Ireland A retain European title

Ireland retained the European A Championship after a convincing 78 run win over Scotland in Amsterdam.

Batting first, Ireland got their innings off to an explosive start with some big hitting from Reindhardt Strydom. The talented left hander reached his 50 in just 29 balls, sharing in a 64 run stand in 10 overs with Andrew Balbirnie, who contributed just four.

Strydom was joined in the big hitting by number three batsman Paul Stirling, who launched his innings with a huge straight six, followed by a powerfully driven four.

Strydom was eventually dismissed for 64, made from just 40 deliveries, a knock which contained 12 fours and a six.

Paul Stirling's dismissal for 35 saw Ireland collapse from 125 for 3 at the half-way stage, to a disappointing 198 all out in 47.2 overs.

Only Nigel Jones with Fintan McAllister, who both scored 21, and Shane Getkate (19) producing any contributions of note. The pick of the Scottish bowlers was Zeeshan Bashir, who had the excellent analysis of four for 26.

Scotland's reply was an effort that saw wickets fall regularly, with the Irish bowlers never letting them get a hand on the game.

Matthew Parker top scored for Scotland with 30, and Omer Hussain scored 29, but aside from those two, nobody in the Scottish line-up got a start.

Gary Kidd wasn't as effective as his phenomenal performance on Wednesday, going for an expensive 43 from his ten overs, but Balbirne bowled brilliantly, more than making up for his failure with the bat by taking 4-21 from his seven overs, after starting with a double wicket maiden.

The final two wickets were taken by Andrew Britton (2-17), sparking well deserved celebrations in the Irish camp as they finished unbeaten to retain their title. Scotland finished third in the tournament after the Netherlands beat Denmark by 42 runs at VOC Rotterdam to secure the runners-up spot.

At VRA Amsterdam, Ireland A beat Scotland A by 78 runs.

Ireland A 198 (47.2 overs, R Strydom 64, P Stirling 35, N Jones 21, F McAllister 21, S Getkate 19, Z Bashir 4-26)

Scotland A 120 (32.2 overs, M Parker 30, O Hussain 29, A Balbirnie 4-17, A Britton 2-17, S Getkate 1-16, P Eaglestone 1-19, G Kidd 1-43)