The Isle of Man were too strong for Germany, securing a seven-wicket win in the European Under-19 Division 2 tournament in Jersey.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Germany were soon in trouble at 29 for three, but skipper Kashif Mahmood and wicketkeeper Haris Bhatti restored some credibility to the innings with a 53-run stand for the fourth wicket.

After Bhatti was dismissed Mahmood continued steadily with Tarun Rawat, but when the captain was run out it, signalled the beginning of another collapse which saw Germany reduced to 114 for eight. Christoph Schulte-Cloos saw them through to 147, before Max Stokoe took the last two wickets to finish with three for 17.

Pankaj Bedi picked up both openers at the start of the Manx innings to put the islanders on 11 for two, but brothers Ricky and Danny Kniveton took the match beyond Germany’s reach with a stand of 94 for the third wicket. Danny was the more aggressive, making 58 from 70 balls, while Ricky again played a captain’s innings and was there at the end on 47 not out.

This means that the play-offs for the top three places will start on Wednesday with a match between Jersey and the Isle of Man, with Guernsey the third participant in the group. The group contesting fourth to sixth comprises Gibraltar and Israel (who play tomorrow) together with Belgium, while the bottom three will be Italy, Germany and France.