Ireland keep final hopes alive with thrilling win
An extraordinary opening day was followed by an incredible second as Ireland kept their hopes of making it to the final alive with a eight-run win in Windhoek
Cricinfo staff
04-Oct-2008
Ireland 69 (Klazinga 4-11, Snyman 4-22) and 164 (KB Burger 5-60) beat Namibia 119 (Connell 4-24) and 106 (Rankin 5-39, Connell 3-49) by eight runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
An extraordinary opening day, on which 25 wickets fell, was followed by an incredible second as Ireland kept their hopes of making it to the final alive with an eight-run win in Windhoek. Leading by 27 with just five wickets left in their second innings, Ireland stretched it to 114 and the bowlers ensured Namibia, already in the final, didn't overhaul the target. It was the bowlers who dominated the day again, medium-pacers Kola Burger and Boyd Rankin completing five-wicket hauls with no batsman crossing 30 in the match.
Ireland's comeback began confidently with Andrew White and Trent Johnston, their former captain, adding 27. Left-armer Kola Burger dismissed the two in quick succession to make it five for the innings, but Regan West (27) and Kyle McCallan (19) put on 47 for the eighth wicket. Kola's brother, Sarel Burger, took two lower-order wickets.
Set 115, Namibia's hopes of a win were quickly jolted when they were reduced to 31 for 4. Gerrie Snyman top scored with a 14-ball 28 (three fours, two sixes) but Namibia managed just four double-figure stands. The best was the seventh-wicket stand of 27 between Craig Williams and Bjorn Kotze, both of whom scored 16. The tail failed to wag enough to take Namibia to victory; Rankin took 5 for 39 as Ireland sealed the win. Johnston took 2 for 9 off his five overs, while Rankin's new-ball partner Peter Connell had three wickets in his nine, conceding 49.
Ireland now need an outright win, without conceding a lead on the first innings, in their final game, against second-placed Kenya, to qualify for the final. The four-day clash begins on October 11 in Nairobi.
Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | Aban | Pts | Quotient | For | Against |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Namibia | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 1.226 | 3088/122 | 2849/138 |
Kenya | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 96 | 1.367 | 2075/73 | 2079/100 |
Ireland | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 86 | 2.122 | 2494/58 | 1925/95 |
Scotland | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 82 | 1.302 | 1969/69 | 1972/90 |
Netherlands | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0.771 | 3050/128 | 3030/98 |
U.A.E. | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0.787 | 3024/124 | 3129/101 |
Canada | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0.782 | 2814/114 | 3094/98 |
Bermuda | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0.670 | 2883/140 | 3319/108 |