- Bangladesh beat Ireland by 4 wickets, Thailand beat PNG by 8 wickets
- Thailand make history and qualify for their first ever ICC global event
- The final, held on Saturday 7th September at Forthill between Bangladesh and Thailand, will decide who heads into Group A and Group B at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020.
"VAN" (Sports Desk) :: Thailand will head to their first ever global event as they beat PNG by 8 wickets in Dundee to take one of two places at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Bangladesh, ranked 9th in the MRF Tyres Women’s T20i Rankings, knocked out Ireland in a low-scoring thriller at Forthill as 85/10 played 86/6 to hand Bangladesh a four-wicket win and guarantee their place at the 10-team tournament that begins on 21st February in Sydney.
Bangladesh vs. Ireland @ Forthill Cricket Club
Toss: Ireland won the toss and elected to bat
Forthill saw another close, low-scoring game as Bangladesh clinched a spot at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia by 4 wickets to send them to their fourth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia from February 2020.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Ireland got off to a nightmare start as they lost their top three (Waldron 1; Lewis 5; Garth 2) with just 15 runs on the board in the first semi-final of the day.
A disciplined, all-round performance in the field saw only one extra given away as each bowler made a contribution – Fahima Khatun the standout with 3/18 – to ensure Ireland never recovered from their earlier woes.
Resistance from skipper Laura Delany (25) at number four and Eimear Richardson (25) at number seven held off the staunch Bangladesh bowling attack to climb Ireland up to 85/10 at the close of play, but it wouldn’t be enough for the girls in green who also looked to qualify for their fourth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Chasing 86 for qualification, Forthill enjoyed another thrilling game as Bangladesh looked as though 86 might have been too much for the experienced Bangladeshi outfit at the halfway point.
Reduced to 34/4 after ten thanks to a great spell from Orla Prendergast (2/11), Ireland would have fancied their chances. However, Bangladesh went unblemished until the 17th over when Leah Paul (0/15) combining with Kavanagh to run out Ritu Moni for 15 but it was too late, Bangladesh then requiring 15 runs from 18 deliveries.
Back to back fours from Sanjida Islam (35*) in the 18th all but secured the victory as Bangladesh went into the penultimate over requiring just six runs. A four off the first ball from Jahanara Alam (6*) followed by two singles took Bangladesh to victory and a spot at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Salma Khatun, Bangladesh captain, said: “We are very happy to be heading to Australia for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in February. Being at the world stage helps us grow the women’s game back home in Bangladesh. We hope they can watch and be inspired to play.”
Thailand vs. PNG @ Forthill Cricket Club
Toss: PNG won the toss and elected to bat first
Thailand have made history and qualified for their first ever major event with a commanding 8-wicket win over PNG in Dundee to join Bangladesh on the plane to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Papua New Guinea, who beat Scotland and USA in the tournament to progress to the semi-final against Thailand, could only accumulate 67 runs as they won the toss and opted to bat first in attempt at putting runs on the board on a slow wicket at Forthill.
Thailand’s Sutthiruang (2/15) was again in with the wickets, removing Vare at the top of the order for 13 and returning to remove captain Oa for 5 in the last over of the game, as PNG struggled to find their rhythm from the offset, their highest partnership worth just 16 runs in a high-pressure game.
Thailand, chasing 68, opted for a calm and controlled approach as openers Chantam (18 off 31) and Chaiwai (32 off 40) took their time to pick off the runs required, striking just five boundaries in their innings to set the team up for a match-winning and World Cup-promising pursuit.
With both openers dismissed by the end of the 16th over, Koncharoenkai (16*) and Boochatham (2*) finished off the job to take an 8-wicket victory for Thailand and guarantee their place at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Sornnarin Tippoch, Thailand captain, said: “We are extremely excited and emotionally overwhelmed by what the team have achieved. We’re going to Australia!”
USA vs. Netherlands @ Arbroath Cricket Club
Toss: USA won the toss and elected to bat first
A fantastic 53* off 60 balls from Gruny at the top of the order was not enough for USA to avoid a 9-wicket defeat at the hands of the Netherlands at Arbroath Cricket Club in the first match of the day.
Losing Erica Rendler on the second ball of the innings to leave USA with 1/0 on the board, Gruny regained an essence of control for with six fours as Sriharsha (11), Bhaskar (1) and Chandhrasekar (4) fell around her as a disciplined Netherlands attack restricted the USA to just 90/4 off their 20 overs, sisters Heather and Silver Siegers taking 2/26 and 2/10 respectively.
Netherlands were clinical in reply, losing just the one wicket – Sterre Kallis bowled by Rao for 31 – as van Deventer (38*) and de Leede (16*) took the team to the 91 runs required with 14 balls remaining.
The win for Netherlands sets up a clash against Scotland at Arbroath on Saturday 7th September.
Scotland vs. Namibia @ Arbroath Cricket Club
Toss: Scotland won the toss and elected to field
Scotland, who’s hopes of a semi-final spot were dashed by a 13-run DLS loss to Bangladesh yesterday, completed a 10-wicket drubbing over Namibia at Arbroath Cricket Club.
Winning the toss and opting to field first, each bowler took at least one wicket to keep Namibia on the back foot from the get-go as only two batters passed double figures – skipper Yasmeen Khan with 10 and van Zyl with 15 in the middle order – as the side were blown away for 67 runs in 17.4 overs.
Scotland’s openers, Sarah Bryce (37*) and Lorna Jack (25*), picked off the runs required with 68 balls left – hitting eight fours and one six – to take their second win of the tournament.
It adds to a disappointing tournament for Namibia who are yet to secure a win. Namibia will now play USA at Arbroath on Saturday 7th September, with Scotland facing Netherlands.
Scores in brief:
Bangladesh beat Ireland by 4 wickets at Forthill Sports Club
Ireland 85/10, 20 overs (EAJ Richardson 25, L Delany 25; F Khatun 3/18)
Bangladesh 86/6, 20 overs (S Islam 32, R Moni 15; O Prendergast 2/11)
Thailand beat PNG by 8 wickets at Forthill Sports Club
PNG 67/7, 20 overs (K Arua 16*, S Jimmy 13; C Sutthiruang 2/15)
Thailand 68/2, 17.3 overs (N Chaiwai 32, N Chantam 18; R Oa 1/7)
Netherlands beat USA by 9 wickets at Arbroath Sports Club
USA 90/4, 20 overs (NT Gruny 53*, S Sriharsha 11; SNL Siegers 2/10)
Netherlands 91/1, 17.4 overs (van Deventer 38*, SL Kalis 31; AG Rao 1/21)
Scotland beat Namibia by 10 wickets at Arbroath Cricket Club
Namibia 67/10, 17.4 overs (van Zyl 15, Y Khan 10; K Bryce 2/6)
Scotland 68/0, 8.4 overs (SJ Bryce 37*, L Jack 25*; SA Wittmann 0/7)
Fixtures for Saturday 7th September:
Arbroath Cricket Club
10:00 – USA vs. Namibia
14:00 – Scotland vs. Netherlands
Forthill Sports Club
10:00 – Ireland vs. PNG
14:00 – Bangladesh vs. Thailand
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