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ICC Trophy semi-finals

Scotland and Ireland to contest final

Cricinfo staff

July 9, 2005

Hosts Ireland will play Scotland in the final of the ICC Trophy on Wednesday (July 13) at Clontarf near Dublin. Ireland defeated Canada by four wickets while Scotland beat Bermuda by six wickets to set up the final between two sides who have never won the tournament.

The final World Cup qualifying slot will be awarded to the team that finishes fifth. Holland and UAE will play off for this spot at Clontarf on Monday after Holland defeated Denmark and UAE overhauled Namibia.

Peter Gillespie and Andrew White hit Ireland to victory in a tense semi-final against Canada. With the run-rate mounting - they required 240 for victory - Gillespie struck a six and a four from consecutive deliveries in the 48th over before White completed the win with a six from the second ball of the final over. White, who was also at the crease when Ireland beat West Indies and Surrey, finished 28 not out while Man-of-the-Match Gillespie was unbeaten on 64.

Jeremy Bray failed to make a mark at his home club. He was out for 10 with the score on 12. Eoin Morgan followed 29 runs later for 20 and, though captain Jason Mollin made a personal tournament best of 44, Ireland were pegged back to 106 for 5. Trent Johnson led the recovery but when he was caught in the deep for 44 to become Kevin Sander's third victim, Ireland were left needing a run a ball with only four wickets in hand. Gillespie and White, though, held their nerve.

In the other semi, Bermuda elected to bat against Scotland at The Hills, but they struggled to 26 for 3. Scotland's leading wicket-taker Paul Hoffman was the spearhead as only Albert Steede of Bermuda's top seven batsmen made double figures. Bermuda's innings was rescued by the controlled hitting of Dean Minors and Lionel Cann. When Cann joined Minors at the crease Bermuda were heading for humiliation at 88 for 7, but he struck 45 from 38 balls for Cann, while Minors added an unbeaten 53 to lift the surprise semi-finalists to 219 for 9.

Scotland had a shaky start to their reply, at 52 for 3. The Scottish batting line-up, though, has strength in depth and Gavin Hamilton and Cedric English found their form at an opportune time. Both Hamilton and English made their first half-centuries of the tournament to shepherd Scotland to safety. Hamilton was caught out for 59 but English remained unbeaten on 75 as Scotland won by six wickets.

Holland moved to within one match of the World Cup finals by thrashing Denmark by 89 runs. The Dutch were unlucky to miss out on automatic qualification from Group B but bounced back with determination. Bas Zuiderent and Dan van Bunge both hit centuries as Holland amassed 314 for 6 in 50 overs. Denmark did not get close in their reply and were bowled out in the final over for 225.

UAE ended Namibia's dream of a second consecutive appearance at the World Cup. Gerrie Snyman contributed 82 not out to a competitive target of 240 for 7, but UAE produced their best batting performance of the tournament to reach the target with 18 balls to spare. Syed Maqsood (84) and Khuram Khan (92) were the key men for UAE.

In the play-off matches for ninth to 12th place, USA picked up their first victory of the tournament in beating Papua New Guinea by eight wickets and Oman beat Uganda by six runs.