Ireland qualify for 2011 World Cup

Ireland beat the Netherlands by six wickets in Pretoria on Wednesday to clinch a second consecutive appearance at the World Cup.

The Dutch were all out for 222 at LC de Villiers Oval and captain William Porterfield made 78 and Eoin Morgan 76 as the Irish reached 226-4 with 5.3 overs to spare.

Victory moved the Irish to the top of the 2011 World Cup Qualifier Super 8 table with 10 points and beneath them the other seven contenders still have a mathematical chance of filling the three remaining places.

United Arab Emirates pulled off a shock five-wicket win over Canada, minnows Afghanistan defeated Scotland by 42 runs and Namibia hammered Kenya by 201 runs on a day when the bottom three countries triumphed.

Canada remain best placed with eight points, Kenya, Netherlands and UAE have six each and Namibia, Afghanistan and Scotland four apiece entering the final round of matches on Friday.

With just two points separating six teams, net run rate could come into play before it is known which three countries accompany Ireland to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the ODI showpiece.

"We are obviously delighted to have achieved our primary objective which was to qualify for the World Cup," Irish manager Roy Torrens told AFP. "Our batting and fielding have been outstanding throughout this tournament and our bowlers have always given us fair targets to chase like today against the Dutch. "Captain William Porterfield has set a wonderful example in the field. I rate him among the best in the world and his exploits rub off on the rest of the squad."

Opener Alexei Kervezee was the only Dutch batsman to trouble the Irish attack, scoring 77 off 112 balls during a knock spiced with two sixes and six fours.

Alex Cusack took three Dutch wickets for 26 runs in six overs and Boyd Rankin also claimed three while conceding 48 runs in 10 overs. Peter Connell (two), Regan West and Trent Johnston were the other Irish wicket takers.

Opener Porterfield scored his runs off 105 balls before being run out by Tom de Grooth and Morgan sped to his total off 62 balls, including four sixes and five fours.

With the teams tied on 222, Kevin O'Brien struck the winning four and sealed a return to the World Cup for Ireland, who shocked top-tier nations Bangladesh and Pakistan at the last tournament in 2007. JOHANNESBURG, AFP