---

The Netherlands proved much too strong for Italy in their match at Shawholm on Friday, making 317 for seven from their fifty overs and running out winners by 140 runs, but they made heavy weather of finishing the game off after a devastating spell from Ryan ten Doeschate had reduced the opposition to 77 for five.

Ten Doeschate had earlier made 68 while sharing a crucial 162-run third-wicket partnership with Daan van Bunge, despite having taken a sickening blow to the back of the head early in his innings off a straight drive by Darron Reekers, and deservedly won the Man of the Match award. But van Bunge was also a serious contender for the award, having made a chanceless 84-ball 123, including 11 fours and 5 sixes.

Italy won the toss and elected to field first on a green and dampish wicket, but it turned out to hold few fears for the Dutch batsmen. Opener Reekers again went off at a cracking pace – as ten Doeschate discovered to his cost – making 45 off 37 balls including eight fours and a six before clipping Ala ud Din to Hemantha Jayasena at midwicket. Bas Zuiderent having previously fallen victim to the same bowler, The Netherlands were now 61 for two in the eleventh over, but this brought van Bunge in to join ten Doeschate.

Their partnership lasted just 24 overs, and they went along at nearly seven per over. They were particularly hard on Troy Crosland, who conceded 75 from his ten overs, although he was eventually compensated by the wicket of van Bunge, caught on the long-on boundary by Jayasena.

The momentum slackened somewhat after the two main run-getters had departed, but an enterprising seventh-wicket partnership of 40 between Alexei Kervezee and Peter Borren saw the total past 300. Kervezee was finally caught in the deep for 31, and Borren contributed 21 not out off 18 balls.

Italian openers Jayasena and Alessandro Bonora started confidently against Billy Stelling and Reekers, reaching 43 without loss off eight overs, assisted by a plethora of no-balls, before Dutch captain Luuk van Troost introduced ten Doeschate into the attack. He bowled Jayasena with his first ball, and then trapped Ala ud Din leg before with his second. Samantha Ketipe was his third victim in the following over, at which point he had three for none off eight balls.

Andrea Corbellari was bowled in his fourth over, while in the next Bonora, who had mustered 25, was surprised by a sharply-lifting ball and was caught behind by Jeroen Smits. In all, ten Doeschate’s initial six-over spell brought him five for 17, and the match was effectively over.

That it lasted another thirty overs was due to some determined batting by the Italian lower-order, combined with some rather less effective bowling from the Dutch. Peter Borren and Muhammad Kashif contributed tidy spells, taking a wicket each, but when Stelling returned from the other end he had even greater problems with the front-foot law, bowling eleven no-balls in a three-over spell. But he was not the only offender, and no-balls represented nearly half the 51 extras in the Italian total, comfortably the top scorer.

Credit must go, however, to the Italian batsmen, particularly Nicola Puccio and Nicholas Northcote, who shared a 59-run partnership for the sixth wicket, and Crosland with a dogged 20 not out. Daan van Bunge took two wickets to help end the innings, and the match came to a quiet close three overs before the scheduled finish.