Scotland vs Ireland, ICC Mens T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier 2023, Today Match Prediction 28 July 2023

sct vs ire Match Prediction & Analysis

The ICC Mens T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier is in its last stage. We already have the two qualifiers who are going to battle 18 other teams in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be hosted by West Indies and The United States. And these two qualified teams, Scotland and Ireland are set to conclude the tournament on the final day. The 21st game of the  ICC Mens T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier will be played at Grange Cricket Club, Edinburg on July 28th from 8 pm.

Scotland have remained unbeaten in the tournament with 5 victories. They have registered a 200-plus score thrice so far. In their last game, they beat Denmark by 33 runs. Skipper Richie Berrington scored 60 off 32 balls to guide the home team to 159 in 18 overs. Bradley Currie’s 3 wickets restricted Denmark to 128 for the loss of 7 wickets, hence guiding Scotland to their 5th victory.

On, the other hand, Ireland’s game against Germany got washed out due to rain. The Irish team also enjoys an unbeaten record in the tournament with 4 victories in 5 games. In their last game, they beat Jersey comfortably by 9 wickets. Batting first, Jersey got bowled out to 78 after Brad McCarthy’s 3 wickets for 7. Ireland chased the target in 11 overs to get qualified for the ICC World T20 2024.

In 11 outings between the two, Ireland have 8 victories over Scotland. Out of 8, three have come in the last three games. Who will keep the tag of the unbeaten team in the tournament? I guess, we will find it out on July 28th.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Scotland Preview

Scotland enjoyed the tournament so far with domination in both batting & bowling unit. Their batters collectively scored two centuries and 4 half-centuries in 5 games. While the bowlers took 43 wickets in these 5 games. But they will be facing the toughest opponents now. George Munsey and Ollie Hairs will open the innings. Both openers are the only players to register a hundred in the tournament and are currently leading the batting Chart. Hairs have scored 244 runs with a century and two half-centuries at a strike rate of 219.81. He has hit 17 sixes - the maximum in the tournament which is double than the second in the list. He will be the batter to look out for.

Munsey has 218 runs at a strike rate of 152.44. Skipper Ritchie Berrington at number four has been playing the captain’s knocks throughout the series. In 4 innings, Berrington has scored 194 runs with two half-centuries at a strike rate of 174.77. Scotland’s middle order hasn’t been tested because of the scintillating form from the top order. Michael Leask has shown his capability of hitting in the middle with a strike rate of 189.18. The less exposure of the middle order might come as a hurdle for the home team against Ireland.

Gavin Main will lead the bowling unit with Safyaan Sharif and Bradley Currie. Main has 10 wickets in 5 games at an average of 10.30. Sharrif and Currie have taken 16 wickets with the first one having a better average than the other. Mark Watt will be the fourth bowler for Scotland. Watt has impressed everyone with 7 wickets at an average of 8.42 and the lowest economy of 4.53.

Key Players: George Munsey, Ollie Hairs, Bradley Currie.

Scotland Predicted Playing XI:

George Munsey, Ollie Hairs, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington (c), Tomas Mackintosh (wk), Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Gavin Main, Bradley Currie.

Ireland Preview

Ireland will be high on confidence with 4 wins in 5 games. Their batters didn’t get much chance as the bowlers had bowled out the opponents twice below 100. In fact, Italy was the only team to score more than 150 runs (151) against Ireland. The Irish bowlers have managed to take 37 wickets in 4 innings (92.5%) of the tournament. Mark Adair will be the bowler to look out for as he is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. Adair has 11 wickets at an average of 7.72 - the least among all.  

Andrew Balbirnie and skipper Paul Stirling will open the innings. Balbirnie has scored 104 runs in 3 innings at a strike rate of 120.93. His trike rate against Scotland is above 150 though. But, It will be Stirling who will be the player to watch out for. Though Stirling has scored 101 runs in 4 games at a strike rate of 136.48, He has impressive figures against Scotland. In 6 games, Stirling has scored 256 runs at a strike rate of 161.01 against Scotland with 4 half-centuries. 

Lorcan Tucker leads the batting chart for Ireland with 128 runs in 4 innings at a strike rate of 152.38. But Tucker averages 10.75 against Scotland in 4 innings having scored just 43 runs. Ireland hasn't played Ross Adair after the first game where he scored 46 runs at a strike rate of 191.66. The former Rugby player might get a call in the last game.

Key Players: Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, Mark Adair.

Ireland Predicted Playing XI:

Paul Stirling (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Neil Rock, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Benjamin White.

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be mostly cloudy. The temperature will range between 13 and 21. The wind will be flowing from the west at 10-25 kmh. Morning showers are expected on match day. The pitch at Grange Cricket Club is traditionally known to offer a balanced contest between bat and ball. It tends to have a good covering of grass, providing some assistance to the fast bowlers early on. As the match progresses, the pitch tends to flatten out, offering decent batting conditions, making stroke play easier. 

The outfield at Grange Cricket Club is well-maintained, allowing the ball to race to the boundary quickly. The boundary sizes are relatively large.

Venue Details

The 21st T20I of the ICC Mens T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier between Scotland and Ireland will be played at Grange Cricket Club, Edinburg on July 28th from 8 pm onwards. The venue has a capacity of 5000 spectators and has hosted 20 ODIs & 24 T20Is. New Zealand has recorded the highest total of 254 here while Scotland has the lowest score of 82 while playing against Pakistan.

Toss: To Bat

In 24 T20Is, the results have favored teams defending the target. The team defending the target has won 15 times as compared to 9 while chasing. The team winning the toss should bat first. 4 out of the 6 games played here during this tournament also have been won by the team batting first.