Openers Leah Paul and Gaby Lewis have recently made a habit out of providing Ireland with great starts and they didn’t disappoint after being asked to bat first in their Group A match.

The duo put on a 61-run stand, before Caroline de Lange put the brakes on scoring by scalping both the openers.

Ireland lost wickets in a heap soon after and found themselves at 85 for five, with Eva Lynch dismissing Shauna Kavanagh and Orla Prendergast off consecutive deliveries.

Skipper Laura Delany and Eimear Richardson had to pull off the rescue act and drag Ireland out of trouble, adding 85 runs for the sixth wicket.

Heather Siegers ran through the rest of the batting order with a four-wicket haul, including the wicket of Delany and Richardson as Ireland folded for 199.

Prendergast made up for her poor batting innings by dismissing Juliët Post for nought in the third over.

However, Babette de Leede and Sterre Kalis weathered the early storm with a 59-run partnership.

Once de Leede was dismissed for 34, Robine Rijke joined Kalis at the crease. Their 73-run partnership took the Netherlands close to victory, though Kalis fell short of a well-deserved half-century by just three runs.

Needing to go run-a-ball in the last 10 overs with seven wickets in hand, it seemed a simple chase for the Dutch.

Two run-outs, including that of skipper Siegers, changed the dynamic of the game before Prendergast struck to dismiss the well-set Rijke for 56.

Needing 35 from the last four overs, the pressure of the asking rate got to the Netherlands as they succumbed to a 29-run defeat. The Dutch, who were cruising at 158/3, were skittled out for 170.

The win has given Ireland a big chance to qualify for the Super Six stage, with the Dutch yet to win a game in the tournament’s group of four – the top three in both groups qualify.

Ed Joyce’s side will have a few days of rest before they play their third game of the qualifier on Monday – a matchup with Sri Lanka at 7:30 am GMT.

The post Ireland beat Netherlands to get off the mark in World Cup qualifier appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The players tested positive following a screening of all team members after one player showed mild symptoms, as per the bio-secure protocols in place to ensure the safety of all participants in the nine-team event, which got underway in Harare on Sunday.

Two of the players are experiencing mild symptoms, whilst the third is asymptomatic. All three are isolating and receiving the appropriate medical care.

The remainder of the Sri Lanka squad are negative but are currently isolating as a precaution and will be re-tested ahead of their opening match against the Netherlands on Tuesday.

ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said the event would be proceeding as planned: “We have playing squads of 15 at the event, which allows for injuries and illness, including COVID-19 to be managed, and in addition teams have had the option of bringing traveling reserves with them.

“As you would expect, the remainder of the squad are being closely monitored and they will all be re-tested ahead of taking to the field on Tuesday.

“The event bio-security plan provides us with protocols to manage positive tests effectively with the intention of enabling the event to proceed whilst keeping all other players and participants safe.”

Sri Lanka play the Netherlands in their opening match on Tuesday with their remaining Group A matches on Saturday (vs the West Indies) and Monday (vs Ireland).

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe and the USA form Group B, with three sides from each group making it to the Super Six stage, in which the final placings will be decided.

The tournament decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from 4 March to 3 April, joining five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship – Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand.

The three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams.

The post Three Sri Lanka players test positive for Covid-19 appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The announcement also revealed the hosts of seven other ICC men’s white-ball events from 2024-2031, with 14 countries lined up to host tournaments.

The announcement includes two ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups, four ICC Men’s T20 World Cups and two ICC Men’s Champions Trophy events.

The USA and Namibia will host an ICC World Cup event for the first time whilst Australia, Bangladesh, England, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe have previously staged major events and will do so again over the next decade.

The hosts were selected via a competitive bidding process overseen by a Board sub-committee chaired by Martin Snedden along with Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Skerritt.

The ICC Board accepted the recommendations of the committee who conducted a thorough review of each bid along with ICC management.

A similar process to identify the hosts for ICC Women’s and U19s events for the next cycle will be undertaken early next year.

ICC Chair Greg Barclay said: “We are delighted to have concluded this competitive bidding process for the first time for ICC events. To have 14 Members hosting 8 events is a reflection of the truly global nature of our sport and I’d like to thank every Member that submitted a bid and offer our congratulations to the successful bidders.

“It is fantastic to be returning to so many previous hosts, but what is really exciting about this process is the countries who will stage ICC events for the first time including the USA which is a strategic growth market for us. This gives us the opportunity to deepen our connection with fans in traditional cricket nations and also reach new fans around the world.”

The awarding of the events to preferred hosts is subject to the completion of the host agreements and the ICC will now work closely with Members to finalise arrangements.

The post Ireland to co-host 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup with England and Scotland appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The event which is scheduled to take place between 16 October and 13 November next year will see a total of 45 matches hosted across Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Final will be hosted under lights at the MCG on 13 November 2022.

The semi-finals will be hosted at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval on 9 and 10 November, respectively.

Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 champions Australia and runner-up New Zealand plus Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan and South Africa as the next highest-ranked teams will gain direct entry into the Super 12 stage of the next instalment of the competition.

Namibia, Scotland, Sri Lanka and the West Indies will play in Round 1.

The four remaining spots at Australia 2022 will be filled via the ongoing qualification pathway, culminating in two global qualifying tournaments one to take place in Oman in February and the other in Zimbabwe in June/July.

Ireland will be among the teams aiming for a spot in the next World Cup after failing to get past the group stage of this year’s tournament.

For more information on the pathway click here.

Head of Events, Chris Tetley said: “We are looking forward to seeing the return of ICC events to Australia and are delighted to announce the seven host cities for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Following the success of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020 and a two-year postponement, our sights are now firmly set on planning for the 2022 event in collaboration with the LOC.

“With 12 teams already confirmed in the line-up, we eagerly await the culmination of the qualification process to see which other teams will join them.”

The post Seven host cities announced for 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

PNG were to take on defending champions the West Indies on the opening day of the tournament, which runs from 21 November to 5 December across four venues in Harare.

There will be no replacement for PNG in Group A, which includes Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and the West Indies.

The five-team Group B comprises Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe and the United States.

ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said: “Obviously we’re incredibly disappointed not to be able to welcome PNG to the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier, but they have been unable to field a team because a number of the squad have contracted COVID-19.

“The safety of the players and everyone involved in our events is paramount and we will go ahead with the tournament maintaining our bio-security standards.

“I really feel for the PNG players, who have been preparing extensively for this event and for whom it would have been a wonderful experience playing against several top sides in Harare, with the opportunity to qualify for the Women’s World Cup and the next round of the ICC Women’s Championship.

“We hope that they are back playing international cricket soon and continue to develop as a team.”

The Zimbabwe event is an important one on the calendar as it decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from 4 March to 3 April, joining five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship – Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand.

The three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams.

The post Ireland Women’s Qualifier group down to four as PNG withdraws appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 is to be played across four venues in Harare, Zimbabwe from November 21 to December 5.

The tournament gets off with a set of warm-up matches on November 19 before the preliminary league takes place.

The 10 competing teams will be split into two groups of five for the preliminary league, with Ed Joyce’s girls in green placed in Group A alongside the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and the West Indies.

There is no knockout stage in the competition, with the preliminary league, consisting of five teams each in two groups, followed by a Super Six stage to decide the final positions at the end of 29 matches.

Ireland’s match against the Netherlands will take place on the opening day of the qualifiers at Takashinga Cricket Club alongside three other matches.

Pakistan and Bangladesh feature in a highly anticipated match at the Old Hararians Club while Thailand and Zimbabwe face-off at Harare Sports Club and a second Group A clash of the day is played between West Indies and Papua New Guinea at Sunrise Cricket Club.

The Zimbabwe tournament is an important one on the calendar as it decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from 4 March to 3 April.

The three qualifiers will join five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship – Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand.

These three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams.

All fixtures are day matches starting at 9:30 am local time, or 11:30 am GMT.

Groupings

Ireland ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 fixtures

Warm-up match

Friday, November 19 – Pakistan v Ireland

Qualifiers

Sunday, November 21 – Ireland v Netherlands – 11:30 am

Tuesday, November 23 – West Indies v Ireland – 11:30 am

Thursday, November 25 – Ireland v Sri Lanka – 11:30 am

Saturday, November 27 – Ireland v Papua New Guinea – 11:30 am

The post ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 schedule announced appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Ireland lost to Namibia by eight wickets in a ‘winner-takes-all’ clash which sees them bow out of the tournament after two consecutive losses.

The opponents took eight wickets off of Balbirnie’s team and the Irish bowlers could not keep Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese at bay.

Balbirnie spoke at the post-match press conference on Friday and put his trust in the Ireland squad after failing to reach the Super 12.

“At the end of the day, it’s only a game,” the Ireland captain said. “We’re bitterly disappointed and the guys are bitterly disappointed back home but we are moving in the right direction, I feel.

“We’ve got a good, young squad who are hungry to learn. It wasn’t our day today, and so be it.

“We’ve had some great days in the last couple of years and today wasn’t one of them but, yeah look, fair play to Namibia and the way they played today.”

Ireland slowed down after a strong Powerplay courtesy of Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien and Namibia held them to 125 runs over the 20 overs, taking eight wickets to lessen their power.

Wiese and captain Erasmus played brilliantly for Namibia once again as they recorded their second win in a row.

The men in green could not stop Erasmus as he posted an unbeaten half-century, leading the charge for the African nation.

However, Balbirnie praised the performances of his team’s bowlers throughout the T20 World Cup.

“They have had a superb week. Josh [Little] certainly has been the leader of the pack but he has been brilliantly backed up by Curtis [Campher], Mark [Adair] and Craig [Young].

“Craig obviously missed the first game and came back and bowled really well in the second game.

“So yeah, we have a good bit of depth in our seam attack now. We’ve got to bring it altogether whenever we play these big games and put in that performance that warrants getting into the next phase, and I think our performance today doesn’t do that and that’s the disappointing thing – we’re gonna go back disappointed in the way we performed.”

He believes that the team can only grow from their experience at the World Cup this year and noted that he sees them improving every day.

“Our T20 cricket has been inconsistent and it has been a big issue and you can say this tournament has been inconsistent for us but guys are improving – I’ve seen it day in, day out.

“They’re a young and inexperienced squad and they’re gonna learn from this. They’re gonna hurt from this of course, like all of us but we’ve gotta keep moving forward and keep trying to adapt our game.

“We came up short today, but I know the guys, once we have a week or two off back home,will want to improve their skills so that [when] the next time comes round, they’ll be better for it.”

The post Ireland captain Balbirnie: ‘We are moving in the right direction’ appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The loss to Sri Lanka on Wednesday means that Ireland must beat Namibia if they are to be part of the Super 12.

Namibia made history when they beat the Netherlands on Wednesday to claim their first-ever victory at an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

This year’s instalment of the World Cup is their debut in the competition and they will want to make the most of the chance they have to progress.

The winner will move on to the next round to meet New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the highest-ranked side in Group B (currently Scotland).

Bowler Josh Little was a bright spark for Ireland in the heavy loss on Wednesday and his captain Andrew Balbirnie thinks that the Dubliner has been fantastic for the national side in the past year.

The 21-year-old returned career-best figures of four for 23 in Abu Dhabi, which featured two wickets in his first over and took his 2021 T20I wicket tally to 12 from nine matches.

Balbirnie said: “Josh Little bowled to his plans and he has been a real find for us this year, he has bowled beautifully for us up top and we put them in real trouble…Josh is a huge asset. He has been a force in ODI cricket this year and really come to the fore.”

Head coach Graham Ford has said that his side are “desperate” to progress to the Super 12 with a win over Namibia.

Ford said: “I think for us, we come to the tournament with a slightly different view to some of the bugger countries, in that we are gaining and learning with every single outing – trying to make as much progress in our cricket as possible.

“So, every game is important as far as that is concerned – to try and make those little improvements here and there and to sharpen our skills, and adapt to the extra pace in the pitches.

“Win or lose, we are gaining and we are learning, so that’s a big plus for us – but quite obviously we are desperate to go through to the next phase of the tournament as well.

“Despite the loss [yesterday] we are still alive and still in the competition, and that’s the important thing.”

Teams

Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (C), Stephan Baard, Michau Du Preez, Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, JJ Smit, Michael Van Lingen, Craig Williams, Karl Birkenstock, Jan Frylink, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ben Shikongo, Ruben Trumpelmann, David Weise, David Wiese, Pikky Ya France.

Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (C), Mark Adair, Gareth Delany, Joshua Little, Kevin O’Brien, Simi Singh, Harry Tector, Benjamin White, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Neil Rock, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

Where To Watch

The match will start at 11 am and will be available to watch on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket – coverage begins at 10:30 am.

You can keep track of the live score on the ICC website and Cricket Ireland will provide Twitter updates throughout the match.

The post Namibia v Ireland – Preview, Teams, Where To Watch appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Little returned career-best figures of four for 23 in Abu Dhabi, which featured two wickets in his first over, but could not prevent Sri Lanka from winning by 70 runs to secure their own safe passage to the next round.

The 21-year-old left-armer might have been on the losing side here but his performance was impressive, taking his 2021 T20I wicket tally to 12 from nine matches.

He delivered two brilliant balls to clean bowl both Dinesh Chandimal and Avishka Fernando with back-to-back deliveries as Sri Lanka stumbled to eight for three and later removed Pathum Nissanka for 61 and Bhanuka Rajapaksa for just one.

In between, Nissanka and Wanindu Hasaranga put on a partnership of 123 for the fourth wicket to rebuild Sri Lanka’s innings and they eventually made 171 for seven.

The Lions then bowled Ireland out for 101 but Balbirnie was quick to praise Little after the match.

“I was excited at eight for three,” he said. “Josh Little bowled to his plans and he has been a real find for us this year, he has bowled beautifully for us up top and we put them in real trouble.

“But the way their guys came out and played was really impressive and took the innings away from us in the middle. But I thought we came back quite well.

“Josh is a huge asset. He has been a force in ODI cricket this year and really come to the fore.

“He showed off those new-ball skills and attacked the stumps. On these wickets, he comes into his own.”

Balbirnie knows Ireland lost control of the match when Hasaranga was batting but praised his side for the way they fought back to take four wickets in the last five overs.

It was a different story with the bat, however, as openers Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien fell cheaply to leave them in trouble early.

When Curtis Campher was dismissed for 24, Ireland lost regular wickets and succumbed to defeat.

The Irish captain praised the Sri Lankan bowling that snuffed out any chance of a successful chase.

He also talked about his time at-bat, where he lead his team in runs with 41 from 39 balls.

“It was obviously nice to spend time in the middle tonight – I was hoping that I may have gone at a better rate, but with the small boundary on one side I always thought we were in the game.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t get going today and that was largely down to a good Sri Lankan bowling attack.”

They now face a crucial game against Namibia – both teams have lost to Sri Lanka and beaten the Netherlands so far.

The winner of Friday’s clash between the two sides will progress to the Super 12s to meet New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the highest-ranked side in Group B (currently Scotland).

“We are excited, they are the games you want to play in when you grow up watching cricket and see the knock-out games. They are the ones we want to be part of, so we will rest up and be ready,” Balbirnie added.

“We started the week really well and put in some really good performances against the Dutch. We knew if we lost that game, we would be playing catch up.

“This is a good Sri Lanka team, I thought they batted and bowled really well. We started well with the ball and finished well with the ball but we could not really get it going with the bat.

“We have a massive game on Friday now and it is all to play for.”

Ireland will play Namibia in their final match in Group A on Friday morning at 11 am. Sky Sports will begin their coverage of the match in Ireland and the United Kingdom at 10:30 am.

The post Balbirnie hails Ireland bowler Josh Little ahead of crunch Namibia game appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Ireland are currently competing in the group stage of the competition, in which the top two teams from both groups will enter the Super 12 with those teams that had already qualified.

The loss to Sri Lanka on Wednesday means that Ireland must beat Namibia if they are to be part of the Super 12 after the African nation beat the Netherlands on the same day.

The winner will progress to the next round to meet New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the highest-ranked side in Group B (currently Scotland).

At a press conference last night, Head Coach Graham Ford said: “I think for us, we come to the tournament with a slightly different view to some of the bugger countries, in that we are gaining and learning with every single outing – trying to make as much progress in our cricket as possible.

“So, every game is important as far as that is concerned – to try and make those little improvements here and there and to sharpen our skills, and adapt to the extra pace in the pitches.

“Win or lose, we are gaining and we are learning, so that’s a big plus for us – but quite obviously we are desperate to go through to the next phase of the tournament as well.

“Despite the loss [yesterday] we are still alive and still in the competition, and that’s the important thing.”

Captain Andrew Balbirnie also spoke on the 70-run defeat to Sri Lanka and noted that the team will have to adapt if they want to play top-level cricket on a consistent basis.

The captain said: “We don’t get wickets like this, or get pace like this too often back home, but the more we go up the levels and if we go through to next week it’s only going to get quicker and we need to find ways to cope with that pretty quickly.”

Ireland face Namibia in a ‘winner-takes-all’ clash at 11 am on Friday, October 22 – the match coverage in Ireland/UK is on Sky Sports from 10.30 am.

The post Ireland ‘desperate’ to reach Super 12 – Graham Ford appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.