Netherlands beat Ireland by 4 wickets to win ODI series; defeat is a huge blow for Irish team as 2023 Cricket World Cup approaches
Ireland lost to Netherlands by four wickets in the series decider match of their one-day international series on Monday. The series loss will be a significant blow for the Irish team as the 2023 Cricket World Cup approaches and they must compete in the World Cup Super League qualifying process.
Ireland struggled to get off to a good start, as their star openers Kevin O Brien (0) and Paul Stirling (5) both scored disappointing scores. The visitors’ mid-order batsmen Harry Tector (58) and George Dockrell (40) then guided them to a decent score of 163 -10 (49.2). The Dutch bowlers Fred Klaassen and Logan van Beek each took three wickets and led the way to thrashing the Irish squad.
The target was easy achievable for the hosts as their openers gave them a good start. Stephan Myburgh’s calm and composed innings of 74 runs from 111 balls and Max ODowd’s 36 runs from 49 balls laid the foundation. Later, it was an easy job for their middle order to finish the game in 45.5 overs. Simi Singh was the only Irish bowler who had an upper hand over the Dutch batsmen, taking three wickets, including their two openers.
Earlier, the Netherlands won the first match of the three-match ODI series by a single run in the tournament’s highest scoring encounter. The hosts were all out for 195 runs, and in the second innings, Paul Stirling (69) and Simi Singh (45) tried hard but fell one run short.
However, the visitors leveled the series with an eight-wicket victory in the second game, with Paul Stirling striking a superb half-century and Irish skipper Andy Balbirnie scoring 63 runs from 127 balls.
Ireland’s tour of Netherlands was part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. Ireland’s second defeat was a huge setback because they need to qualify for the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.
“It’s been a difficult week for us, we’ve been really disappointed we haven’t adapted to tough conditions, but no excuses there,” Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said following the series loss.
“There’s no excuses from us. We’ve got two big series coming up at home, so we’ve got to turn it around and put it right,” he added.
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