Ireland and Scotland off to winning starts
Fri 10 Jul 2015
Leicestershire’s Niall O’Brien batted well as Ireland got their ICC World Twenty20 Qualifying campaign off to a winning start.
Namibia were restricted to 124-8 and Ireland chased down their target for the loss of three wickets in 17.2 overs at Stormont, Belfast.
Niall O’Brien struck 45 off 40 balls after opening the batting in an innings that contained three fours and a six.
His brother Kevin scored three batting at number four while skipper Will Porterfield made 56 not out to guide the side to a win.
* Scotland eased to victory by nine wickets in their first match against United Arab Emirates yesterday at The Grange, Edinburgh.
Michael Leask and Mark Watt both took three wickets as UAE were dismissed for 109 and George Munsey (59*) and Kyle Coetzer (39) put on 96 inside eight overs to all but see the side home.
Leicestershire’s Rob Taylor is part of the squad but his preparation for the tournament was affected by injury and he didn’t play in the opener.
Scotland won by nine wickets with ten overs in hand and their next fixture is against Netherlands at Edinburgh on Saturday. Ireland take on USA at Stormont on Sunday.
