Afghanistan beat Denmark by five wickets on Wednesday in the opening round of the qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup. Off-spinner Karim Khan took 4-27 off eight overs to help restrict Denmark to 204-9 at Isak Steyl Stadium in Vanderbijlpark. Afghanistan reached the target with almost four overs to spare, with wicketkeeper Mohammad Shehzad hitting 55 not out off 94 balls and putting on a stand of 78 in under 19 overs with Mohammad Nabi, who smashed four boundaries to score 47 off 51 balls. Karim Khan started the chase well with 39 off 40 balls. Ireland captain William Porterfield hit 101 to lead his team to a seven-wicket victory over Scotland at Willowmore Park in Benoni. Ireland won the toss and put Scotland in to bat, and soon had the Scots in trouble at 24-4 in the ninth over. But an unbeaten 121 by Neil McCallum with 12 fours and three sixes propelled them to a respectable 232-7 in 50 overs.Boyd Rankin was the best of Ireland's bowlers with 2-27 off 10 overs. Porterfield took just 89 balls to score his century, hitting 12 fours and three sixes. He was supported by Eoin Morgan, who scored 61 off 56 balls as Ireland raced to victory in under 38 overs. Also, the Netherlands beat Kenya by seven wickets in Potchefstroom, where the United Arab Emirates downed Bermuda by four wickets. Canada defeated Oman by 103 runs in Pretoria and Uganda edged Namibia by six runs in Krugersdorp. Scores: Ireland 233-3 in 37.4 overs (William Porterfield 101, Eoin Morgan 61; Ryan Watson 1-45) def. Scotland 232-7 in 50 overs (Neil McCallum 121; Boyd Rankin 2-27) by seven wickets. Netherlands 248-3 in 46.2 overs (Ryan ten Doeschate 106 not out, Bas Zuiderent 64 not out; Peter Ongondo 1-35) def Kenya 247-8 in 50 overs (James Kamande 58; Edgar Schiferli 4-49) by seven wickets. Afghanistan 205-5 in 46.2 overs (Mohammad Shehzad 55 not out, Mohammad Nabi 47; Henrik Hansen 2-43) def. Denmark 204-9 in 50 overs (Carsten Pedersen 46; Karim Khan 4-27, Mohammad Nabi 2-34). United Arab Emirates 190-6 in 47.1 overs (Arshad Ali 41, Khurram Khan 40 not out; George O'Brien 2-47) def. Bermuda 187 in 46.3 overs (Janeiro Tucker 66; Khurram Khan 3-40, Zahid Shad 2-22, Arshad Ali 2-25) by four wickets. Canada 247 in 49.3 overs (Sunil Dhaniram 100; Tariq Hussein 5-39, Awal Khan 3-19) def. Oman 144 in 40 overs (Farhan Khan 43; Khurram Chauhan 4-27, Sunil Dhaniram 2-1) by 103 runs. Uganda 234-7 in 50 overs (Roger Musaka 51, Deon Kotze 2-22) def. Namibia 228-9 in 50 overs (Raymond van Schoor 59, Sarel Burger 50; Davis Arinaitwe 4-53) by six runs. Kiwis recall Flynn, Southee Daniel Flynn and Tim Southee have been recalled to the New Zealand squad for the third and final Test against India, starting at Wellington's Basin Reserve on Friday.
