Scotland, Netherlands women qualify for T20 WC Global Qualifier

Scotland and Netherlands have qualified for the Global Qualifier for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup after they won their respective final matches of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier at the Desert Springs Cricket Ground in Almeria, Spain.

Scotland, who hammered France by 155 runs, finished first due to better net run rate over Netherlands, who trumped Italy by six wickets, and were the runners-up.

Right-handed batter Kathryn Bryce (53 off 31 balls) and wicketkeeper-batter Ailsa Lister (68 off 36 balls), who bats right-handed, scored half-centuries to take Scotland to a challenging 204/4 in their 20 overs.  

France were dismissed for a paltry 49 with only Amy Seddon and Anika Bester getting into double figures with 16 and 11 respectively.

Medium-pacer bowler Priyanaz Chatterji (3/7) and off-spinner Darcey Carter (3/14) were the pick of the Scottish bowlers.

“We were delighted last night to officially qualify for the global qualifiers, but we knew we wanted to win this tournament, so to come out here and put in a big performance like that was fantastic,” Kathryn was quoted as saying Cricket Scotland.

“Darcey was brilliant at the top; we had a big partnership to set the innings up for Ailsa to go in at the back end and just go for it, and she hit some great shots around the ground out there,” she added.

“To have someone like that (Ailsa Lister) who has the power to clear the ropes is invaluable in a team, and it’s really exciting to have her coming through and show everyone what she’s capable of.”

In the Italy-Netherlands match, the Azzurri women were dismissed for just 78.

The 18-year-old right-hander Regina Suddahazai Khan (21) and 29-year-old Emilia Bartram (20) were the top-scorers as the Dutch women kept a tight leash over their opponents.

Dutch right-arm medium-pace bowling all-rounder Iris Zwilling, who was nominated for the ICC Women Player of the Month for August, started well with 1/5 in four overs. Right-arm all-rounder Robine Rijke, who turned 27 a fortnight ago, was the pick of the bowlers with 2/14.  

In response, the Dutch women reached the total in 10.3 overs, losing just four wickets.

Robine (36 off 19) and Iris (31 off 32) were the top-scorers. Both were run out.

Thailand and UAE have progressed to the Global Qualifier from the Asia Zone.

Cricket, Netherlands, Scotland, Qualifier, World Cup