The Isle of Man Under 17s lost a thrilling game against favourites Denmark in the ICC Europe Division Two tournament at Copenhagen.

Batting first the Manx team, which is sponsored by Isle of Man Bank, made 188 from 49 overs. Opener Adam McAuley hit a splendid 61 from 119 balls and skipper Rowan Bird made 26. Sam Kebbell crashed a dynamic 32 which included 3 fours and a six.

The Island’s hopes of victory were dashed by the Danish openers Fazan Ahmed and Mads Rasmussen. They had an opening partnership of 70 before Rasmussen was dismissed by Nathan Knights for 85. After two run outs, the Danes were 118 for 4 and the game was in the balance.

With 20 overs left, Ahmed and Mads Henriksen carefully played their way through to victory with just three overs left. There was some good bowling from the Manx with Rowan Bird’s ten overs costing only 24 runs and Seb Aycock putting down ten overs as well for 27 runs.

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Union Mills will be hoping to make history when they meet Valkyres B in the final of the Standard Bank Blincoe Cup on Sunday.

The Millers have never won the trophy and their opponents have won it only once. That was in 2010, but last year they lost in the final against Peel. They gained revenge this season when they knocked out the western club in the semi-finals.

Valkyres league form in Forrester Two has not been good. Two wins from eleven matches has put them close to the relegation drop zone. However they are known for performing well on the big occasion and their cup run has been excellent.

Union Mills have had a good league season and top the Forrester Two. Bruce Wagstaff is having a great year with 462 runs at an average of 42. This includes two centuries and he has also taken 14 wickets. He is the man Valkyres must contain, otherwise they will be in deep trouble.

The match is at Mullen-e-Cloie on Sunday with an 11am start. The format is two innings a side and it is vital to win the toss. The side batting first also bats last and o can get itself into pole position.

In addition the Blincoe Final is a pleasant social occasion with many supporters bringing picnics. Plenty of neutrals turn up as well. This looks it could be quite a match.

Standard Bank Forrester Division One
Cronkbourne A 121 for 7 (Alex Stokoe 86, Sam Kebbell 8 : Shahzeb Raja 2 -19, Aurangzeb Ghausi 1 -5, Ryan Windell 1 -6); Valkyres A 125 for 6 (Aurangzeb Ghausi 46, Ali Ansari 25 : Sam Kebbell 3 -37, Sam Black 2 -19). Valkyres won by four wickets.
Castletown A 104 for 9 (Wicus Wessels 60,greg Tomlinson 5 : Nick White 3 -16, Jamie Moffatt 2 -11); Ramsey A 105 for 1 (Ollie Webster 49no, Eddie Cleator 36no : Richard Jackson 1 -40). Ramsey won by nine wickets.

Standard Bank Forrester Division Two
Cronkbourne B 104 for 9 (Jonny Callow 26, Bob Dix 11 : Mike Oates 4 -12, Craig Williamson 2 -25); Peel B 105 for 2 (Daniel Dickinson 42no, Tom Gascoyne 33no : Chris Hewson 1 -35). Peel won by eight wickets.
Valkyres B 65 for 7 (Hameed Sulthan 24no, Aurangzeb Ghousi 11 : Stu Morris 3 -10, Gareth Rowlands 2 -12): Crosby B 66 for 2 (Martyn Oates 28no, Joe Rothwell 19no : Brian Quirk 1 -14, Abdul Khan 1 -28). Crosby won by eight wickets.

Isle of Man Bank Under 13 League
Cronkbourne B 97 (Sam Mills 23, Sam Callister 22 : Ben Christian 4 -4) lost to Cronkbourne A 134 (Ben Kebbell 27).
Cronkbourne A 157 (Nathan Pope 29) beat North 12 (Nathan Pope 3 -6, George Harrison 3 -5).
Cronkbourne A 119 (Ben Kebbell 23, James Harrison 20) beat West 31 (Drew Buxton 29 : James Harrison 3 -15, Jake Garvey 2 -0, Nick Wild 2 -1).
East beat Cronkbourne B
South 134 (Matthew Kneale 3 -16, Sam Callister 2 -8) lost to Cronkbourne B 140 (Ewan Dawson2 -9, Bradley Cregeen 1 -9, Joel Watterson 1 -10).
South v Cronkbourne A & East v Cronkbourne A & Cronkbourne B v North : Games abandoned (rain)
Cronkbourne B v West : Match abandoned after 5 overs (rain)