Connell takes 3-8 as Ireland enters ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier semi-final by the skin of its teeth by ICC Media Release

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Event:

ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2008

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DateLine: 4th August 2008

 

Home team faces Kenya while the Netherlands plays Scotland for places in the final

 

Fast bowler Peter Connell took three wickets in nine balls to bowl Ireland to a pulsating four-run victory over Bermuda on the Duckworth-Lewis Method which earned it a place in the semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Stormont in Belfast, Ireland on Sunday.

 

The top-seeded home side now faces second-seeded Kenya in the first semi-final on Monday which starts at 0930 (local time) while the second semi-final will be played between the Netherlands and Scotland and will start at 1300 (local time). Connell, named man of the match, dismissed Christopher Foggo, David Hemp and Stephen Outerbridge to finish with figures of 2-0-8-3 as Bermuda, chasing a revised target of 46 runs in nine overs, was restricted at 41-8.

 

After Ireland captain William Porterfield elected to bat in overcast conditions, his side plunged into serious trouble and when a brief spell of heavy rain stopped play the home side was reeling at 41-4 in eight overs.

 

When play resumed after two hours, the match was reduced to a nine-overs-per-side contest. That meant Ireland had six balls to increase its total but its batsmen, in an effort to hit every ball out of the park, could score only two runs and lost three wickets in that final over.

 

But with the odds heavily against it, Ireland produced a magical bowling performance, led by Connell who was excellently supported by Andre Botha who took 2-4. Alex Cusack, though he didn’t pick a wicket, conceded just five runs off his two overs as Bermuda started its chase knowing it needed to knock off the runs in eight overs to qualify ahead of Ireland.

 

It failed and the semi-finals line-up was confirmed including the home side.

 

Earlier in the day, a scratchy Kenya defeated Canada by five wickets after Scotland outplayed Bermuda by eight wickets in the morning.

 

While Scotland was not made to work hard for victory by Bermuda, Kenya was made to sweat all the way through by Canada to secure a place in the semi-final.

 

The Kenyans made heavy weather of a small target of 92 before achieving victory in 17.5 overs after failing to reach the target inside 15 overs which would have helped them win the group.

 

At the start of the 15th over, Kenya was 78-4 and had needed 14 runs to top the group but it could manage only three runs.

 

After the African side missed the first target of 15 overs, it set its sights on the 18-over mark which would have kept it ahead of Canada on net run-rate. But that didn’t come easily either as when the 18th over started Kenya was 88-6. Had Canada wicketkeeper Ashish Bagai not missed a run-out opportunity on the winning run, there might have been a different story to tell.

 

The result was a bitter blow to Canada which had defeated the Netherlands by four wickets on Saturday afternoon. The North American side will now play Bermuda in the fifth and sixth-place play-off on Tuesday morning.

 

Canada did itself no favours by failing to post a decent score after it had elected to bat first.

 

After experienced John Davison fell in the fourth over, the rest of the batsmen fell at regular intervals and only captain Sanjay Thuraisingam (15), Karun Jethi (13) and Geoff Barnett (13) reached double figures.

 

Kenya ’s reply was dominated by Kennedy Obuya who scored 40 off 42 balls with two fours and two sixes. He was later declared man of the match.

 

Scotland reached the semi-final after a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Bermuda.

 

Scotland achieved the 100-run target in 17.4 overs after Ryan Watson had won the toss and put Bermuda into bat on another fine morning in Belfast.

 

Bermuda was never in control of the situation against a rejuvenated Scotland bowling attack led by former Worcestershire fast bowler Dewald Nel, who finished with impressive figures of 4-2-12-3 to pick up the man-of-the-match award.

 

Nel was on a hat-trick when he shattered the symmetry of Irving Romaine’s and Jekon Edness’ stumps on successive balls only to be denied the feat by Rodney Trott who fell to Gordon Drummond (1-22) four balls later without troubling the scorers.

 

Stephen Outerbridge with 37 not out was the top scorer for Bermuda while David Hemp (20) and Oliver Pitcher (13) were the other batsmen to show flashes of brilliance.

 

Scotland made a nervous start when it lost Watson (0) and Fraser Watts (7) in the third over but an unbroken 92-run third wicket partnership between Colin Smith and Navdeep Poonia ensured that the third-seeded side not only won without any further hiccups but also managed to finish with a positive net run-rate.

 

The 35-year-old Smith scored 46 from 42 balls with four fours while Poonia scored 38 from 54 deliveries.

 

Bermuda had its moments in the match but failed to take chances when they were offered. Its players dropped two straightforward catches and failed to convert a run-out opportunity when Smith and Poonia were stranded in the middle of the pitch.

 

At stake in the Belfast tournament are two or possibly three places in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 being staged in England. Both finalists will qualify for the tournament which will take place at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge next June. The third place to be decided by a third and fourth-place play-off is dependent on Zimbabwe Cricket’s Board ratifying a decision taken by its officials during ICC Annual Conference week, to step back from the tournament.

 

Scores in brief:

 

 

Group A

 

Scotland beat Bermuda by eight wickets

 

Bermuda 99-7 in 20 overs (Stephen Outerbridge 37 not out, David Hemp 20; Dewald Nel 3-12)

 

Scotland 100-2 in 17.4 overs (Colin Smith 46 not out, Navdeep Poonia 38 not out)

 

 

Ireland beat Bermuda by four runs (D/L method)

 

Ireland 43-7 in nine overs (George O'Brien 2-13, Stefan Kelly 2-18, Irving Romaine 2-2)

 

Bermuda 41-8 in nine overs (Peter Connell 3-8, Andre Botha 2-4)

 

 

Group B

 

Kenya beat Canada by five wickets

 

Canada 91 in 19.4 overs (Peter Ongondo 2-18, Ondik Suji 2-23)

 

Kenya 92-5 in 17.5 overs (Kennedy Obuya 40, John Davison 2-19)

 

 

Points table

 

Group A

 

Teams	Played	Won	Tied	No-result	Lost	Points	NNR
Ireland	2	2	0	0	0	4	+0.14
Scotland	2	1	0	0	1	2	+0.31
Bermuda	2	0	0	0	2	0	-0.53

 

Group B

 

Teams	Played	Won	Tied	No-result	Lost	Points	NNR
Netherlands	2	1	0	0	1	2	+0.38
Kenya	2	1	0	0	1	2	-0.13
Canada	2	1	0	0	1	2	-0.21

 

 

Monday’s fixtures:

 

0930 Semi-final one: Ireland v Kenya

 

1300 Semi-final two: The Netherlands v Scotland

 

1630 Third and fourth-place play-off

 

 

Full scorecards are available online at:

 

www.iccworldtwenty20qualifier.com

 

 

For more information go to:

 

www.iccworldtwenty20qualifier.com