Report card: Ireland
Results summary
Group stage
Beat Thailand by 7 wickets
Beat Scotland by 9 wickets
Beat Uganda by 8 wickets
Semi-final
Beat Papua New Guinea by 27 runs
Final
Lost to Bangladesh by 25 runs
WT20Q: Ireland's Mary Waldron feature
Positives to take home
Ireland came into the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 as one of the hot favourites and played like one. They got through the group stage unscathed, with convincing victories over Thailand, Scotland and Uganda. In the semi-final, they brought out their best batting display of the tournament, riding on Gaby Lewis' 33-ball 36 to score 113/6 in their 20 overs. The bowlers then, led by Lucy O'Reilly's 3/13, restricted PNG to 87 to secure a place at the ICC Women's World T20 2018.
O'Reilly was excellent with the ball, finishing as the tournament's leading wicket-taker. Ciara Metcalfe brought all her experience into play to pick up seven wickets, while Clare Shillington's 126 runs in five outings earned her the Player of the Tournament award.
WT20Q: Bangladesh v Ireland – Clare Shillington interview
Areas to improve
Having earned a place in the tournament's main draw, Ireland will have to take their game a notch higher to make an impact against higher-ranked oppositions. For starters, the batting left a lot to be desired. Apart from Shillington and Lewis, none of the others were able to make much of a mark and their shortcomings against spin were visible in the final against Bangladesh.
Rising star
Lucy O'Reilly: She might be just 18 years old but she already has the experience of 14 one-day internationals and 29 T20 Internationals behind her, and is one of the mainstays of the team. She ended the tournament as the highest wicket-taker with 11 strikes in four outings and provided her side with crucial wickets all through.