Kathryn Bryce’s all-round show helps Scotland Women qualify for maiden T20 World Cup

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Ireland lost two wickets in the first over of their innings, and never recovered thereafter

Scotland celebrate after qualifying for their maiden T20 World Cup  •  ICC/Getty Images

Scotland 112 for 2 (McColl 50, Bryce 35*, Kelly 2-28) beat Ireland 110 for 9 (Paul 45, Bryce 4-8, Slater 3-32) by eight wickets

An all-round show by captain Kathryn Bryce helped Scotland Women make history as they qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup, beating Ireland in the first semi-final of the qualifiers on Sunday. Bryce first bagged 4 for 8 with the ball and followed that up with 35* with the bat, as Scotland restricted Ireland to 110, and chased the target down with 22 balls to spare.

The win helped Scotland book one of the two remaining slots for the World Cup proper in Bangladesh in October.

Ireland won the toss and batted first in Abu Dhabi, but the day belonged to Bryce. The right-arm medium-pacer struck twice in the first over of the day, removing both of Ireland’s openers for ducks. Ireland never recovered from those early blows, as they were then reduced to 25 for 5 at the start of the seventh over. By then, Bryce had already completed her four-wicket haul.

Leah Paul and Rebecca Stokell added 22 for the sixth wicket, but even that recovery was halted when Abtaha Maqsood got Stokell for 8. Paul and Arlene Kelly then put on a 60-stand to take Ireland’s total past hundred. Kelly hit 35 from 27 balls, while Paul was dismissed for 45 in the last over.

In the chase, Scotland openers Megan McColl and Saskia Horley started with a 49-run partnership, but McColl was the more dominant partner. Horley had scored only 10 when she fell to Kelly in the eighth over, by which time McColl had moved to 29.

That is when Bryce joined McColl for a stand worth 49. The first three overs of their union produced 27 runs, which included three boundaries from Bryce, and a six from McColl. Both batters kept Scotland ticking steadily in the middle overs, with McColl getting to her half-century in the 15th over.

But she fell immediately after to Kelly. By then, Scotland needed only 13 from the remaining 33 balls. Bryce helped Scotland finish the job, hitting a boundary to finish the proceedings.