Ireland show Dutch courage to secure World Cup passage
Eoin Morgan stole the show with a cheeky innings of 76 from 62 balls that showcased his repertoire from wristily lifted leg-side sixes to well-struck reverse sweeps for four and made a formality of passing Holland’s total of 222 all out.
Was he disappointed to have missed out on a century? “It was more about winning the game and World Cup qualification, rather than a personal target. We’re through to the finals again which is obviously great news.
“It was a decent wicket to bat on after the first hour or so. There was a bit of dew early on and our bowlers exploited it. It was good to capitalise on the conditions, and when we batted we were pretty professional.
“Our top order has been in good form throughout the tournament, and they were never really in with a chance of defending that total.”
Morgan added 117 with William Porterfield for the second wicket and when he was caught on the mid-wicket boundary, in search of a fifth maximum, the captain batted on to reach 78 and claimed the man-of-the-match award.
A serious challenger should have been Alex Cusack who was at his parsimonious best just when Holland were threatening to post a score in excess of 250. Cusack had Dutch top-scorer Alexi Kervazee stumped for 77 and claimed two further victims for only six runs as he sent down 18 deliveries during the batting power play.
Opening bowlers Boyd Rankin and Peter Connell, who had each struck in their opening spells, then returned to take three more wickets between them and ensure there was no escaping the leash in the final overs.
Luncheon would have gone down easily in the Irish dressing room, particularly as scores at the other games suggested the four wins they had in the bag would already be enough for World Cup qualification.
A good batting pitch enabled Porterfield and Gary Wilson to add 60 for the first wicket and while the chase stumbled slightly towards its end, there were 5.3 overs to spare when Kevin O’Brien clobbered his customary match-clinching boundary.
While Ireland enjoyed a mild celebration last night — their main objective is still to win Sunday’s final here — Scotland were clinging onto the World Cup dream after losing to Afghanistan by 42 runs.
Scotland are bottom of the Super Eight with one match to play but such is the closeness of the teams below Ireland any one of them can still qualify for the World Cup tomorrow.
