Germany have received something of a wake-up call ahead of the European regional final in the T20 World Cup qualifying pathway after a defeat against Spain at the Desert Springs ground in Almeria this week.

In the first match of the series on Friday, Spain were put into bat and found themselves well on the back foot when their top order was bundled out quickly, scoring only 36 when the fifth wicket fell in the tenth over. An innings of 39 by Hamza Dar then shepherded the lower order.

After he was dismissed with the score on 88, number nine Jack Perman scored an unbeaten 30 from 20 balls to help give more respectability to the home side's total and they finished on 128-7 from their 20 overs. Three German bowlers took two wickets, with Ghulam Ahmadi the most economical, going for just ten runs from his four overs.

Germany were 31-3 at one point in their reply, but Talha Khan and Dylan Bilgnaut put on an unbroken 101 for the fourth wicket to secure a seven wicket win with 11 balls to spare. Blignaut fell just short of his fifty with a score of 47 but Khan managed to cross the landmark finishing the run chase on 51.

The second match was played yesterday with Germany this time electing to bat first. Dylan Blignaut's 27 and Venkatraman Ganesan's 30 were their only contributions of note as they scored 115-9 from their 20 overs. Charlie Rumistrzewicz, a 16 year old playing his first T20I, bowled his left-arm spin superbly, taking two wickets for just eight runs in four overs, including two maidens.

Batting wasn't too easy for Spain in their run chase as they took their time in chasing down a low target. Awais Ahmed top scored with 47 as they won by five wickets with 11 balls to spare.

The final and deciding T20I was played the same day, Germany again batted first, this time put in by Spanish captain Christian Munoz-Mills. Of Germany's top seven, Talha Khan was the only one to reach double figures with 18, whilst number eight Abdul-Shakoor Rahimzei top scored with 31.

Their final total was 119-9 from their 20 overs. Charlie Rumistrzewicz again bowled well and was the pick of the home team's bowling line-up, taking 3-15.

The match ended up being close with only two of Spain's batters reaching double figures. Hamza Dar's unbeaten 59 was the key as he held up an end as the tail struggled, eventually securing a one wicket win with just two balls left in the match.

The result will no doubt give Germany cause for concern as they head into next month's regional qualifier against the higher ranked Jersey, Italy and Denmark.