DAY TWO

CYPRUS V SLOVENIA

The second game in Cyprus odyssey brought them against Slovenia. The two teams have met before in the Div 4 champs in 06, where a closely fought game had resulted in a narrow victory for Cyprus. Three years on and the landscape had changed.

Slovenia was the same team with the same players, just a little longer in the tooth. Cyprus has moved on, at least for the moment, and look a more proficient unit.

As the game unfolded the difference became obvious. Slovenia will fight hard and make their opposition uncomfortable at every opportunity, but too many good batsmen paraded in the Cyprus lineup made their task impossible.

This time the game was played on the fast outfield of the newly laid Happy Valley 3. Openers Anil and Kapila did a repeat performance of their previous days innings, keeping a steady run rate while giving no chances to Slovenia. By the tenth over Cyprus were 43 without loss, by the twentieth, 102 without loss. Yesterday it was Anils day, as he went on to score his century, today it was Kaplilas. After Anil (44) was bowled by Alidzanovic in the 22 over, Kapila went on to break the back of the Slovenia attack.

In partnerships with Manju (20),

Muhammad (30)

and finally Danuka (51 not out)

he accumulated a massive personal score of 176 not out, batting from the first to the last ball of the innings, and left Cyprus with an unassailable total of 360-4 after 50 overs. With this score none of the Slovenian bowling figures looked very pretty.

In their innings Slovenia made no real attempt to match the score, preferring a pyrrhic victory in batting their 50 overs no matter what. Cyprus tried first speed and then guile to unlock the Slovenia defense but were thoroughly thwarted. Opener Crawford did a Kapila in batting through the innings without loosing his wicket, but his fifty over innings produced 52 runs, The next highest score was 13 as the Slovenians blocked the bowlers and the game into submission.100 was reached in the 33 over with five wickets lost. But once the fifth wicket of Alidzanovic was lost to Dileeps spin, the gates opened and the Slovenians fell, to a combination of right and left arm spin, in Dileep and Kapila, both taking three wickets and wrapping up the game in the 46 over, with Slovenia all out for 128. If the Slovenias aim had been to exhaust and frustrate the Cyprus team then they can claim a small victory.

Cyprus Batting Anil 44, Kapila 176 no, Dileep 0, Muhammad 30, Danuka 51 no,

Slovenia Bowling Eve 55-0, U 59-0, M.Oman 59-0, Alidzanovic 53-2, Zupan 36-1, D.Bohinc 45-1, G.Bohinc 37-0, Karunatilake 10-0

Slovenia Batting Crawford 52 no, Oman 0, Karuntilake 5, Furness 13, Bohinc 3, Alidzanovic 9, Eve 2, G.Bohinc 0, D. Bohinc 10, Zupan 0, U 1

Cyprus Bowling Mike K 24-0, Chris M 22-2, Niroshan 15-0, Manju 19-1, Dileep 15-3, Kapila 18-3

For complete scorecard go to http://www.icc-europe.org/EURODIV4/CARDS/CYPSLO.shtml