Ireland face unbeaten Scotland in must-win game
Overview
Ireland v Scotland
Harare Sports Club, Harare
CWCQ Super Sixes Match 4
Sunday 18 March; 09:30 local, 7:30 GMT
Only two teams have been undefeated so far in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018: hosts Zimbabwe, and Scotland. Going into the fourth match of the Super Sixes stage, both sides find themselves even on points and at the top of the table.
Scotland, the defending champions, will be desperate to maintain their hold. And in doing that, they face one of their toughest tests on Sunday, taking on Ireland.
Ireland, who came into the Super Sixes with two points, crumbled against Zimbabwe on Friday. Another loss and they can bid their World Cup ambitions goodbye.
William Porterfield’s men did well to restrict Zimbabwe to 211 and were confident at the half-way mark. However, their batting collapsed and they were bundled out for a poor 104.
The only consolation for Ireland is that the performance could be an aberration. The batting has been mostly reliable all competition. They’ve been bowled out only twice and two Irish batsmen are among the top 10 run-getters so far.
They would, however, appreciate more consistency, so the pressure doesn’t fall on one or two individuals. Addressing a tendency to lose wickets in clumps, they should look to build partnerships as well.
While their bowling attack, led by pacers Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin, has been doing well, Ireland were caught unawares by the slowness of the surface at Harare Sports Club, and could include another spinner in Simi Singh.
Scotland, meanwhile, have been driven by strong all-round performances. Five of their batsmen average above 30 for the tournament, while Safyaan Sharif with 12 wickets is second on the list of wicket-takers.
Their concern would be that their batting has not been really tested too often in the competition. And when it was, as in the tied match against Zimbabwe, they fumbled in getting over the line.
Key players: **Tim Murtagh (Ireland):**The pacer is Ireland’s highest wicket-taker so far, with 11 scalps from five matches. He lifts his game in the big clashes. In the warm-up against Scotland, he took three wickets.
**Safyaan Sharif (Scotland):**With 12 wickets from five matches, including his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs, the pacer has enjoyed a good tournament. He backs his wicket-taking ability with a miserly economy rate of 3.73 so far. His display with the new ball will be vital for Scotland.
How Ireland's wickets fell as they lost by 107 runs to Zimbabwe in the CWCQ Super Six
Conditions
The ground in its previous match didn’t make batting easy, and had something for the spinners. Clear weather is forecast, with highs of 24°C.
Squads
**Ireland:**William Porterfield (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wk), Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson
**Scotland:**Kyle Coetzer (c), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Tom Sole, Craig Wallace (wk), Mark Watt, Brad Wheal, Stuart Whittingham