czechs made 111 for 8.

Bilal Zaigham's 41 not out saw the Swedes to victory with 11 balls to spare, well supported by Afzal Virk, who scored 37.

Play continues Thursday with 12 games down for decision, while Friday will be used for any games that weren't completed on the opening day.

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