SPECTACULAR EFFORT: Nehemiah Odhiambo tries to run out Ryan ten Doeschate. — Photo: AFP

BRIDGETOWN (BARBADOS): Bangladesh crushed Scotland by seven wickets in a World Cup warm-up game here on Thursday.

Scotland made a paltry 152 for nine off its 50 overs at the 3Ws Oval before Bangladesh stormed to victory with the best part of 16 overs left, thanks to an unbeaten 57 from skipper Habibul Bashar.

Seamers John Blain and Paul Hoffman dismissed the Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and Shahriar Nafees respectively but Habibul and Saqibul Hasan (45) laid the groundwork for the Asian side.

Saqibul fell to a catch by Neil McCallum off Dougie Brown with the total at 108, leaving his skipper and Mohammad Ashraful (23 not out) to take Bangladesh home. Habibul's 57 was made off 87 balls with six fours.

Earlier, Scotland had made a solid start to its innings, reaching 73 for two with Navdeep Poonia (32) and Fraser Watts (28) showing some form. But, both were undone by the slow left-arm spinners Abdur Razzak (three for 25) and Mohammad Rafique (two for 16).

It was the second match in succession Razzak had caught the eye. He snared four wickets in the two-wicket win over New Zealand on Tuesday.

Dutch lose their way

At the Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica, skipper Steve Tikolo posted a composed 51 and took five for 48 with his accurate medium-pace to steer Kenya to a nine-run win over the Netherlands.

Thomas Odoyo's blazing 49-ball 73 spurred Kenya to 274 for eight in 50 overs, but the Dutch batsmen appeared on course for a successful chase before Tikolo ripped through the middle-order.

Tikolo (35) brought himself on as the seventh bowler for Kenya, whose attack was wilting under the impact of a 142-run opening stand between Bas Zuiderent (65) and Darron Reekers (75).

Turning point

All-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate, who plays for English county Essex, kept Netherlands on course with a half-century, but the match swung in Kenya's favour after he was run-out.

``We were in with a chance until the last three overs when ten Doeschate got out,'' Netherlands captain Luuk van Troost said.

Peter Borren's three sixes in one over from Jimmy Kamende had raised Dutch hopes, but the experienced Tikolo did not allow the tail to wag.

``The big opening partnership caused some concern, but we knew the Dutch batsmen would come under pressure if we bowled a tight line,'' said Tikolo, who was a member of the Kenyan team that emerged as a surprise World Cup semifinalist in 2003.

Williams's day

Sean Williams hit an unbeaten 72 and guided Zimbabwe to a six-wicket win over Bermuda at Kingstown (St. Vincent). Williams hit three fours and two sixes, as Zimbabwe eclipsed Bermuda's 136 in the 29th over.

``The ball was gripping a lot from the spinners while it was slow and `skiddy' when the quicks were on,'' Williams said. ``I knew I had plenty of time to bat and get the runs, so I took my time to get set.''

Chamu Chibhabha (30) and Stuart Matsikenyeri (21 not out), too, played their parts in the successful chase.

``We are moving in the right direction,'' Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya said. ``Even though we lost against Australia, there were a lot of positives that we took out of that game.''

Easy for Ireland

At Port-of-Spain, Ireland registered a seven-wicket win over Canada. After being sent in, Canada only lasted 32.5 overs at the Sir Frank Worrell ground and was bundled out for 115. Ireland reached the target for the loss of three wickets in 26.5 overs.

Ireland opener Jeremy Bray was unbeaten on 41 not out and Andre Botha was 22 not out. Henry Osinde, Austin Codrington and Samad each took a wicket for Canada.

The scores:

At Bridgetown (Barbados): Scotland 152 for nine in 50 overs (N. Poonia 32, Abdur Razzak three for 25) lost to Bangladesh 156 for three in 34.1 overs (S. Hasan 45, H. Bashar 47 not out).

At Jamaica: Kenya 274 for eight in 50 overs (O. Suji 47, S. Tikolo 51, T. Odoyo 73, C. Obuya 33, Samuel van Bunge three for 41) beat Netherlands 265 for nine in 50 overs (B. Zuiderent 65, D. Reekers 75, R. ten Doeschate 50, S. Tikolo five for 48).

At Kingstown (St. Vincent): Bermuda 136 in 50 overs (J. Tucker 56, A. Ireland three for 22) lost to Zimbabwe 137 for four in 29 overs (C. Chibhabha 30, S. Williams 72 not out).

At St. Augustine (Trinidad): Canada 115 in 32.5 overs (G. Barnett 27, D. Langord-Smith four for 41) lost to Ireland 116 for three in 25.5 overs (J. Bray 41 not out). — Agencies

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