Scotland will be seeking a clean sweep of its Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Championship double-header against Ireland to stay in contention for automatic qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 when the two sides face-off on 6 and 8 September in Stormont, Belfast.
cricketscotland
Currently in fourth position on equal points with Afghanistan (15 points) and three points behind Netherlands (18 points), a double-win against the competition leader will see Scotland pick up the maximum four points and move into second place, one point ahead of Netherlands.
Ireland has already won the tournament and become the first of two sides to earn automatic qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and Scotland needs to secure, at least three points to keep itself in the hunt for the crucial second spot, while four points will strengthen its claim by knocking Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) out of the race.
Should Scotland secure a double-win, it can still be overtaken by Afghanistan if Afghanistan wins both its fixtures, to be played against Kenya on 2 and 4 October in Sharjah.
However, if both Scotland and Afghanistan drop points, fifth-placed UAE could overtake them to snatch second place if it defeats Namibia 2-0 in its 50-over WCL Championship matches on 27 and 29 September in Sharjah. In this scenario, two wins would see UAE join Netherlands on 18 points, but be ranked ahead of the Dutch based on the number of matches won.
Ireland’s leading run scorer, Porterfield will celebrate his 29th birthday while playing the first ODI on Friday, and says that victory would be the perfect birthday present. “Without a doubt, we are looking to win both games. We want to keep showing people that Ireland is the leading Associate side, and that Ireland deserves to be in every global event.”
Scotland captain Preston Mommsen, speaking after his side’s one-off ODI against Australia in Edinburgh on Tuesday, said his team was confident heading into the crucial WCL Championship clashes. “The guys are still confident, the bowlers are bowling good sets and the batters are hitting the ball well, so it’s all about putting an all-round performance.
“We’re going to have to be savvy against the Irish. The key part of us is our planning and how we approach each individual. We have built up a lot of knowledge of the Irish players and implementing the plans will be key,” said the 25-year-old all-rounder.
The off-spinner added that the ODIs will provide a good opportunity to measure Scotland’s standing against the leading team in Associate cricket. “The two World Cricket League Championship matches against Ireland is the real test for us to see where we are; obviously they have been touching ahead in recent years but, we still believe we are strong enough to take them down,” he remarked.
While the top two sides from the Pepsi ICC WCL Championship will qualify automatically for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the bottom six teams will receive a second chance to advance at next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand, when they lock horns with Hong Kong, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Uganda for the final two spots.
The upcoming matches between Ireland and Scotland, UAE and Namibia, and Afghanistan and Kenya will be streamed live at www.icc-cricket.com and on the official ICC YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/CricketICC.
Following the two ODIs, Ireland and Scotland will also go head to head in the four-day, first-class Intercontinental Cup from 11 to 14 September in Clontarf, Dublin. Ireland currently leads the competition and has already secured its spot in the final, to be played in December in Dubai. The side leads its closest rival and defending champion Afghanistan by 12 points.
Ireland will finish on top of the ladder if it acquires nine points or more against Scotland, while a maximum of 20 points for Scotland could see it leapfrog Afghanistan into second position. However, Scotland will only qualify for the final if Afghanistan finishes pointless against Kenya in its final match, which will be played in October.
Scotland 119/4 after 28 overs, batting first
Start of play in first odi between England and Australia delayed by rain
Scotland 143/5 after 35 and a half overs
Scotland 165/8 after 42 overs – not looking good
Scotland ended on 223/9 off their 50 overs not bad gives the bowlers something to try defend but Ireland will probably still get the runs fairly comfortably
Scotland captain Preston Mommsen ended on 91 not out off 122 balls.
1st ODI between England and Australia was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain
Day 4 in Harare Pakistan have one wicket left in their second innings, leading Zimbabwe by 268 runs with around 20 overs left in the day.
Ireland look to be cruising; 98/2 in the 20th over chasing a target of 224
Getting interesting Ireland 148/7 after 38 overs
Ireland 157/7 need 63 off 11 overs
Ireland only need 53 now off 10 overs with 3 wickets in hand must be favourite
Ireland 180/8 need 44 off 8 overs!
Ireland 182/8 off 43 overs need 42
Ireland 188/8 off 45 overs need 38 run rate required up to 7.2
Should have been they need 36
Ireland need 16 off 11 balls still 2 wickets in hand
Ireland 212/9 need 12 off last over dare I start believing
9 runs needed off 3 balls!
Ireland hit a six only need 3 off 2 balls!
Ireland 225/9 win by 1 wicket with 1 ball to spare, well done. Disappointing for Scotland this rules out getting to World Cup 2015 🙁
Ireland beat Scotland again, the second time in two days, although today’s match was not nearly as nail biting as Friday’s with Ireland comprehensive winners by 7 wickets and getting the runs with 7 overs to spare:
Scotland batting first were 165 all out and Ireland 166/3 from 33 overs. Macleod top scored with 39 for Scotland, Sorensen and K O’Brien both took 3 wickets for Ireland. N O’Brien top scored for Ireland with 65 not out, Wardlaw took 2 wickets for Scotland.
Australia beat England by 88 runs in the 2nd ODI. Aus batted first and got 315/7 off their 50 overs – Michael Clarke got 105 off 102 balls.
England were all out for 227, last wicket fell in 45th over – Buttler top scored with 75, McKay took 3 wickets.
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