European Cricket Network live broadcasts four T10 matches on Day 11 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Germany, Krefeld on Friday 28 May.
Quarter-finals Friday with the top four in each group playing for a spot in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Group A
MSF MSC Frankfurt (7-1, NRR+4.067)
ARS Aachen Rising Stars (5-3, NRR+1.528)
VG VfB Gelsenkirchen (4-4, NRR-0.629)
BUB Bayer Uerdingen Boosters (2-5, NRR-1.433)
KCH Köln Challengers (2-6, NRR-3.090)
Group B
DBDüsseldorf Blackcaps (7-1, NRR+2.556)
KCC Köln CC (5-2-1, NRR+0.909)
BBSBonn Blue Star (4-3-1, NRR+0.531)
BUW Bayer Uerdingen Wolves (2-5-1, NRR+0.346)
DSSDJK SG Solingen (0-7-1, NRR-5.396)
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QUARTER FINAL 1 - MATCH 41 (ECS21.380)
MSC FRANKFURT (MSF) v BAYER UERDINGEN WOLVES (BUW)
0700 GMT | 0900 CET | 1230 IST
MSF Last Five Matches: L W W W W (Avg Score For 112, Avg Score Against 74)
BUW Last Five Matches: W L NR L L (Avg Score For 91, Avg Score Against 107)
MSC FRANKFURT (MSF)
Captain: Sekandar Khan
Wicketkeeper: Habib Rahman
Projected Top Four: Adel Khan, Shahid Afridi, Sekandar Khan, Nafees Buttar
Projected Opening Bowlers: Waheed Ahmed, Shahid Afridi
Spin Options: Adel Khan, Nafees Buttar
MSC FRANKFURT Key Players:
Shahid Afridi, hard hitting opening batsman, has mustered 168 runs from five innings at a strike rate of 290, has bagged three man of the match awards as well.
Adel Khan, joint highest run scorer with 168 runs to his name. Racked up an unbeaten 63 off 32 balls in the first match, has also picked up six wickets.
Nafees Buttar, left-arm off-spinner, very accurate with his line and length, has scalped seven wickets from eight matches at an economy rate of just 6.35. Returned impressive figures of 3-6 in the second match, scored a blistering 11-ball 32* to earn himself a man of the match award vs KCH, racking up a total of 87 runs from five innings.
Qader Khan has been impressive with the ball picking up 10 wickets so far at an economy rate of seven and a best return of 3-13. He is the leading wicket taker for MSF.
BAYER UERDINGEN WOLVES (BUW)
Captain: Waqas Fatmi
Wicketkeeper: Humayun Butt
Projected Top Four: Waqas Fatmi, Muhammad Rizwan, Shamil Niyas, Humayun Butt
Projected Opening Bowlers: Taha Hassan, Raj Bhushan
Spin Options: Raj Bhushan, Zain Alam, Abdul Haseeb
BAYER UERDINGEN WOLVES Players:
Humayun Butt is a clean striker of the ball and likes to go hard straight down the ground. Top scorer for BUW racking up 193 runs at a strike rate of 174 including a man of the match performance of 54 off 23 balls.
Taha Hassan, right arm medium fast bowler, bowls tight lines, is top wicket taker for BUW picking up eight victims with best figures of 3-17.
Waqas Fatmi, captain, muscular opening batsman who likes to hit the ball hard and long, has racked up 149 runs from eight innings including eight maximos and a man of the match performance of unbeaten 67 from 32 balls.
Shamil Niyas, hard hitting opening batsman who loves to hit lofted shots and is good at flicking the ball off his pads. hit form with an unbeaten 48 off just 19 balls has mustered a total of 107 runs at a strike rate of 198 including 11 HUGE maximos - the most by any BUW batsman.
MSC Frankfurt will be overwhelming favourites after topping their group with seven wins in eight games. Co-hosts BUW did show some improvement during the group stages, but this is likely to be a bridge too far against the ECS Frankfurt champions.
Match Prediction: MSC Frankfurt (MSF) to win comfortably and move into the semis.
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QUARTER FINAL 2 - MATCH 42 (ECS21.381)
DÜSSELDORF BLACKCAPS (DB) v BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS (BUB)
0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
DB Last Five Matches: L W W W W (Avg Score For 100, Avg Score Against 73)
BUB Last Five Matches: W L L W L (Avg Score For 90, Avg Score Against 87)
DÜSSELDORF BLACKCAPS (DB)
Captain: Venkat Ganesan
Wicketkeeper: Niraj Patel
Projected Top Four: Venkat Ganesan, Kashif Shahab, Oascoroni Ahamed, Nilay Patel
Projected Opening Bowlers: Muhammad Raheel, Abdulmajeed Ahmadzai
Spin Options: Neeraj Sharma, Venkat Ganesan
DÜSSELDORF BLACKCAPS Key Players:
Oascoroni Ahamed, big hitter and excellent swing bowler, can clear the fence with ease and boasts previous first class cricket experience in Bangladesh, top scorer for Dusseldorf mustering 178 runs from eight matches including a man of the match performance of 16-ball 51 vs Koln CC.
Kashif Shahab, reliable all-rounder and all-time club leading wicket taker, contributed with bat and ball in the opening match scoring 23 off 14 balls and picking up 3-15 to bag a deserved man of the match award, is leading the wicket taking charts for DB picking up nine wickets and has also racked up 106 runs from eight innings.
Muhammad Raheel, has been in good nick with the bat mustering 123 runs from seven innings, leads the bowling attack for his side with his left arm medium pace scalping seven wickets with a best return of 3-3. He has bagged two man of the match performances for his all-round abilities.
Nilay Patel, stroke maker and gun fielder, loves playing the lofted drive, is the key man in the middle overs, has racked up 120 runs from eight matches and is the third highest run scorer for DB.
BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS (BUB)
Captain: Kumar Mahendran
Wicketkeeper: Ahilan Ravinthran
Projected Top Four: Kumar Mahendran, Aritharan Vaseekaran, Ahilan Ravinthran, Thinesh Rajakulasingam
Projected Opening Bowlers: Pakeetharan Praba, Gobinath Navarathinam
Spin Options: Kumar Mahendran, Stebin Stephen
BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS Key Players:
Kumar Mahendran, former Germany international, will be looking to lead by example with bat and ball, leading wicket taker in club history, has scalped six wickets from eight games so far.
Aritharan Vaseekaran, former Germany international, hit SIX maximos in an over, has racked up 162 runs from eight games including 17 sixes - joint most in the tournament, and has also picked up four wickets.
Thinesh Rajakulasingam, valuable all-rounder, is the second highest run scorer for BUB racking up 109 runs and has also scalped four wickets with the ball.
Pakeetharan Praba, leads the bowling attack for Boosters, has been in good form picking up seven wickets including a best return of 2-3 vs KCH.
Boosters have enjoyed a long break from the action and could be a bit rusty. Group B winners Dusseldorf Blackcaps will be full of confidence and should have too much firepower for the co-hosts.
Match Prediction: Dusseldorf Blackcaps (DB) to keep their momentum going with a win.
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QUARTER FINAL 3 - MATCH 43 (ECS21.382)
AACHEN RISING STARS (ARS) v BONN BLUE STAR (BBS)
1100 GMT | 1300 CET | 1630 IST
ARS Last Five Matches: W L W L W (Avg Score For 99, Avg Score Against 80)
BBS Last Five Matches: W W W L L (Avg Score For 102, Avg Score Against 91)
AACHEN RISING STARS (ARS)
Captain: Varun Reddy
Wicketkeeper: Varun Reddy
Projected Top Four: Varun Reddy, Sagar Kataria, Faheem Jan, Gulistan Muhammad
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ahmad Shirzad, Faheem Jan
Spin Options: Varun Reddy, Dhaval Goyani, Asif Rauf
AACHEN RISING STARS Key Players:
Sagar Kataria, classy batsman, very consistent, leading run scorer in the tournament amassing 221 runs from eight innings with a best score of 92* off just 44 balls, plays shots all around the park including some ramp shots as well!
Faheem Jan, all-rounder, can swing the ball both ways and hit a long ball when needed, has racked up 169 runs including an unbeaten 53 off just 20 balls vs KCH, has also bagged two man of the match awards.
Osman Shirzad, top wicket taker for ARS scalping seven victims from eight matches including a best return of 3-4.
Varun Reddy, captain, will open the innings for his side, a good timer of the ball and bowls some tidy off-spin, has amassed 177 runs from eight matches including 13 maximos and has also bagged three wickets.
BONN BLUE STAR (BBS)
Captain: Khurram Ilyas
Wicketkeeper: Zaheer Abbas
Projected Top Four: Zaheer Abbas, Dilshan Rajudeen, Sahir Naqash, Naeem Akhtar
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ranjith Singh, Haron Khan
Spin Options: Jawad Azizi, Dilshan Rajudeen, Bryan Rattan, Karanjit Brar
BONN BLUE STAR Key Players:
Dilshan Rajudeen, former national team player, all-time leading run scorer and wicket taker for Bonn Blue Star, has looked in prime form and is BBS leading run scorer with 198 runs from seven innings at an average of 50 and strike rate of 174 and has scalped six wickets with the ball, bagging three man of the match awards in the process.
Zaheer Abbas, hard hitting opening batsman, has consistently provided good starts amassing 119 runs from seven innings.
Haron Khan, the hat-trick hero, bowls with good pace and extracts decent bounce from the pitch, returned figures of 3-13 against Koln CC, is also the joint top wicket taker for BBS with six scalps to his name.
Ranjith Singh, another former national team player, all-time leading wicket taker for BBS picking up 64 wickets, has picked up five wickets so far with best figures of 2-10 against DSS on Tuesday.
This appears the most open of the quarter-finals between two evenly matched sides.
Aachen Rising Stars finished second in Group A but were the only side to beat MSF which shows genuine ability. Bonn Blue Star will be keen to turn things around after losing twice to group winners Dusseldorf Blackcaps to slip down the standings and into a tougher quarter-final matchup . These two sides possess some quality firepower at the top of the order and this game promises to be a blockbuster.
Match Prediction: Aachen Rising Stars (ARS) to narrowly edge past BBS .
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QUARTER FINAL 4 - MATCH 44 (ECS21.383)
KÖLN CC (KCC) v VFB GELSENKIRCHEN (VG)
1300 GMT | 1500 CET | 1830 IST
KCC Last Five Matches: W W NR W W (Avg Score For 110, Avg Score Against 75)
VG Last Five Matches: L L L W L (Avg Score For 76, Avg Score Against 101)
KÖLN CC (KCC)
Captain: Dhruv Patel
Wicketkeeper: Satya Srinivas
Projected Top Four: Irfan Ahmed, Satya Srinivas, Tejas Morbagal, Dhruv Patel
Projected Opening Bowlers: Asmdin Zadran, Ameya Deshpande
Spin Options: Sandheep Ravishankar, Tejas Morbagal, Dhruv Patel
KÖLN CC Key Players:
Irfan Ahmed, explosive opening batsman with 20 years of German cricket experience, age is just a number for him, top scorer for KCC racking up 170 runs from seven innings at a SR of 181, has scored more than 76 percent of his runs in boundaries.
Tejas Morbagal, an excellent top order batsman and a handy off-spinner, and a great team man. Instrumental in Koln’s first win and is heading the wicket taking charts this tournament scalping 12 wickets with a best return of 4-14, has also racked up 106 runs with the bat.
Asmdin Zadran, exceptional all rounder who can win games with either of his two primary skills, has played a couple of good cameos with the bat and has picked up four wickets in four matches.
Sandheep Ravishankar, left arm orthodox bowler and a stylish batsman, has picked up eight wickets with a best return of 3-8.
VFB GELSENKIRCHEN (VG)
Captain: Swapnil Varhade
Wicketkeeper: Swapnil Varhade
Projected Top Four: Suliman Hugakhil, Mirwali Jabarkheel, Swapnil Varhade, Sahalom Dhaly
Projected Opening Bowlers: Sahalom Dhaly, Shrutarv Awasthi
Spin Options: Shahidullah Arman, Vignaesh Sankaran, Anil Kavi
VFB GELSENKIRCHEN Key Players:
Suliman Hugakhil, dynamic all-rounder who adds value with his abilities not only with bat and ball, but also with his agile fielding, racked up 83 runs from six innings including a valuable contribution of 32 runs in the second game.
Shahidullah Arman has been mighty good with the ball leading the wicket taking column for VG, has scalped seven wickets conceding at under eight runs per over with best figures of 2-9 against BUB.
Swapnil Varhade, captain, plays the anchor role holding the innings together, giving others the freedom to play dynamic innings, mustered a 27-ball 47 against BUB on Tuesday to bag his first man of the match award, has racked up 157 runs and is top scorer for his side.
Sahalom Dhaly impressed with both bat and ball, scoring 105 runs from six innings, and has picked up four wickets. He also bagged back-to-back man-of-the-match awards for his significant contributions.
VfB Gelsenkirchen blew hot and cold during the tournament with four wins and four losses, but VG will provide a stiff test to a Koln CC side that just missed out on top spot in Group B after having a game rained off.
Match Prediction: Koln CC (KCC) to win a close contest.