Hosts Malaysia tasted victory against Denmark in the opening game of the Cricket World Cup Challenge League Group A on Monday (16 Sept 2019) at Kinrara Oval, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia reached 192/7 from 50 overs built around opening bat Virandeep Singh’s 46 (78 balls) out of 88/5 (26.2 overs) and a stand of 75 for the 7th wicket . Suharil Fetri, batting at number six, top-scored with 64* (114 balls) and was well supported by Aminunddin Ramly’s run-a-ball 46. Jino Jojo took 3/38 from 10 overs with his right-arm medium pace.
Danish captain and opening bat Hamid Shah and Zaheer Khan added 65 for the second wicket in just under 20 overs after the first ball dismissal of Jonas Henriksen. Hamid Shah was caught after making 42 runs from 59 balls. Zaheer Khan eventually fell for 41 to leave Denmark on 106/8 after 34.1 overs. Oliver Haid struck 27 from 41 balls but he was stumped to leave Denmark 147/9 after 40.2 overs. Only one run was registered by the last wicket pair, so Malaysia won by 44 runs.
The Kinrara Oval will be the scene on Tuesday (17 Sept 2019) for Oman versus Singapore while Canada enter the tournament with a match against Vanuatu at the Selanger Turf Club, Kuala Lumpur.
The Denmark team against Malaysia included veteran Freddie Klokker who played in the 2001 ICC Trophy that was hosted by the then Canadian Cricket Association in the Greater Toronto Area. Klokker played one county championship game for Warwickshire and made a number of appearances for Derbyshire on the England and Wales county cricket circuit.
Malaysia’s team included Muhamad Syahadat who played for Malaysia Under-15s in the 2008 CLICO International Under-15 tournament in the West Indies. Sayahadat scored 11 against Denmark and did not bowl. Canada’s Nitish Kumar and Nikhil Dutta may have memories of Sayahadat from a game between ICC Americas U15s and Malaysia in the knock-out phase of that tournament.
Malaysia, based on recent research, came in as replacements for Zimbabwe in the CLICO U15. I must admit I have little memory of Muhamad Sayahadat’s batting in a loss to West Indies U15s where Kraigg Brathwaite scored an unbeaten century (122*) and shared in an opening stand of 136 with John Campbell (61). Sayahadat made a duck against ICC Americas in the knock-out phase of the CLICO U15 International tournament but Malaysia won the game.
Tuesday start in Malaysia = Live Scores on Monday in Most of Canada
Tuesday morning starts in Malaysia means there will be access to live scoring starting on Monday evening in most parts of Canada. The theory is that live scoring for matches in this Challenge League Group A will be starting around 10pm Eastern time (Toronto/Montreal time).

Best wishes to the Canadian Squad
So, best wishes to the Canadian squad who will be seeking 5 wins from 5 games in this first of three tournaments that comprise Cricket World Cup Challenge League Group A 2019-2022. The top team in the standings after the three tournaments advances to a Qualifier on the second step towards the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
Five wins in each of these three Group A tournaments is the simple answer for Canada in order to move up the ladder towards that World Cup. There’s not much scope for bad weather or poor performances but that perspective and the related pressures could change at a later date, depending on how the results unfold.
Eddie Norfolk