Amstelveen, March 29 (IANS): With an eye on the Men’s T20 World Cup, to be held from June 1-29 in West Indies and USA, minnows Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands will play a tri-series in the shortest format as part of their preparation for the mega event.
The tri-series will see the three countries play against each other twice at the VRA ground in Amstelveen from May 18-24. The Netherlands, which like Scotland have participated in the Men’s T20 World Cup five times, made it to the Super-12 and finished in eighth place in the 2022 edition of the tournament.
"We are excited to host this Tri-Series as part of our preparation for the T20 World Cup played in America and the West Indies in June.”
“Twenty teams will be competing in this year’s event which makes this World Cup a truly global event, with more than a billion TV viewers worldwide. The Netherlands team will be aiming to emulate the success they had in Australia in 2022,” said Roland Lefebvre, High-Performance Manager, KNCB.
Ireland have taken part in the Men’s T20 World Cup seven times. In 2009 it reached the Super-8 phase while making it to the Super-12s in 2022. Scotland's best performance in the tournament has been reaching the Super-12s in 2021.
“With the Men’s T20 World Cup approaching, it has been important to have a solid preparation period in the leadup. With the Afghan series in March, Pakistan in early May, and now the Netherlands and Scotland in late May we feel this offers the squad a range of high-quality opponents, which will put us in good stead for the coming tournament. Our thanks to the KNCB for hosting the series,” said Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director, Cricket Ireland.
The tri-series, which will be live-streamed by the European Cricket Network (ECN) with six cameras, is sandwiched between Scotland’s ICC Cricket World Cup League Two series against Oman and Namibia at home, and their departure for the Caribbean to participate in the Men’s T20 World Cup on May 26.
Scotland's most recent T20 meeting with the Netherlands was a warmup fixture in Melbourne ahead of the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup, a match they won by 18 runs. Scotland then beat Ireland by eight runs at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in Edinburgh last July to secure first place in the qualification process for this year's tournament.
“I’m pleased with the quality and volume of cricket we have in the leadup to the Men’s T20 World Cup, and this Tri-Series offers further vital preparation and crucial game time for our squad.”
“Coming immediately after a home CWCL2 series, it’s important that our players take on high-quality opposition in the relevant format ahead of the World Cup, and we are most grateful to the Netherlands and Ireland for jointly working with us on this series,” said Steve Snell, Cricket Scotland's Head of High Performance.
Tri-series schedule
May 18, Netherlands vs Scotland
May 19, Ireland vs Netherlands
May 20, Ireland vs Scotland
May 22, Scotland vs Netherlands
May 23, Ireland vs Scotland
May 24, Ireland vs Netherlands