Ireland defeat Scotland with ease

Ireland made it two-from-two in the Group Stage of the World T20 Qualifier, completing a comfortable victory over Scotland Women by 9 wickets in Amstelveen.

Ireland captain Laura Delany won the toss for the second consecutive match and again chose to make first use of the ball. The first wicket fell in the 6th over, when Lucy O'Reilly struck with her first ball, having opener Lorna Jack caught by Delany for 7. With the score at just 15, the Scots had sisters Sarah and Kathryn Bryce to get the innings back on track, but the miserly bowling continued and runs came hard for the Scots.

A second wicket fell with the score on 63, when Skipper Delany removed Kathryn Bryce for 12, but with the score at just 63-2 in the 14th over the Scots looked like they would have to defend a relatively low total. They finished on 98-2 from 20 overs, with Sarah Bryce one run short of a maiden half-century, stranded on 49* off 55 balls (two fours).

All six Irish bowlers performed well and kept the run rate in check. One highly encouraging sign for the Irish side was the return to the bowling crease of Kim Garth, who has gradually been nursed back to health after suffering an injury in Australia.

Requiring 99 for victory, the Irish set about the run-chase with confidence. Yesterday's Player of the Match, Clare Shillington, once more starred with the bat reaching 47 from 39 balls (four fours) and fell just before the victory target was achieved. Shillington combined with Cecelia Joyce (35* off 47 balls; three fours) in a record-breaking first wicket partnership of 90 for Ireland in T20 Internationals.

Victory was achieved just nine balls later, and the Ireland total of 99-1 also represented the second best victory margin by wickets for Ireland in this form of the game.

Clare Shillington was named Player of the Match for the second consecutive match.

Ireland's final group match is on Tuesday against Uganda, who bounced back from a thrashing by Scotland to beat Thailand today and keep their hopes of progress alive.