Scotland hold off Ireland to register second win of the tournament

Ireland suffered their second loss in two days, this time succumbing to Scotland by 11 runs in their third round match of the Women’s T20I Quadrangular tournament at Sportpark Het Schootsveld in Deventer on Saturday (August 10). A collective effort from their bowlers, led by Rachel Scholes, the right-arm seamer who finished with incredible figures of 4-0-11-0, helped Scotland successfully defend 105.

Having elected to bat in overcast conditions, Scotland were pegged back early by the off-spin of Eimear Richardson. The 32-year-old, who has so far been very successful in her comeback series, removed Sarah Bryce in the second over of the innings for a run-a-ball eight.

Rebecca Glen didn’t last much longer as she was dismissed in the sixth over for another score of eight. Within the power play, Scotland had been reduced to 24 for 2 and were in desperate need of a partnership.

Lorna Jack and Priyanaz Chatterji kept the scoreboard moving as they stitched together a 44-run stand for the third wicket. The pair batted out eight overs before the latter fell for a run-a-ball 20, caught and bowled by Lara Maritz.

Scholes walked in at the fall of the third wicket and found the boundary almost immediately, but once again, it was Richardson who put the breaks on Scotland’s scoring. The off-spinner picked up two wickets in the 16th over, removing Scholes and Ruth Willis within the space of three balls. Scotland had stuttered to 80 for 6 in 16 overs and were looking for something special to keep them afloat.

Jack struggled through the innings, scoring a laboured 55-ball 32. Although she attempted to pick up the scoring rate at the back end of the innings she was unable to get ahold of the Irish bowlers, managing only one boundary through her knock. She was finally dismissed by Laura Delany in the 19th over. Ellen Watson’s unbeaten knock of 12 carried Scotland over the 100-run mark, and provided the bowlers with something to defend.

For Ireland, Richardson (3-14) and Maritz (2-14) were the most successful bowlers.

As has been their habit through this series, Ireland lost their first wicket early— this time Leah Paul was dismissed by Chatterji in the second over. Kim Garth, in her comeback match, joined Gaby Lewis in the middle and the two attempted to keep the chase afloat. Lewis was her usual aggressive self, while Garth appeared more circumspect. They collected 25 runs in 23 balls before the former was run out for 14.

Una Raymond-Hoey batted out a little over six overs alongside Garth and the pair collected 30 runs together. However, with Raymond-Hoey eating up deliveries at one end, Garth fell for 30 to Katherine Fraser while trying to up the ante. Her dismissal in the 12th over with Ireland on 60, marked the beginning of a very slow period for Ireland. Scotland’s bowlers tightened the screws, keeping Raymond-Hoey and Delany relatively quiet. The pair scored only 18 runs in the the next 6.2 overs thanks mostly to the former’s painfully slow 36-ball 17.

With Ireland needing 27 off 12 balls, it certainly looked like an uphill task. Delany was unable to find the middle of the bat, while the new batters also found it hard to time in the ball.

In the end, Ireland managed to score only 15 of the remaining runs while also losing three additional wicket. Eventually, a late burst from Delany, who scored a valiant 24, meant Ireland finished on 94 for 7, suffering their second loss of the series.

Brief Scores: Scotland 105/6 in 20 overs (Lorna Jack 32, Priyanaz Chatterji 20; Eimear Richardson 3-14, Lara Maritz 2-14) beat Ireland 94/7 in 20 overs (Kim Garth 30, Laura Delany 24) by 11 runs.