IRELAND EARNED AUTOMATIC qualification for next year’s ICC World Twenty finals with a 85-run victory over Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi today.
Man-of-the-match Paul Sterling scored 77, the second best score from an Irish player in T20 cricket, as the Group A leaders recorded a 207-4 with their opponents all out for 122.
“I’m pleased on a personal level to do so well with the bat and ball,” Sterling said afterwards.
“But at the end of the day today was all about qualifying for the World Cup and we did that, we achieved it and we’ll take three or four days off until the semi-final.”
Ireland will now take on the winners of The Netherlands and UAE in the semi-finals on Friday.
IRELAND: 207-4 (20 overs, P Stirling 77, K O’Brien 62*, W Porterfield 38, Nizakat Khan 2-26)HONG KONG: 122 all out (17.1 overs, J Atkinson 48, P Stirling 4-10, G Dockrell 2-18)
