Croatia win the battle of Waterloo

[Croatia123]

After all the frustrations of a week of bad weather, the European Division 3 championship got the final it deserved on Saturday, as Croatia held their nerve to beat Spain in the final over by a margin of just four runs.

It was a heart-breaking outcome for the Spanish, who had appeared to be cruising to victory with ten overs to go, and the astonishment and relief with which the Croatian players and their handful of supporters greeted the fall of the final wicket was evidence of how close they had come to letting the prize slip from their grasp.

On a dank and misty morning at the Royal Brussels CC ground near Waterloo, Croatian captain John Vujnovich won the toss and elected to bat. It was a brave decision given the dampness of the outfield, which undoubtedly restricted the flow of runs, but in the end the difficulty experienced throughout the week by sides chasing significant totals again came into play, as Spain collapsed from 164 for three to 216 all out in the space of fifteen dramatic overs.

Vujnovich and his brother Paul had again given Croatia a great start with an 80-run opening partnership, before Paul on 40 was adjudged to have given a sharp leg-side catch to Spanish keeper Shafique Ali off the bowling of Pedro Venus Valiente.

John then continued in company with Chris Pivac, and they added another 89 in twenty overs. The Spanish attack was hampered by the condition of the ball, but the two Vujnoviches and Pivac gave a fine display of disciplined batting to take their side through to 169 for two with eight overs left.

John Vujnovich continued almost to the end, finally holing out to mid-off in the penultimate over of the innings. His 88 came off 148 balls, containing six fours and one six. The Spaniards managed to prevent a wholesale slaughter in the final overs, but even so 51 came off the last eight as Croatia reached 220 for five.

Spain began their reply purposefully, evidently determined to chase down this relatively imposing total, and opener Ali played a characteristically belligerent innings, hitting 67 in 96 balls as the Spanish reached 118 for one by the 27th over.

The Croatian seamers were unable to reproduce the consistency they had displayed in demolishing Malta on Friday, and the fielding began to show signs of panic as they were unable to stem the flow of runs. Venus Valiente made a valuable 39 for Spain, and it was not until Pivac came back into the attack that they began to fight back.

He had Spanish captain Graeme Howe well caught by Mate Jukic in the deep, and 29 runs later accounted for Venus Valiente as well. David Climent Yarwood gave him his third wicket, trying an over-ambitious drive, and Spain were 175 for five.

Faran Afzal, however, continued to score freely, and with four overs left the Spanish needed 15 to win with four wickets in hand. It took a piece of individual brilliance from John Vujnovich to turn the game as, fielding at extra cover, he held onto a full-blooded drive from Afzal off Phil Siljeg’s bowling. Afzal had made 42 at a run a ball, and with his departure the Croatians clearly believed that they could still win a game which a few minutes earlier had seemed to be lost.

Siljeg struck again three balls later, and Spain were 208 for eight with three overs left. Jeff Grzinich dismissed Phil Beal with the total on 211, and two balls into the final over, with five still needed, last man Sam Lupson skied a Paul Vujnovich delivery. Craig Sinovich was under it, completed the catch, and the Croatian celebrations began.

Meanwhile, at Mechelen, the Isle of Man completed a six-wicket victory over Malta to take third place. The Maltese batsmen did much better than they had against Croatia, reaching 164 thanks to a solid 63 from Frank Spiteri. Manx seamer Scott Pearce claimed four for 35.

Peter Richards (39) and Jon Norrington (27) put on 80 for the first wicket when the Isle of Man replied, and a 53-ball 48 from Oliver Webster took them to the brink of victory. They made it in the 46th over, to recover well from the disappointment of their semi-final defeat by Spain in a match in which the scores were tied.

Hosts Belgium claimed fifth place by beating Portugal by 38 runs at Rumst, Shaheryar Butt playing another fine innings with 81, including two fours and seven sixes. With Javed Iqbal contributing 38 the Belgians reached 196, Muhammad Mirza taking five for 30 for Portugal.

The Portuguese never really looked likely to make this target, and despite a determined 59 from Tariq Aziz they were all out for 158 with ten balls left.

In the battle of the relegated sides in Gent, Pelawatha Janaka took five for 24 as Cyprus dismissed Finland for 135. The Cypriots gradually overhauled this target, opener Anil Nair making 45 as they completed a two-wicket win.

Cyprus were awarded the MCC Spirit of Cricket award, while John Vujnovich, unsurprisingly, was declared the Player of the Tournament.

By taking the title, Croatia have earned the right to play off against Israel for a place in Division 2 next season. This match is scheduled to take place within the next couple of months.

[Freak U Full]

The secretary general of the Provincial Handball Association of Cabinda, Buanga Jean Marie affirmed Friday that conditions have been created for the hosting from November 09 to 11 the 3rd edition of the International Tournament in commemoration of the 32nd national independence anniversary.

Speaking to ANGOP, the source informed that the participating teams are reconfirming their presence, with emphasis to the Catalunha team (Spain) and Croatia.

Angola will be represented at the tournament by the "A" and "Esperanças (hope)" teams, in both sexes. Tunisia and Catalunha will compete in the ladies category, whilst Egypt and Croatia replace F.C Porto of Portugal, in males.

The competition will be played at Tafe pavilion, while the training sessions will be held at the arenas of Sporting de Cabinda, Cabassango and of Barão Puna.

The athletes will be lodged at the Olympic Vila in Cabassango district, about 10 kilometres to the north of Cabinda city.

Fixtures: Day - 9/11/2007

Angola A-Sel. Esperanças (Ladies)

Angola A-Sel. Esperanças (Males)

Tunísia-Sel. Catalunha (Ladies)

Egipto-Croatia (Males)

Day -10/11

Angola (Esp.)- Tunisia (Ladies)

Angola (Esp.)- Egypt (Males)

Angola A - Catalunha (Ladies)

Angola A - Croatia - (Males)

Day - 11/11

Angola (Esp.)- Croatia (Males)

[Freak U Full]

Germany and Croatia could this Saturday become the first teams to book their place at next year's Euro finals. A full round of qualifying matches in all seven groups sees Germany needing just a point from their Group D game against Ireland in Dublin, while Croatia need a win against Israel and Estonia to avoid defeat in England in Group E to make sure of their qualification.

Germany top their group with 22 points from the Czech Republic, who have 20 and Ireland who are on 14. As the top two teams from each group advance, Germany will be guaranteed a place at the finals with a draw - with three games remaining.

Germany coach Joachim Loew however warned that this doesn't mean the match at Croke Park will in fact be a walk in the park, calling for a big effort from his players.

"We will not tolerate anyone saying that we are eight points ahead of Ireland and will somehow make it," the coach said.

The other matches in the group see the already eliminated Slovakia take on San Marino, while Wales are away to Cyprus.

Croatia, who have a three-point lead over England and a five-point lead over Russia, should have few problems against Israel, while England should have an even easier task against Estonia.

England coach Steve McClaren is already looking forward to the team's next match - against Russia in Moscow on Wednesday - and is considering resting John Terry, who is carrying a slight injury, against Estonia.

"Leaving Terry out would be a massive call," McClaren said. "We must look at the bigger picture. We have a few players on bookings and we have to take that into account."

In Group A Poland will be expecting to extend their lead with a victory against Kazakhstan, while their main rivals face a much more difficult task.

Serbia, who are fourth on 16 points from 10 games, are away to Armenia, while Portugal, who are third with 17 from ten, travel to Azerbaijan. Finland who are currently second with 19 points from their 11 games are away to Belgium.

The Tartan Army is hoping their fairytale run in Group B continues with a victory against the Ukraine. The Scotts top the table with 21 points, one more than world champions Italy and two more than France.

But while both France (in the Faroe Islands) and Italy (at home to Georgia) should have no problems in winning, Scotland's task is much more difficult.

Scotland coach Alex McLeish said in an interview with uefa.com that he was telling his players not to be over-confident after their win in France in their last Euro match.

"The win against France was fantastic but we can't afford to be conceited in any shape or form.

"We have given ourselves a chance of qualifying - but that's all it is. We now have what amounts to three cup finals to see if we can take the final step towards next year's finals," he said.

The defending champions Greece, who are at the top of Group C with 19 points from eight matches, are at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina who are six points behind them in fourth place and have played a game more.

Second-placed Turkey are away to last-placed Moldova, knowing that anything but a victory will be disastrous to their hopes of reaching the finals, while Hungary and Malta meet in Budapest in a game that is of little interest as both teams have been eliminated.

In Group F Denmark need a win against Spain if they want to keep their slim chances of qualifying for the finals alive. The Danes are fourth in the group with 14 points from eight matches, five points behind second-placed Spain who have played a game more though.

Spain coach Louis Aragones has controversially left out Real Madrid striker Raul of the squad for the game against Denmark and admitted that it was not an easy decision.

"I could be making a mistake...but my reasons (for not picking Raul) are objective," he said, but without clarifying what those reasons are.

Group leaders Sweden, who are also on 19 points, but have played a game less, should have few problems in Liechtenstein. The final group game sees Iceland at home to Latvia.

Third-placed Northern Ireland have a bye on the weekend.

Group G is a three-horse race between Romania, the Netherlands and Bulgaria, with the Dutch and Romania, who will be facing each other in Constanta on Saturday, topping the group on 20 points from eight matches.

Bulgaria, who will not be playing on Saturday, are third with 18 points from nine games.

Also in the group Belarus are at home to Luxembourg, while Albania travel to Slovenia.