World Cup Qualifier Play-Off: USA register thumping 117-run victory over Papua New Guinea; UAE beat Namibia
Windhoek, Namibia: USA moved one step closer to booking their place in the Qualifier tournament for this year's ICC Men's World Cup with an impressive 117-run victory over Papua New Guinea, while the UAE also earned two valuable points when they beat Namibia.
Opener Steven Taylor set the tone with the bat with a steady 81 at the top of the order as the USA posted a decent total of 235/7 in the ICC World Cup Qualifier Play-off clash then bundled out PNG for just 118.
The victory sees the USA move to the top of the Qualifier Play-off standings with six points from four matches and Monank Patel's side will likely earn a place in the Qualifier to be held in Zimbabwe in June and July with a victory in their final match of the current event against Jersey on Tuesday.
The loss puts an end to any slim hopes PNG had of keeping their World Cup dream alive, with the Oceania side now winless through four appearances in Namibia.
The other match on Sunday saw UAE move alongside the USA at the top of the standings with a narrow 28-run triumph over Namibia at the United Cricket Club Ground.
The UAE got vital contributions with the bat from Asif Khan (96 from 86 deliveries) and Vriitya Aravind (93*) when posting 267/5, and Namibia were all out in the penultimate over in reply.
The tournament hosts' chances of moving through to the next Qualifier tournament are now hanging by a thread.
Namibia take on Canada on Tuesday in what will be their final match of the tournament and need a comprehensive victory in that clash and for other results to go their way just to have any chance of finishing in the critical top two places in the standings.
UAE are in a similar position to the USA, with a match against Jersey on Wednesday to determine whether they finish in the top two and progress to the Qualifier in Zimbabwe.
