May 24
NETHERLANDS TRI-SERIES
Netherlands tri-series with Ireland and Scotland - Series digest
George Munsey struck a quick-fire 72 to star in Scotland's win over the Netherlands © Getty
Ireland end series with a thrilling win
Ireland clinched the final-ball thriller against Netherlands by three runs to finish first in the tri-series, and subject the hosts to last spot with a hat-trick of defeats. After posting a respectable 161/6 on the board, a remarkable comeback by death bowlers helped Ireland prevail despite a solid platform laid by the openers in the chase.
Ireland found themselves reeling at 44/3 with skipper Paul Stirling (36 off 27 balls) doing the bulk of the scoring. Bas de Leede was responsible for that damage, removing Locran Tucker and Harry Tector in the same over. Stirling too departed soon after, in the 10th over. However, George Dockrell combined with Curtis Campher put on 62 runs for the fifth wicket stand to provide some stability. Dockrell was the aggressor in the stand, hitting two sixes and five boundaries in his 30-ball unbeaten 53, while Campher made 37 in 30. Mark Adair provided the finishing touches with a boundary-filled cameo of 19 in eight balls taking the team to 161.
Netherlands were cruising in the chase courtesy the 67-run opening stand between Michael Levitt and Max O'Dowd. When the former fell for 39, O'Dowd joined hands with Vikramjit Singh (27 off 22) to take the hosts forward with anoher half-century partnership. However, once Craig Young broke the crucial stand Netherlands lost momentum. Adair then struck twice in the 18th over, giving away just six runs. Netherlands only needed 19 in the last 12 but Barry McCarthy and Young bowled miserly last overs to eke a narrow win when the home side needed five off the final ball.
Brief scores: Ireland 161/6 in 20 overs (George Dockrell 53*, Logan van Beek 2-26) beat Netherlands 158/5 in 20 overs (Max O'Dowd 60, Michael Levitt 39; Mark Adair 2-21) by 3 runs
May 23
Bowlers, Tucker fifties clinch series for Ireland
Fifties from Andrew Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker helped Ireland chase down 157 against Scotland with three balls to spare. The win raised their chances of qualifying for the 2026 edition of the World Cup with Ireland currently placed 11th.
Scotland opted to bat first and despite losing their openers early, saw the middle-order batters get off to starts. The spinners struck at the right moments for Ireland in the middle overs following up from the pacers' strike earlier on. Craig Young and Mark Adair picked three apiece with the latter also breaking a 55-run stand between Matthew Cross and Micheal Leask.
In the chase, Ireland's openers got off to a quick start, amassing 51 inside the powerplay. While Paul Stirling missed out on his fifty, Balbirnie went on to get his. He was well supported by Tucker who matched his captain's pace, as the duo added 65 for the second wicket and brought Ireland closer to victory. Late strikes by Chris Sole notwithstanding, Ireland went on to notch up a comfortable victory which also helped them clinch the series with a game to spare.
Brief Scores: Scotland 157/8 (20 overs; M Cross 35, M Leask 34; C Young 3-31, M Adair 3-36) lost to Ireland 158-5 (19.3 overs; A Balbirnie 56, L Tucker 55, P Stirling 31; C Sole 3-28) by 5 wickets
May 22
Netherlands put up a poor performance with the bat as Scotland absolutely hammered them to win by 71 runs. Chasing 159, Netherlands were under the pump right from the start as the top three fell inside the first three overs to leave the Dutch reeling at 19/3. Bas de Leede and Scott Edwards provided a sense of calmness with a 42-run stand but once that partnership was broken, Netherlands collapsed in spectacular fashion.
Chris Greaves got rid of de Leede and Wesley Barresi in the space of three deliveries in the same over before Bradley Currie ended Edwards' resistance. From thereon, it was simply a Mark Watt show. The left-arm spinner just ran through the lower order, giving Netherlands no breathing space to recover. Watt picked up all four remaining wickets in quick succession as Netherlands got bowled out with over five overs to spare.
Earlier in the day, the win was set up by opener George Munsey. The left-hander opener was at his destructive best, clearing the ropes six times. It was clearly a one-man show for Scotland as the rest of the batters failed to make an impact. Netherlands kept striking at regular intervals and if not for Munsey's 72, Scotland would have finished with a below-par total.
Brief scores: Scotland 158/7 in 20 overs (George Munsey 72; Logan van Beek 3/13) beat Netherlands 87 in 14.5 overs (Scott Edwards 29; Mark Watt 4/12) by 71 runs.
May 20
Rain plays spoilsport
Rain forced the Ireland vs Scotland game to be abandoned. Even the toss couldn't take place as morning rains left the square under covers and the the outfield soaked, with the umpires not ready to take any risk as they called off the game.
May 19
All-round performances from Mark Adair (49 and 2-34) and Tim Pringle (3-32 and 35*) were the highlights for Ireland and Netherlands respectively as the two teams produced a thrilling contest in which the Irish prevailed in a last-ball finish at The Hague on Sunday (May 19).
Put into bat, Ireland were dented early as they lost the big wickets of Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie and Harry Tector inside the powerplay on another two-paced surface. Lorcan Tucker (40 off 30) carried on his form from the Pakistan series with a counterattacking knock to give Ireland some respite but the Dutch chipped away at the wickets to have a grip on proceedings. At 83/6, Ireland looked set for a below-par total but Adair produced a blistering display of ball-striking in a crucial 66-run stand with Gareth Delany to give the visitors a respectable total of 150. Netherlands were also guilty of being awry in their death bowling.
In contrast to their opponents, Netherlands lost just a solitary wicket in the powerplay but weren't able to drive home the advantage with respect to the run rate. Max O'Dowd (33 off 30) and Bas de Leede (32 off 29) worked the ball around, finding the odd boundary but neither batter seemed keen to take too many risks. It meant that Ireland were able to keep a check on the required rate that climbed steadily, eventually resulting in a cluster of wickets. Fionn Hand (3-18) produced timely breakthroughs in the middle overs. With 38 needed off 12 balls, the game seemed done on a sluggish surface but Pringle launched a scatching assault, smashing a six and two fours in the 19th over, bringing the equation to 20 off the last over.
It came down to 17 off three, before Adair slipped two wides and then got belted for two sixes by Pringle. It meant three were needed off the final ball but Adair held his nerve to seal a one-run win for Ireland.
Brief scores: Ireland150/8 in 20 overs (Mark Adair 49, Lorcan Tucker 40; Tim Pringle 3-32, Daniel Doram 2-27) beat Netherlands 149/8 in 20 overs (Tim Pringle 35*, Max ODowd 33; Fionn Hand 3-18, Mark Adair 2-34) by one run
May 18
Netherlands rode on star performances from Vivian Kingma (4-21) and Logan van Beek (3-18) as they outplayed Scotland by 41 runs in the opening game of the tri-series also featuring Ireland in The Hague on Saturday (May 18). Chasing a competitive target of 168 for victory, Scotland's innings were rattled from the get-go as Kingma got the new ball to talk as he sliced through the top order with van Beek to have the visitors at 16/3. There was a counterattacking 66-run stand between Richie Berrington (39 off 29) and Matthew Cross (49 off 32) but once the partnership was broken, it was a procession of wickets again for the Scots.
Barring Berrington and Cross, none of the batters got to double digits. Apart from Kingma and van Beek, Aryan Dutt (0-20) was the standout bowler for the Dutch as he kept things extremely tight in the powerplay. Earlier on, Netherlands got to a strong total on the back of a reasonably collective batting effort. The tone was set by a 68-run opening stand between Michael Levitt (43 off 31) and Max ODowd (30 off 30) as Netherlands managed a strong foundation to their innings. Breezy knocks from Vikramjit Singh (39 off 18) and Teja Nidanamuru (19 off 10) ensured that the finishing act didn't dip, although the home side would have initially targeted a 175-plus total with the way they started.
Brief scores: Netherlands 167/8 in 20 overs (Michael Levitt 43, Vikramjit Singh 39; Gavin Main 2-26) beat Scotland 126 in 18.1 overs (Matthew Cross 49; Vivian Kingma 4-21, Logan van Beek 3-18) by 41 runs
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