Irish have the Dutch

IRELAND’S cricketers got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a good start with a commanding win over Holland in a rainaffected match in Harare.

The top order carried Ireland to 268 for seven from their 50 overs, with Andrew Balbirnie (68), Niall O’brien (49), Will Porterfield (47) and Ed Joyce (32) leading the way.

A rain delay left Holland with a revised target of 243 from 41 overs but only one of their top six batsmen reached 20.

Tim Murtagh took three for 28 as the Dutch were dismissed for 149 in 32.3 overs, losing by 93 runs under the Duckworth-lewis method.

Next up for Ireland is a game against Papua New Guinea tomorrow.