Curtis Campher snags four in four as Ireland thump Netherlands

Curtis Campher's four wickets in four balls headlined Ireland's drubbing of Netherlands in Abu Dhabi. Campher, who was playing only his fifth T20I, emulated T20 legends Lasith Malinga and Rashid Khan when he picked off Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards and Roelof van der Merwe off successive balls, in the tenth over. At that point, Netherlands were 51 for 6 and there would be no way back for them from that abyss. Pieter Seelar's men will now have to almost certainly topple Sri Lanka if they are to qualify for the Super 12s.

It was Mark Adair and Josh Little who had set the scene for Campher's feat with their constricting lines and lengths in the powerplay. Adair made his presence felt in the death, too, finishing with 3 for 9 in his four overs.

Opener Max O'Dowd added a semblance of respectability to Netherlands' innings, with 51 off 47 balls, but only one result seemed possible and that was Ireland winning big.

After choosing to bat, Netherlands lost Ben Cooper to an awful mix-up in the very first over. Bas de Leede and O'Dowd tried to get a move on by manufacturing swinging room and shots. de Leede successfully jumped down the track and belted Little for four in the fifth over, but next ball the left-arm seamer knocked out the leg stump with a skiddy full-toss. Adair gave up only two runs in his first two overs as Netherlands tiptoed to 25 for 2 in the powerplay.

Campher began his shift with a 12-run first-over - two wide half-trackers that were duly put away to the boundary. He, however, came back to break Netherlands' middle order with a stunning sequence. When he sent a short ball down the leg side, Colin Ackermann was late onto a pull, nicking behind to keeper Neil Rock. He immediately shifted his line and length, going fuller and straighter to pin Ryan ten Doeschate and Scott Edwards lbw in similar fashion. Three in three became four in four when Roelof van der Merwe threw his hands at a wide ball only to drag it back onto his stumps. The celebrations that followed were understated much like his military mediums.

Dowd tucked into the spin of Simi Singh and Ben White, taking 32 off 23 balls from them. He notched up his seventh T20I fifty before Adair tricked him with an in-to-the-pitch cutter. Quite fittingly, Adair and Campher combined for the last wicket, that of No. 11 Brandon Glover, dismissing Netherlands for 106.

Glover and Fred Klaassen struck early in the chase to remove Kevin O'Brien (9) and captain Andy Balbirnie (8). With the Netherlands seamers gleaning some sharp bounce, Paul Stirling, who is usually a powerful ball-striker in the powerplay, held himself back and forged a 59-run stand that was dominated by Gareth Delany.

Delany, who had clattered an unbeaten 88 off 50 balls against Bangladesh in a warm-up fixture at the same venue last week, continued his fine form, scoring 44 off 29 balls. He was particularly strong against spin, often picking the length early and playing late. Delany was bowled by Seelar at the doorstep of victory, but Stirling and Campher, who had set it up for Ireland, finished it off with seven wickets and almost five overs to spare.

After suffering heartbreaking defeats to Netherlands in 2014 in Sylhet and then in 2016 in Dharamsala, Ireland finally found joy in Abu Dhabi.