Ireland play host to Scotland who seek 2015 World Cup Spot
September 5th 2013 by ICC |
It will be a clash of the celtic cousins at Stormont in Belfast this week, as Scotland will be looking to try and get crucial points in the race for the second 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup Spot.
Scotland will be seeking a clean sweep of its Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Championship double-header against Ireland to stay in contention for automatic qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 when the two sides face-off on September 6 and 8 in Stormont, Belfast.
Currently in fourth position on equal points with Afghanistan (15 points) and three points behind Netherlands (18 points), a double-win against the competition leaders will see Scotland pick up the maximum four points and move into second place, one point ahead of The Netherlands.
Ireland have already won the tournament and are the first of two sides to earn automatic qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Scotland need to secure at least three points to keep themselves in the hunt for the crucial second spot, while four points will strengthen their claim by knocking The Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) out of the race.
Tickets are available to purchase for both matches here and can also be purchased on the gate on Friday and Sunday at Stormont.
Further details about the matches which both start at 10.45am can be found here.
Should Scotland secure a double-win, they can still be overtaken by Afghanistan if the Afghanis win both their fixtures against Kenya on October 2 and 4 in Sharjah.
However, if both Scotland and Afghanistan drop points, fifth-placed UAE could overtake them both to snatch second place by defeating Namibia 2-0 in their 50-over WCL Championship matches on September 27 and 29 in Sharjah. In this scenario, two wins would see UAE join The Netherlands on 18 points, but be ranked ahead of the Dutch based on the number of matches won.
Ireland captain William Porterfield says his side will be fighting just as fiercely as Scotland for final-round victory. “This is a fresh round of games for us and we are focused on playing good cricket and finishing the competition strongly. For us it doesn’t matter that we’ve already won the competition – we will approach these games just like any other.”
Porterfield - Ireland’s leading run scorer - will celebrate his 29th birthday while playing the first ODI on Friday and says victory would be the perfect birthday present. “Without a doubt we are looking to win both games. We want to keep showing people that Ireland is the leading Associate side and that we deserve to be in every global event.”
Scotland captain Preston Mommsen, speaking after his side’s one-off ODI against Australia in Edinburgh on Tuesday, said his team was confident heading into the crucial WCL Championship clashes. “The guys are still confident, the bowlers are bowling good sets and the batters are hitting the ball well, so it’s all about putting an all-round performance together.
“We’re going to have to be savvy against the Irish. The key part for us is our planning and how we approach each individual. We have built up a lot of knowledge of the Irish players and implementing the plans will be key,” said the 25-year-old all-rounder.
The off-spinner added that the ODIs will provide a good opportunity to measure Scotland’s standing against the leading team in Associate cricket. “The two World Cricket League Championship matches against Ireland is the real test for us to see where we are. Obviously they have been touching ahead in recent years, but we still believe we are strong enough to take them down,” he remarked.
While the top two sides from the Pepsi ICC WCL Championship will qualify automatically for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the bottom six teams will receive a second chance to advance at next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand when they will be joined by Hong Kong, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Uganda for the final two spots.
The upcoming matches between Ireland and Scotland, UAE and Namibia, and Afghanistan and Kenya will be streamed live at www.icc-cricket.com and on the official ICC YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/CricketICC.
Following the two ODIs, Ireland and Scotland will also go head to head in the four-day, first-class Intercontinental Cup from 11 to 14 September in Clontarf, Dublin. Ireland currently lead the competition and have already secured their spot in the final which will be played in December in Dubai. The boys in green lead their closest rivals and defending champions Afghanistan by 12 points.
Ireland will finish on top of the ladder if they acquire nine points or more against Scotland, while a maximum of 20 points for Scotland could see them leapfrog Afghanistan into second position. However, Scotland will only qualify for the final if Afghanistan finish pointless against Kenya in their final match, which will be played in October.
Pepsi ICC WCL Championship (remaining seventh round fixtures)
Ireland v Scotland (to be streamed live at www.icc-cricket.com and ICC YouTube Channel, http://www.youtube.com/CricketICC)
6 Sep – 1st ODI, Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland
8 Sep – 2nd ODI, Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland
UAE v Namibia (to be streamed live at www.icc-cricket.com and ICC YouTube Channel, http://www.youtube.com/CricketICC)
27 Sep – 1st 50-over match, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
29 Sep – 2nd 50-over match, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Afghanistan v Kenya (to be streamed live at www.icc-cricket.com and ICC YouTube Channel, http://www.youtube.com/CricketICC)
2 Oct – 1st ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
4 Oct – 2nd ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Pepsi ICC WCL Championship points table (after Canada-Netherlands seventh round fixtures)
Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net R/R
Ireland* 12 9 1 1 1 20 1.011
Netherlands 14 8 4 1 1 18 0.621
Afghanistan 12 7 4 0 1 15 0.323
Scotland 12 7 4 0 1 15 0.025
U.A.E. 12 7 5 0 0 14 -0.112
Kenya 12 5 7 0 0 10 -0.029
Namibia 12 2 10 0 0 04 -0.849
Canada 14 1 11 0 2 04 -0.963