Ireland first team to qualify for 2015 Cricket World Cup

Ireland are the first team to qualify for the 2015 Cricket World Cup after a dramatic tie (their second in their past four ODI's) against the Netherlands overnight. The Dutch needed 11 off the final two balls for the win and Michael Rippon hit a four and then a six off the last ball to secure a point for his team. Essentially the tie was the best result for both teams as it means Ireland have gained a big enough lead to be crowned the World Cricket League Champions and therefore qualify for the World Cup. While the Netherlands have remained in second, and two wins against Canada next month should be enough to see them through as well.

For Ireland this will be their third consecutive World Cup and it continues their push to become a test nation by 2020. The best thing Ireland can do to convince the ICC of their worth is to continue qualifying for global events and that is what they are doing. Ireland though will be hoping for a good showing in 2015 and should be aiming to make the quarter-finals.

It is also excellent in a financial sense for Cricket Ireland as they will receive $1 million from the ICC as a preparation grant. Hopefully now with over 18 months to prepare, Ireland will be able to secure some quality fixtures against the full members in order to give themselves the best preparation to the World Cup.

To see the World Cricket League standings, click on the tab titled "Road to Australia/NZ" at the top of the page

World Cricket Live Update

Pakistan 230/8 (48.4 overs) defeated Ireland 229/9 (50.0 overs) by 2 wickets
The ODI Series between Ireland and Pakistan came to a thrilling conclusion last Sunday as Kamran Akmal and tail-ender Wahab Riaz won the match for Pakistan. The visitors were in dire straits at 17/4, and also 133/7, but the wicket-keeper and fast bowler put on a show scoring around 90 off the last 10-12 overs. Ireland had earlier managed 229/9 on the back of Ed Joyce who became only the second player behind Eoin Morgan to score an ODI century for two different countries. Ireland's score was definitely under-par, however they more than made up for it with the ball, as Trent Johnston and Tim Murtagh ran through the top order. Unfortunately for the Irish they couldn't capitalize and they will be kicking themselves after a great chance for the first ODI series win by an associate against a full member nation.

England (354 and 287/5dec) defeated New Zealand (174 and 220) by 247 runs
After matching England for three of four innings in the first match, New Zealand had high hopes to remain competitive and perhaps pinch a win in the second test. They failed to do this though as England finetuned their Ashes preparations with a convincing 247 run win. Joe Root scored his maiden test century, while Alistair Cook made 130 in the second innings. Their bowlers were superb with Graeme Swann picking up 10 wickets for the match. New Zealand, on the other hand, were quite disappointing in the batting department, scoring lower than both England's totals in their innings. Their first innings of 174 was incredibly disappointing with no.10 and 11 Wagner and Boult scoring nearly a third of the runs.

The teams play a short three match ODI series in preparation for the Champions Trophy tournament which starts next week. I will post a preview of what will be the last ever edition of this tournament sometime in the next coming days.

Netherlands v South Africa @ Amstelveen
The single ODI between Netherlands and South Africa has just started with South Africa winning the toss and batting. They lost two early wickets but have now steadied to be 67/2 after 14 overs. Colin Ingram is unbeaten on 21, while JP Duminy is on 14. Mudassar Bukhari picked up the breakthrough of Petersen, while debutant Paul van Meekeren dismissed Hamish Amla. Hopefully the Dutch can continue to fight and make a match of this.

Namibia T20 Quadrangular Results

The hosts Namibia have prevailed in this T20 Quadrangular tournament also featuring the Netherlands, Kenya and a South Africa Emerging XI. They beat Kenya in the final by 5 wickets, in a tight finish after Nicolaas Scholtz hit the winning runs off the final ball. This will give Namibia some confidence going into the World Twenty20 Qualifiers later this year. With 6 teams qualifying, they would really fancy themselves to qualify for the WT20 in Bangladesh early next year. Considering their disappointing performances to date in the WCL Championship, their T20 form is a consolation.

The other finalists Kenya were also quite impressive, with Namibia the only team they lost to. After finishing 9th in the last World Twenty20 qualifer behind the likes of Nepal and PNG, they will be looking for an improved performance this time around in the UAE later in the year.

Netherlands beat the South Africa Emerging XI by 42 runs, but they will be disappointed in this tournament with that being their only win. This includes losing the only T20 International of the tournament against Kenya, as well as losing an additional T20I to Kenya before the tournament started. Nonetheless their two critical wins in the WCL Championship mean they are on the brink of qualifying for the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

Kudos to South Africa for sending a team over to this tournament. With South Africa being the only major competitive nation in the Africas region, they have a responsibility to help out the associates and affiliates. Hopefully Cricket South Africa will be willing to help out in a similar way in the future.

Results:
20th April: Kenya defeated the Netherlands by 7 wickets*
20th April: South Africa Emerging Players defeated Namibia by 7 wickets
21st April: Kenya defeated South Africa Emerging Players by 5 wickets
21st April: Namibia defeated the Netherlands by 45 runs
23rd April: South Africa Emerging Players defeated the Netherlands by 22 runs
23rd April: Namibia defeated Kenya by 8 wickets

24th April: Third place playoff - Netherlands defeated South Africa Emerging Players by 42 runs
24th April: Final - Namibia defeated Kenya by 5 wickets

*T20 International (T20I); all the other fixtures were just T20 status matches

Netherlands one step closer to Australia!

Netherlands have won both WCL Championship matches against Namibia.

Netherlands (269/9) defeated Namibia (237) by 31 runs
In the first match, the Dutch batting first scored 268 on the back of some solid contributions from Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper and Tom de Grooth. Some late hitting from Mudassar Bukhari and Timm van der Gugten helped the Netherlands to set a more challenging target for the Namibians. The Africans made a good fist of it with Craig Williams playing superbly for his near a run a ball 116. It was fifth List A century and now averages around 35, which is a decent effort. Nicolaas Scholtz did alright for his 37, but a lack of help from the other batsmen, proved Namibia's downfall. Van der Gugten continued his impressive form with three wickets.

Netherlands (240/9) defeated Namibia (236/5) by 1 wicket
The second match was an incredibly close encounter with the Netherlands winning with only 1 wicket to spare and 2 overs remaining. Daan van Bunge controlled the chase of 240 for the Dutch, as at 178/7 things were looking quite dire for them. Earlier Namibia made 236/5 with opener Raymond van Schoor carrying his bat for 93*. Namibia would have been disappointed that despite only losing five wickets, they were unable to post a big score.

The Netherlands are now in a great position in the WCL Championship after picking up a maximum four points from this tour. They puts them into 2nd on 14 points, only behind Ireland who are on 17. The Netherlands have now opened up a sizeable three point gap on the chasing pack of Scotland, Afghanistan, Kenya and UAE. With only four matches left (including two matches against last placed Canada) the Netherlands would be favourites to now claim one of the direct World Cup qualifying spots. Nambia are now effectively out of the top 2 race and are left to focus on getting one of the two remaining spots in the qualifying tournament to be played in New Zealand early next year.

The Netherlands end their African tour with a T20 quadrangular with Kenya, Namibia, and a South Africa Emerging XI, which begins today with a T20I between them and Kenya.

Associate and Affiliate cricket update

Namibia beat the Netherlands in their ICC Intercontinental Cup clash last week by 82 runs. It was relatively close throughout the match with Netherlands needing 319 in the final innings to win. Bernard Scholtz was he chief destroyer taking five wickets (six in total). Raymond van Schoor scored a century in the first innings, while Tom Cooper, the dashing no.3 batsman fought bravely with an 89 and 103. This win steers Namibia into 3rd behind runaway leader Ireland, as well as Afghanistan, while the Netherlands are in a disappointing 6th, only above the UAE and Canada.

Meanwhile transgressing from the top of the World Cricket League to the bottom, Division 7 took place in Botswana with the hosts, Nigeria, Germany, Vanuatu, Fiji and Ghana taking place. Vanuatu and Nigeria made the final with Nigeria coming out on top to be promoted to Division 6. Vanuatu are also promoted, while Botswana (3rd) and Fiji (4th) will remain in Division 7, while Ghana (5th) and Germany (6th) are relegated to Division 8. Vanuatu have done quite well as they have now been moved up from Division 8 to Division 6; which is an impressive achievement for the pacific nation. Nigeria and Vanuatu will join hosts Jersey, Argentina, Bahrain and Kuwait for Division 6 of the World Cricket League in July. Don't forget that these World Cricket League matches form part of the qualification pathway to the 2019 Cricket World Cup to be held in England.

Check out the global one-day rankings to see the progress made by your country!

Netherlands tour of Namibia begins

Netherlands' two week tour of Namibia began overnight with Day 1 of the Intercontinental Cup Match. Netherlands are currently languishing in 7th place, while Namibia are in 4th. It was a close tussle on the first day, with the visitors perhaps just coming out on top. Namibia made 264/7 with Raymond van Schoor scoring a hundred. Him and captain and Sarel Burger rescued the African side after being perilously placed at 53/4 at one stage. The two put on 163 for the fifth wicket with van Schoor making 110 and Burger 71. No-one else for the home side managed to do anything of note, with the Dutch bowlers impressing. In particular Timm van der Gugten picked up his first five wicket haul in first class cricket. Van der Gugten actually plays for New South Wales in Australian state cricket. Therefore along with opener Tom Cooper, the Netherlands side continues to have a strong Australian influence, after Dirk Nannes pulled on the orange jersey a couple of years ago in the World T20.

The most important part of the tour is undoubtedly the two World Cup qualifying matches. The two teams' current rankings are reversed from the four day competition - with the Netherlands in fourth, and Namibia in 7th. Namibia really need a 2-0 series win to keep alive any hope of securing one of the two automatic qualifying spots available. Netherlands meanwhile would love to win both games, which would springboard them up to 2nd, with a three point buffer on the chasing pack of Scotland and Afghanistan. With only 2 rounds remaining, this could prove crucial.

There has been a change made to the T20 portion of the tour which has only been averted to my attention. Instead of a two match T20 series between the two teams, a four team T20 quadrangular has been organised. Namibia (the hosts) will clash with the touring Netherlands, fellow African side Kenya, as well as a South Africa Emerging XI. I think this is a extremely positive idea, especially with a South Africa XI, which will allow the associate sides to face some talented youngsters from the full member country. With the all important World Twenty20 Qualifier coming up later this year in the UAE, and with six teams to qualify, the more match practice for the teams, the better.

Full Tour Fixtures:
11th April - 14th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
ICC Intercontinental Cup Match (First Class)

16th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
WCL Championship Match (List A)

18th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
WCL Championship Match (List A)

20th April: Kenya VS Netherlands
T20 International

20th April: Namibia VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

21st April: Kenya VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

21st April: Namibia VS Netherlands
T20

23rd April: Netherlands VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

23rd April: Namibia VS Kenya
T20

23rd April:Third place playoff
T20I/T20

23rd April: Final
T20I/T20

*All matches played at Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek