Stubborn Germany show huge progress despite defeat to the Netherlands

Netherlands (175/4) beat Germany (110/1) by 65 runs

The last time these two teams met only four days ago resulted in a huge 202 run victory for the Netherlands. If anything can demonstrate the progress this young Germany team have made over the course of this tournament, it was today’s performance, where the Netherlands won by 65 runs, but were only able to take one German wicket, whilst the miserly bowling of Rameesha Shahid and Antonia Meyenborg restricted their batters to 175/4, 80 runs fewer than the Netherlands achieved last Saturday.

The star for the Netherlands was Phebe Molkenboer, whose 91 not out from 65 balls was the platform upon which the Netherlands victory was built. She was the only Netherlands batter who really managed to dominate the German bowling over a prolonged period of time, sending 14 fours to all parts of the ground, she was particularly effective square of the wicket against Germany’s spin bowlers.

When Frederique Overdijk joined her for the final six overs at 107/3, they combined to push the Netherlands total to a respectable 175/4. 

Having set the Germans an unlikely victory target of 176, it was then the job of the Netherlands bowlers to highlight their superiority by taking early German wickets. That they failed to do this, in fact failed to take any wickets at all in the first 15 overs should be a matter of genuine concern to the Netherlands. The ability to bowl teams out and to take early wickets will be crucial if they are to progress from the Global qualifiers to the World Cup itself in England next year. 

Starring for Germany was Wilhemina Garcia. The all-rounder carried her bat, scoring 51 from 57 runs. Her half century was greeted with raucous applause and golden-eagle style screeching by her teammates on the sidelines. She batted cautiously and determinedly, taking boundaries when they presented themselves, but was prepared to be patient and waited for the bad ball. However, a strike rate of 89 is more than decent and demonstrates the progress these players are making when they are given the opportunity to play against a high standard of opposition.

So Germany leave the tournament without a win, but with heads held high. They go immediately to Copenhagen for a quadrangular tournament featuring Norway, Denmark and Sweden. For the Netherlands, they need to prepare for the Global qualifiers in Nepal in January. This is their best chance to play in a World Cup for over 20 years. There is much work to be done.