Ireland join Scotland in India

Ireland followed in Scotland's footsteps by qualifying for the ICC World T20 in India next year in thrilling style.

The joint hosts started the day in third place on six points in Group A and Papua New Guinea and Namibia had seven, so Ireland needed to beat Jersey in their final ICC World T20 qualifier and see their rivals lose.

That is exactly what happened with Ireland keeping their end of the bargain with a comfortable seven-wicket win in the first match of the day at Malahide.

Alex Cusack and Paul Stirling took three wickets and John Mooney also claimed three wickets in style as he finished the Jersey innings with a hat-trick.

Jersey set Ireland 123 to win, a target they reached with 20 balls remaining. Kevin O'Brien bowled one over for nine and scored eight off five balls after coming in at number four.

Ireland then had to watch on and hope the other results went their way. Their ideal scenario unfolded as Hong Kong landed an emphatic 83-run success against Namibia while the USA held their nerve to secure an impressive 18-run win against a PNG side who beat Ireland in the week.

Three teams ended a point behind Ireland, and as Hong Kong had such a huge triumph, they finished second and take on Afghanistan in the first qualifying play-off. Namibia will take on Netherlands in the second game.

The winners of those matches will join Scotland and Ireland in India. PNG and Oman, who finished in fourth place in each group, await the losers of the play-offs for a chance to qualify.

Scotland and Ireland are not only automatically through to the main tournament, they have also qualified for the semi-finals of this tournament next weekend. They will face the winners of the first set of qualifying play-offs.