Cricket: Irish make light work of beating Oman

GARY Wilson’s unbeaten half-century steered Ireland to a comfortable win over Oman in their ICC World Twenty20 qualifier in Abu Dhabi.

Ireland had already assured themselves of a place in the play-off stages of the competition on Monday with a heavy win over Uganda and followed it up yesterday with a 44-run win. The Irish made a total of 160 for five from their 20 overs, Wilson hitting 52 from 38 balls which included three sixes, with Paul Stirling (35) and Kevin O’Brien (32) also chipping in. In reply, Oman only reached a score of 116 for six from their allotted overs despite Jatinder Singh top-scoring with an unbeaten knock of 56. Boyd Rankin trapped Zeeshan Siddiqui leg-before for two runs in the third over, before Max Sorensen (two for 20) and O’Brien (two for 29) did the damage.

Meanwhile, in Group A Afghanistan beat Bermuda by 15 runs to remain undefeated and book their place in the play-offs. Afghanistan, who won the tournament in 2010, will play Namibia after they beat Italy by 27 runs to remain undefeated in Group B. The Netherlands finished runner-up in Group A after defeating Hong Kong by 38 runs. Canada beat Nepal by 18 runs for the third and final play-off spot in Group A.