Ireland has secured a place in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup after defeating Hong Kong by 93 runs in Toronto on Tuesday.
Captain Andrew Balbirnie hit 70, along with James Shannon’s 68 not out, helping Ireland post a competitive score of 252-7 off 50 overs.
‘It’s huge for us to qualify, particularly when we have got two games of our campaign still in hand,’ said Balbirnie.
In its target chase, Hong Kong was bowled out for 159 with George Dockrell taking 6-19 and Liam Nelson bagging 4-30 as only Ashish Gadhia (58) put up any resistance with the bat.
‘Now the aim is to move on and win the tournament and I think we can do that as we have done really well here, apart from the loss to the USA,’ said Balbirnie.
Balbirnie believed his side was capable of having an impact at the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup and also paid tribute to senior coach Phil Simmons, who has been in Toronto during the tournament to watch matches.
‘Our aim is to beat a Test playing nation at the World Cup. We know it will be a big task as we know how good players from those countries are.
‘It’s been really good to have Phil here as he is an experienced coach and player. He has been talking to us one on one to help improve our games and it has been great for him to be here,’ said Balbirnie.
Score summary:
Ireland 252-7, 50 overs (Balbirnie 70, Nelson 68 not out)
Hong Kong 159 all out, 45.4 overs (Ashish Gadhia 58, George Dockrell 6-19, Liam Nelson 4-30)
Ireland won by 93 runs
Fixture for Thursday 10 September:
Ireland v Uganda
