Cricket News: Irish eliminate woeful Windies, Zimbabwe down Scotland to join Dutch and Sri Lankans in Super 12s

Two-time champions West Indies have crashed out of the Twenty20 World Cup before the 12-team main event after being humbled by Ireland in Hobart.

With a Super 12 spot up for grabs for the winner, Ireland triumphed by nine wickets on the back of a brutal opening stand from Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling to progress to the next stage.

Ireland chased down 5-146 with 15 balls to spare, ending the group stage with two wins from three matches.

They are joined in the Super 12s by Zimbabwe, who qualified for a World Cup for the first time since the 2016 World T20 tournament with a nerveless five-wicket win over Scotland thanks to 58 from captain Craig Ervine.

Irish pair Balbirnie and Stirling got their chase off to a dream start with a partnership of 73 from 45 balls, the highest opening stand of the tournament so far.

Paul Stirling. (Photo by Steve Bell – ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Balbirnie (37 from 23) fell in the eighth over, but not before helping push the required run rate below six an over.

Stirling finished unbeaten on 66 from 48, combining for a 77-run stand with Lorcan Tucker (45 not out from 35).

Tucker struck a boundary through the covers to seal the win.

It is the first time Ireland have qualified for the main stage of a Twenty20 World Cup since their debut in 2009.

It is a big fall from grace for West Indies, who are the only side to have won the T20 World Cup two times (2012 and 2016). They also made the semi-finals in 2009 and 2014.

They were upset by Scotland on Monday but kept their hopes alive by beating Zimbabwe two days ago.

Earlier, West Indies’ recent struggles against spin continued after they won the toss and elected to bat.

Brandon King top-scored with an unbeaten 62 from 48 deliveries, while some lusty blows from Odean Smith (19 not out from 12) provided a late boost.

Irish legspinner Gareth Delany starred with a career-best 3-16, nabbing his wickets in the middle-to-late overs.

Ireland lost their opening Group B match against Zimbabwe but rebounded with a win over Scotland.

In the later match, Zimbabwe needed to pass Scotland’s total of 132 in 19.1 overs or fewer to finish atop qualifying Group B and overtake Ireland.

Despite a nervous start, in which the African nation slumped to 3/42 after eight overs, Ervine’s calm innings alongside a whirlwind 23-ball 40 from blaster Sikandar Raza, the task was accomplished with four balls to spare.

Scotland’s innings was curtailed by a lack of big hitting, with not a single six struck, as Zimbabwe’s bowling attack prevented any major partnerships from building momentum.

Paceman Tendai Chatara was the pick of the bunch, claiming 2/14 from his four overs including the big scalp of opener Michael Jones, who ransacked 86 in Scotland’s loss to Ireland on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe had been banned from qualifying for the 2021 T20 World Cup by the ICC due to alleged political intervention in the nation’s cricket board, while they failed to qualify for the 2019 ODI World Cup.

They join the Netherlands in Group 2 of the Super 12s, which features India, Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh; while Ireland and Sri Lanka feature in Australia, England, New Zealand and Afghanistan’s Group 1.

Zimbabwe’s first match will be against the only other African nation in the Super 12s, South Africa, in Hobart on Monday.

Sri Lanka, Dutch advance

Sri Lanka progressed to the next stage of the Twenty20 World Cup after fending off the Netherlands to win by 16 runs on Thursday.

Led by an equal career-best 79 from Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka powered to 6-162 after electing to bat first at Geelong’s Kardinia Park on Thursday.

Netherlands opener Max O’Dowd hit a superb unbeaten 71, taking the chase to the final over, but the Dutch fell short to send the enthusiastic Sri Lankan crowd home happy.

The Lions’ second win of the qualifying part of tournament guarantees them a passage through to the Super 12 stage, despite their shock loss to Namibia in the opening match.

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“We have to focus mentally, but it’s not a problem for us whichever group we’re in (for the Super 12 stage),” Mendis told reporters. “We’ve played well in Australia before. We’ve got four players injured, but we’ve shown that we can play here.”

(Photo by Graham Denholm-ICC/ICC via Getty Images,)

The Netherlands faced a nervous wait to find out if they would join Sri Lanka in the next stage.

But the UAE did the Dutch a favour and recorded their first win of the tournament, beating Namibia in the second game in Geelong on Thursday evening, to send the Netherlands into the Super 12.

Sri Lanka were made to work hard for their second win of the World Cup, with the Dutch giving a brave account of themselves with bat and ball.

Mendis was the clear standout for the Lions to claim player-of-the-match honours, with Charith Asalanka striking a crucial 31 as Sri Lanka recorded their highest total of the tournament.

Spinner Wanindu Hasaranga caused major problems for the Netherlands batters to claim figures of 3-28.

Earlier, Sri Lanka suffered a big double blow, with paceman Dushmantha Chameera and batsman Danushka Gunathilaka sent home because of injury.

In Friday’s final qualifying match, Scotland face Zimbabwe in the second of the double-header at Hobart with the winner claiming the final Super 12 berth.

Namibia fairytale falls short

The underdog story of Namibia came to a dramatic end on Thursday night at the Twenty20 World Cup, falling to fellow associate nation UAE in a seven-run thriller.

Namibia, who upset Test nation Sri Lanka in their opening game, needed to beat UAE to secure their spot in the tournament’s Super 12 stage.

But chasing UAE’s 3-148, Namibia were left to rue a slow start under lights at Geelong’s Kardinia Park on Thursday night and finished on 8-141.

Not even the highest eighth-wicket partnership in the history of the T20 World Cup – 70 runs between David Wiese and Ruben Trumpelmann – could get Namibia over the line.

The experienced Wiese compiled a nerveless 55 but was caught on the boundary at long-on to end Namibia’s hopes.

UAE allrounder Basil Hameed backed up a crucial unbeaten 25 to open the bowling and claim figures of 2-17 to set-up his team’s first T20 World Cup win and crush Namibia’s chances.

After winning their first game, Namibia miss out on qualifying for the next round of the tournament and the Netherlands move through.

Namibia suffered a five-wicket loss to the Netherlands on Tuesday after their stunning triumph over Sri Lanka, but a win over UAE would have allowed them to progress and end the tournament of the Dutch team.

Jofra storming down comeback trail

Jofra Archer could be back bowling in an England shirt by the end of next month, with the possibility of playing some part in an internal Test match warm-up in Abu Dhabi.

Archer has not played international cricket for more than 18 months, suffering with a longstanding elbow injury followed by a stress fracture of the back while on the comeback trail this summer.

But the 27-year-old is making good progress with his rehabilitation and will travel to the United Arab Emirates at the start of November to continue his training and recovery work with the England Lions squad alongside fellow seamers Brydon Carse and Saqib Mahmood.

The 2019 World Cup winner is not expected to make a competitive comeback until the new year.

(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Yet team management are considering putting him through his paces during a three-day tune-up between the senior England side and the second-string Lions starting on November 23 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

ECB performance director Mo Bobat said: “He’ll be playing a meaningful part in all of our practice and let’s hope he can play some sort of part in the game at the back end of the trip.

“We’ll have to see where that lands and where he gets to. We’ll try and build him up safely. He’s very much ready to get out there and bowl on grass and starting to think competitive rather than just about his action and physical feel. We’re excited but trying to make sure we’re patient.”