Looking through the laws the only way this could happen is if the opponents refused to play but this was not the case in Sunday’s clash between top side Skanderborg and bottom side Husum down in Northern Germany. Husum were on their way to defeat batting first as they were in trouble at 80 for 4 but Renald Buss and Lars Boldt changed the face of the game by remaining together for the rest of the innings putting on 199 for the 5th wicket. Buss was undefeated on 150 while Boldt was 78 not out when the over’s ran out.
Skanderborg’s chairman Flemming Jorgensen said he’d never seen Lars Hedegaard so tired after bowling 10 overs for 88 runs taking one wicket. Skanderborg’s national players were already tired after coming back from Dublin and the European Championships.
Skanderborg with 4 second team players had a tough task ahead of them chasing Husum’s 279 but all the batsmen chipped in and at 276 for 8 the umpires stopped the game and declared Skanderborg as the winners.
And whys was that? Yes the new Danish rule stated that if the team fielding last were unable to bowl their allotted 50 overs within the time limit then the batting side will be given 6 penalty runs pr. over. Husum’s captain Jürg Krüger explained “We need to introduce the indoor rules where no extra ball is given for a wide. We bowled so many wides and no balls that we in fact bowled an extra 10 overs and we ran out of time…….The umpires actually added on time for ball searching but this was not enough. It was a shame that the fighting home side nearly pulled it off and offering the championship on a plate to Glostrup. Skanderborg and Glostrup meet again in the final showdown in a fortnight’s time.

Norrebro, the Pakistani side from Copenhagen have been playing on the same coconut matting for years and had forgotten what it will mean to play on new matting. Norrebro had installed a new mat for the match against AB and without thinking won the toss and batted. AB made the ball seam all over the place and with spinner Bashir Shah back in the fold Norrebro came off the rails and were skittled for 108 in just 36 overs. AB needed only 27 overs to inflict another defeat on Norrebro.

Sunday’s results mean that three teams are now bottom on four points each, AB, Husum and Herning will be fighting hard to avoid the drop. Skanderborg still have a chance of the championship but they have to win all their matches and then if Glostrup don’t lose to anybody else then there will be another play-off.