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A magnificent display in the field from Ireland’s bowlers has put Ireland right back into contention for the 2014 Under 19 Cricket World Cup qualification spot at the Pepsi ICC European U19 Division 1 World Cup Qualifier.
Ireland have beaten Jersey by a heavy margin today at VRA in Amstelveen, giving them a chance at qualifying for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup if they beat the currently undefeated Scotland on the final day of the tournament.

Jersey chose to field first after winning the toss but Ireland got off to a steady start, reaching 59-2 in the first 15 overs. James McCollum and Tyrone Kane then put on 60 for the third wicket before McCollum was out for 46. Kane stayed in until the 46th over before he was out for 75, with Ireland scoring 240-8 from their 50 overs.

That total would prove to be beyond Jersey. A 45 run partnership for the fifth wicket between Jonty Jenner and Alexander Cooke was their only real bright spot, and it was Jenner’s wicket that sparked a collapse. That wicket was the first of four wickets that fell inside seven balls for just one run as Jersey collapsed from 76-4 to 77-8, Scott Campbell at one point taking three wickets in an over. They were then bowled out for 84, losing by 156 runs, Campbell finishing with bowling figures of 4-11.

Net Run Rate now holds the key to a spot in the 2014 Under 19 Cricket World Cup for Ireland with the table being tight enough that a relatively large win for Ireland over Scotland in the last match of the series on Thursday would ensure Ireland topping the group.

Scotland have remained unbeaten at the ICC Europe Under-19 Division One Championship today after recording a big win over Guernsey at VOC. Guernsey batted first after winning the toss and after putting on 30 for the first wicket inside the first ten overs, proceeded to lose six wickets for just ten runs in the next 15 overs as they collapsed to 40-6.

A recovery of sorts followed when Jason Martin and James Wilkes-Green put on 61 for the seventh wicket, but they made the only significant contributions to the Guernsey innings with 37 and 34 respectively, and Guernsey were eventually bowled out for 112, Chayank Gosain taking 4-16.

Scotland had little trouble chasing down that target. Umeed led the way with an unbeaten 71 at exactly a run a ball as Scotland won by seven wickets in 28.1 overs.

Ireland will play Scotland on Thursday in a match set to decide who qualifies for the ICC U19 World Cup next year.

The Netherlands bounced back from their recent defeats to record a thoroughly convincing 140 run win against Denmark at Voorburg. Half centuries from Tim de Kok and skipper Joost Kroesen formed the basis of their total of 223 for 8, with excellent support from Sikander Zulfiqar (37) and Saqib Zulfiqar (24).

Mads Henriksen (3-28) had the hosts in early trouble as removed both openers with only 18 on the board, but thereafter The Netherlands middle order was the model of consistency as all made significant contributions. De Kok hit five fours and a six as he top scored with 67 from 83 balls, while Kroesen was once again among the runs, hitting 52 from just 65 balls. In addition to the excellent Henriksen, Mati Malik (2-43) also bowled well for the Danes.

The Danish reply never gathered any momentum with wickets falling at regular intervals. Only Aqeel Amjad (21_ and Saif Ahmad (13) managed double figures – both hitting a solitary boundary – as their side were skittled for just 83, to lose by a huge margin of 140 runs. Vivian Kingma (2-10), Wessel Coster (2-11) and Benjamin Thornton (2-11) did the damage, while the sharp Netherlands fielding also saw them gain three run outs.

Brief scores:

At VRA, Amstelveen: Ireland 240-8, 50 overs (Tyrone Kane 75, James McCollum 46; James Duckett 3-44)
Jersey 84-10, 22.1 overs (Campbell 4-11, Adair 3-17)
Ireland won by 156 runs

At VOC Rotterdam: Guernsey 117-10, 47.3 overs (James Wilkes-Green 34, Jason Martin 37; Chayank Gosain 4-16)
Scotland 119-3, 28.1 overs (Andrew Umeed 71 not out)
Scotland won by 7 wickets

At Voorburg: Netherlands 223-8, 50 overs (Tim de Kok 67, Joost Kroesen 52, Sikander Zulfiqar 39)
Denmark 83-10, 30 overs
Netherlands won by 140 runs

ICC European U19 Division 1 WCQ table (as of August 6)

Rank Team P W L T N/R Pts NRR

1 Scotland 4 4 0 0 0 8 +1.68
2 Ireland 4 3 1 0 0 6 +1.54
3 Netherlands 4 2 2 0 0 4 +0.35
4 Jersey 4 2 2 0 0 4 -0.53
5 Denmark 4 1 3 0 0 2 -1.82
6 Guernsey 4 0 4 0 0 0 -1.32

Cricket Ireland
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