Ireland face old foes in qualifier

CRICKET NEWS IRELAND WILL take on old foes Scotland in their opening game of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast at the start of August. Phil Simmons's side have been seeded number one, based on their one-day ranking, and will also take on Bermuda in their other Group A fixture.

Group B consists of Kenya, the Netherlands and Canada, with teams playing a round-robin format with the top two in each group making the semi-finals. The two finalists from the six-team tournament will qualify for the T20 World Cup, which will take place at Lord's, the Oval and Trent Bridge next June.

All nine games will take place at the Civil Service grounds at Stormont, with Kenya and the Netherlands opening proceedings on August 2nd. Ireland face Scotland in the second clash at 1pm, with their game against Bermuda scheduled for 4.30pm on August 3rd. The semi-finals and finals take place on August 4th.

Simmons has named nine full internationals in a strong Ireland A side for their three-day clash against Bangladesh A at College Park at the end of the month. Clontarf all-rounder Andrew Poynter and opening bowler Peter Connell are the two yet to play at senior international level.

ICC WORLD TWENTY20 QUALIFIER GROUPINGS (seedings in brackets based on ODI rankings as at February 2nd, 2008): Group A: Ireland (1), Scotland (3), Bermuda (6). Group B: Kenya (2), Netherlands (4), Canada (5).

SCHEDULE (all games take place at Stormont): August 2nd: Group B: Kenya v Netherlands, 9.30. Group A: Ireland v Scotland, 1.0. Group B: Netherlands v Canada, 4.30. August 3rd: Group B: Scotland v Bermuda, 9.30. Group A: Kenya v Canada, 1.0. Group B: Ireland v Bermuda, 4.30. Monday August 4th: Semi-final 1: Group A winner v Group B runner-up, 9.30. Semi-final 2: Group B winner v Group A runner-up, 1.0. Final, 4.30. August 5th: Reserve day.

IRELAND A (v Bangladesh A, College Park, Dublin, June 23-25): K O'Brien (Railway Union, Capt), P Connell (North Down), P Eaglestone (Strabane), R Haire (North Down), J Hall (Waringstown), G Kidd (Waringstown), F McAllister (Rush, wkts), A Poynter (Clontarf), P Stirling (Cliftonville), R Strydom (North County), G Thompson (Lisburn). 12th Man: S Getkate (Malahide).

Other games: June 27th - Twenty20: Ireland v Bangladesh A , Eglinton. June 29th - One-Day: Ireland v Bangladesh A , Bangor. July 1st - One-Day: Ireland A v Bangladesh A, Stormont.