Ireland inches closer to ICC World Twenty20 2012

Ireland inched closer to its target of joining Afghanistan in the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 when it beat The Netherlands by seven wickets in the Preliminary Final of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) on Friday morning.

In front of its loyal travelling supporters, Ireland's bowlers combined to restrict Netherlands for a meagre 114-7 in 20 overs in its Twenty20 International fixture that included a spectacular catch by Ireland captain William Porterfield to dismiss opener Stephan Myburgh. The 27-year-old Porterfield claimed the catch while running backwards at point as Myburgh skied a ball delivered by Trent Johnston.

Kevin O'Brien proved to be the key once again, despite being Ireland's sixth bowler today, when the bustling all-rounder claimed the wickets of Tom Cooper and Mudassar Bukhari, while also smashing a 22-ball 30 that included three massive sixes to help Ireland to its victory and a place in the Second Qualifying Final against Namibia on Saturday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan earned its ticket to Sri Lanka yesterday, when it defeated Namibia in the First Qualifying Final, but it will not know who it will face in the final of the tournament until the conclusion of tomorrow morning's Second Qualifying Final between Ireland and Namibia. The winner of the Ireland v Namibia game will join Afghanistan as the second qualifying team for the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012.

The grouping of the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 will be decided on the basis of how the final pans out. The tournament winner joins Australia and the West Indies in Group B, while the losing finalist will complete Group A which also includes defending champion England and 2007 winner India.

In Ireland's victory today, while O'Brien proved important, left-arm-spinner George Dockrell participated with a nifty caught and bowled to dismiss Netherlands' top scorer of the innings, Alexei Kervezee (56).

Ireland's opening partnership, William Porterfield and Paul Stirling combined to add a quick fire 41 before Porterfield departed in the fourth over, it was then up to Stirling and Ed Joyce to add to the total. After Stirling's departure in the ninth over, Michael Swart looked set for a hat-trick as he dismissed Gary Wilson off his next ball but O'Brien smacked his way to 30 alongside Joyce to secure Ireland's place in the Second Qualifying Final.

Man of the match O'Brien said looking ahead to facing Namibia tomorrow in the Qualifying Final: "We certainly started slowly in the tournament, though you've got to give credit to Namibia because they batted well and they bowled very well towards the end of the innings in our previous match. We've played them a lot now, so they obviously know us and we know them so it's going to be a close game tomorrow.

"You could say we're out for revenge after losing that first game, but we've won eight in a row now and we're full of confidence and we're looking forwards to tomorrow's game. It's going to be a great game, a close game, and hopefully we can come out on top."

Netherlands captain Peter Borren was obviously disappointed that the side didn't manage to restrict Ireland's run chase: "It's pretty disappointing to not finish in the top two. The partnership between Alexei Kervezee and Tom Cooper put us in a position, gave us the opportunity to go on and get 140, 145. The wicket of Cooper was crucial, because we struggled to maintain the momentum. We were never going to defend 114.

"Next week we've got two ODIs against Afghanistan in Sharjah. They're massive games because they're part of the qualification for the next ICC Cricket World Cup. We've won two and lost two in that competition, so if we can get two wins there in Sharjah that would be great against an in-from Afghanistan. It's now about focusing on the ODI matches."

In the sixth place play-off, which was also another Twenty20 International, Scotland claimed a consolation victory over Canada when the side won by four wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in a last ball thriller that saw the side requiring four runs off the last ball of the match.

Canada managed to amass just 135 in its 20 overs, after Richie Berrington and Moneeb Iqbal claimed two wickets each in restricting Canada. Ruvindu Gunasekera (20) and all-rounder Harvir Baidwan (21) were the two highest run-scorers in the innings that saw Canada's batsmen struggle against the wicket.

In reply, Scotland, led by all-rounder Berrington (47 in 37 balls) looked to be cruising to the total despite Calum Macleod and Preston Mommsen departing early in the innings, some scrappy batting by Kyle Coetzer and Fraser Watts kept the side in contention to chase down the target.

However the team was left requiring seven runs off the last over and things began to look unlikely for Scotland to win as Canada's Rizwan Cheema attempted to restrict the side's run-making, the captain dismissing Watts with his first ball and leaving the Scottish side requiring four runs off the last ball of the match.

Ryan Flannigan and Majid Haq were the men in the middle charged with getting those four runs and Flannigan managed to strike Cheema's final ball through extra cover where Nitesh Kumar attempted to prevent the boundary but much to his despair the ball skipped over the boundary and Scotland began its celebrations.

By virtue of today's Twenty20 Internationals involving Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland and Canada the latter three countries have now joined the Reliance ICC Twenty20 Rankings for the first time. Ireland currently occupies ninth place while Netherlands have entered the rankings for the first time to occupy 11th, Scotland has made its debut at 13th and Netherlands joins the top 15 teams in 14th place.

More information on the Reliance ICC Twenty20 Rankings can be found here.

Preliminary Final

Ireland beats Netherlands by seven wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Netherlands 114-7, 20 overs (Alexei Kervezee 56, Tom Cooper 26; Kevin O'Brien 2-17)

Ireland 115-3, 16.4 overs (William Porterfield 17, Paul Stirling 33, Ed Joyce 25 n.o., Kevin O'Brien 30 n.o.; Michael Swart 2-23)

Man of the Match: Kevin O'Brien (Ireland)

Play-offs

,b>Scotland beats Canada by four wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Canada 135-8, 20 overs (Ruvindu Gunasekera 20, Harvir Baidwan 21; Richie Berrington 2-14, Moneeb Iqbal 2-15)

Scotland 136-6, 20 overs (Richie Berrington 47, Kyle Coetzer 22, Ryan Flannigan 15 not out; Junaid Siddiqui 2-12)

Man of the match: Richie Berrington (Scotland)

Kenya beats Italy by 38 runs at GCA Oval 1

Kenya 170-5, 20 overs (Maurice Ouma 51 n.o., Collins Obuya 41; Vince Pennazza 2-33)

Italy 132, 18.3 overs (Peter Petricola 37, Andy Northcote 35; Hiren Varraiya 4-25, Shem Ngoche 3-32)

Man of the Match: Hiren Varaiya (Kenya)

Nepal beats PNG by six wickets at GCA Oval 1

PNG 129-5, 20 overs (Vani Morea 34 n.o., Christopher Kent 22, Tony Ura 21; Shakti Gauchan 2-20)

Nepal 133-4, 19.5 overs (Paras Khadka 62 n.o., Prithu Baskota 26 n.o.)

Man of the Match: Paras Khadka (Nepal)

Hong Kong beats USA by 77 runs at GCA Oval 2

Hong Kong 177-4, 20 overs (James Atkinson 63, Babar Hayat 35 n.o., Nizakat Khan 32; Orlando Baker 2-24)

USA 100, 16.2 overs (Steven Taylor 26; Aizaz Khan 5-25, Nizakat Khan 3-11)

Man of the Match: Aizaz Khan (Hong Kong)

Bermuda beats Uganda by 41 runs at GCA Oval 2

Bermuda 179-4, 20 overs (Janeiro Tucker 67 n.o., Fiqre Crockwell 47, Lionel Cann 42; Jonathn Sebanja 2-31)

Uganda 138-5, 20 overs (Arthur Kyobe 37, Jonathan Sebanja 34 n.o.)

Man of the Match: Janeiro Tucker (Bermuda)

Saturday's schedule

Preliminary Final: Ireland v Namibia (1000-1300), Dubai International Cricket Stadium ? Adrian Griffith (match referee), Johan Cloete and Ranmore Martinesz (both on-field), Ahsan Raza (third umpire)

Final: Afghanistan v Winner of Ireland v Namibia (1800-2100), David Jukes match referee), Chris Gaffaney and Buddhi Pradhan (both on-field), Ian Ramage (third umpire)