CRICKET: Exciting Times for Irish Cricket

The Irish Men's Cricket Team has done itself proud over the last few weeks with a successful defence of its European Division 1 crown and qualification for the ICC World Twenty/20 World Cup in England next June.

European Championships

Ireland opened its defence of its Division I European Championship crown with a comfortable 8 wicket victory over Norway in Skerries. It followed this with victories over Denmark by 5 wickets at Rathmines, the Netherlands by 7 wickets at Clontarf and Italy by 4 wickets at Malahide.

These victories ensured a winner take-all fixture against old rivals Scotland on the 31st July at Clontarf. In a rain disrupted and much reduced over game Ireland retained the European Division 1 crown. With ever changing targets under the Duckworth/Lewis Method Ireland eventually passed the target of 101 runs from 20 overs.

It was a great team effort, produced when the chips were down, and the Irish record of twelve European Championship matches without defeat is testimony to Ireland's dominance at this level.

ICC Twenty/20 World Cup Qualifiers

Ireland's prospects of gaining one of the two qualifying places were buoyed by the return of its World Cup captain Trent Johnston to the squad. William Porterfield retained the captaincy.

The qualifiers, in Stormont, involved six associate countries, with top seeds, Ireland, in Group A alongside Scotland and Bermuda. Second Seeds, Kenya, were in Group B, alongside the Netherlands and Canada. At stake were two or three Final places in the ICC World Twenty/20 2009 in England next June.

Ireland opened its campaign with a thrilling 4 wicket victory over Scotland in a low scoring game. This was followed by a tense 4 run victory over Bermuda under the Duckworth/Lewis Method. These two wins ensured a semi-final place against Kenya.

Ireland became the first team to qualify for next year's finals with a hard fought 4 wicket victory over Kenya. Ireland was joined by the Netherlands in the Final by defeating Bermuda in the second semi-final. Unfortunately, the final was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of incessant rain. The trophy was shared between the two teams.

Ireland qualifies for next year's finals as the Associate 1 team, with the Netherlands Associate 2. Should Zimbabwe opt out of the finals, Ireland will take its place in Group A with India and Bangladesh.

For Further Information:
www.cricketeurope4.net