ICC World Twenty20 2012 qualifiers-Seychelles selection win on debut |26 February 2011

Going into action in the day’s final match at the Achimota field in Accra, Ghana, on Thursday – the first day of the qualifiers – Seychelles batted first against Mali and did very well to finish with an impressive 161 runs in 20 overs for the loss of 7 wickets.

Former player of the year Krishna Naidoo was in good form and made the highest contribution with 47 runs, while Harikrishnan Kamalan added 45 and Shiva Nagaraja 30.

According to reports from Ghana, the Seychelles selection looked a very good outfit in the field with tight bowling supported by aggressive fielding on the way to achieving a comfortable 60-run victory after Mali could get only 101 runs in 17.4 overs all-out.

Seychelles’ captain Kaushal Patel was named man of the match because of his bowling, taking 4 wickets in his spell of 4 overs and conceding only 11 runs.

Mali’s Simon Watson had a very good game with 4 wickets for 24 but could not propel his team to victory.
Seychelles earned a second win in as many matches yesterday, beating Gambia by 15 runs.

Again Seychelles batted first and scored 85 runs in 10 overs. Kamalan and Tim Horpinitch finished with 30 runs apiece.

In reply, Gambia scored 70 all out, suffering a second defeat after being outplayed by Morocco in their first match.

Seychelles play Morocco today and a win will assure them of first place in the division three standings.

The ICC World Twenty20 2012 will be held in Sri Lanka – the fourth time the tournament will be played.

A total of 16 teams – the 10 full members and six qualifiers – will take part in the men's event, while eight teams will contest the women's tournament.

Previous winners of the men's event are India (2007), Pakistan (2009) and England (2010), while England (2009) and Australia (2010) have won the women's events.

G. G.