Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker hit fifties as Ireland recorded a five-wicket victory over Scotland to guarantee top spot in the tri-series ahead of the T20 World Cup.
After Ireland were set 158 for victory at The Hague, Balbirnie shared stands of 66 with fellow opener Paul Stirling (32) and 65 with Tucker to break the back of the chase.
While Balbirnie was dismissed for 56, one of three wickets to fall to seamer Chris Sole, and Tucker was run out for 55 when the scores were level in the final over, Gareth Delany clipped the next ball for a single to secure Ireland’s win with three deliveries to spare.
Earlier, Craig Young and Mark Adair took three wickets apiece as Scotland were restricted to 157 for eight in their final tune-up before heading to the Caribbean for the T20 World Cup.
After Scotland slipped to 65 for four, Matthew Cross (35) and Michael Leask (34) got them up to a competitive score after Michael Jones had contributed a breezy 23 off 12 deliveries.
The tri-series finishes on Friday as Ireland face the Netherlands, who are unable to catch Stirling’s side but could leapfrog Scotland to claim second spot with victory at Sportpark Westvliet.
The top-12 teams in ICC’s official world rankings by the end of the upcoming World Cup will likely qualify for 2026 and Ireland, currently 11th, have now opened up further daylight between themselves and both Scotland in 13th and Netherlands in 15th.
