Netherlands to host Ireland and Scotland for a tri-series ahead of T20 World Cup
By Jahanzaib S Qureshi
All matches will be held at the VRA ground in Amstelveen, where each team will play against every other team twice as part of the preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Ireland and Scotland are set to tour the Netherlands for a tri-nation T20I series in May, prior to the marquee event which commences on 1 June.
The series will be played from 18 to 24 May in Amstelveen before the teams head to the USA and the West Indies for the T20 World Cup carnival.
At the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022 in Australia, all three teams featured in the first round of matches, which was divided into two groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group progressed to the Super 12s, however, Scotland failed to qualify after finishing third in Group B.
Ireland clinched a victory over the eventual champions England by a margin of five runs on the DLS method. Meanwhile, the Netherlands won two matches, including a famous triumph that eliminated South Africa from the tournament.
All three nations’ High Performance officials expressed the significance of this assignment, noting its role in refining their preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Roland Lefebvre, High Performance Manager KNCB said: “We are excited to host this Tri-Series as part of our preparation for the T20 World Cup played in America and the West Indies in June. Twenty teams will be competing in this year’s event which makes this World Cup a truly global event, with more than a billion TV viewers worldwide. The Netherlands team will be aiming to emulate the success they had in Australia in 2022.”
Steve Snell, Cricket Scotland Head of High Performance, emphasised on the importance of the series in the lead up to the World Cup. “I’m pleased with the quality and volume of cricket we have in the leadup to the Men’s T20 World Cup, and this Tri-Series offers further vital preparation and crucial game time for our squad. Coming immediately after a home WCL2 series, it’s important that our players take on high quality opposition in the relevant format ahead of the World Cup, and we are most grateful to the Netherlands and Ireland for jointly working with us on this series.”
Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director Cricket Ireland, also shared similar sentiments. “With the Men’s T20 World Cup approaching, it has been important to have a solid preparation period in the leadup. With the Afghan series in March, Pakistan in early May and now Netherlands and Scotland in late May we feel this offers the squad a range of high quality opponents, which will put us in good stead for the coming tournament. Our thanks to the KNCB for hosting the series.”
Fixtures:
18 May 2024: 1st T20I, Netherlands vs Scotland
19 May 2024: 2nd T20I, Ireland vs Netherlands
20 May 2024: 3rd T20I, Ireland vs Scotland
22 May 2024: 4th T20I, Scotland vs Netherlands
23 May 2024: 5th T20I, Ireland vs Scotland
24 May 2024: 6th T20I, Ireland vs Scotland
