Ireland seal World Cup berth

Ireland booked their place in the 2011 World Cup after a clinical six-wicket victory over Netherlands in Pretoria. After opting to field, Ireland's seamers struck regularly to prevent any of the partnerships between Netherlands' batsmen from reaching threatening proportions. Opener Alexei Kervezee anchored the innings with a patient 77, and Netherlands had a solid platform to take off from as they progressed to 163 for 4. Kervezee was then stumped, but quick 20s from Peter Borren and Tom de Grooth lifted them to 222. Ireland were never in trouble during their chase after their openers provided a steady beginning. The stand ended on 60 when Gary Wilson was caught behind, but 70s from William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan put them on track for a comfortable victory, which was acheived in the 45th over.

"We are obviously delighted to have achieved our primary objective which was to qualify for the World Cup," Ireland manager Roy Torrens told AFP. "Now we must maintain the momentum and win the final on Sunday. We loved every minute of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies and everyone has worked so hard to reach the finals again.

"Our batting and fielding have been outstanding throughout this tournament and our bowlers have always given us fair targets to chase like today against the Dutch. Captain William Porterfield has set a wonderful example in the field. I rate him among the best in the world and his exploits rub off on the rest of the squad."

UAE kept their chances of making the semi-finals of the World Cup Qualifiers alive by beating Canada by five wickets and 112 balls to spare in Krugersdorp. The win also gave them a chance of finishing in the top six in the Super Eight, which will give them ODI status for the next four years. Canada made a sound start after choosing to bat, reaching 95 for 1 in the 20th over before they collapsed. Sandeep Jyoti was their top-scorer with 43 as they folded for 194. Saqib Ali was UAE's best bowler with 3 for 20. Canada were given a powerful start by opener Amjad Javed who smashed 40 off 23 balls. The middle-order batsmen made useful contributions and Khurram Khan scored an unbeaten half-century to lead his team to victory in the 32nd over.

Kenya slumped to a humiliating 201-run defeat against Namibia, who started the day at the bottom of the table, in Johannesburg. Kenya never recovered from the punishing start Namibia got from their openers, Raymond van Schoor and Jan-Berrie Berger. The pair put on 191 in 31 overs before Berger was dismissed for a whirlwind 125. van Schoor fell soon after for a more measured 61, and Kenya managed to pull things back to an extent by bowling out Namibia for 305. Kenya made a bright start, racing to 27 after 3.1 overs, but a slew of strikes from Namibia's new-ball bowlers, Gerry Synman and Louis Klazinga, reduced them to 51 for 5 after 10 overs. That effectively ended their chances, and they barely managed to get the total to triple-digits before folding in the 30th over.

Click here for Will Luke's bulletin for the match between Afghanistan and Scotland in Benoni.