Balbirnie fifty helps Ireland beat Netherlands

Ireland 268 for 7 (Balbirnie 68, N O'Brien 49, van der Gugten 3-59) beat Netherlands (Murtagh 3-28, Rankin 2-19) by 93 runs (D/L method)

Harare: Ireland made a winning start to the World Cup Qualifier tournament with a 93-run victory over Netherlands at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

Andrew Balbirnie's 68 helped the Irish to a 268-7 total in Harare along with contributions from Niall O'Brien (49) and William Porterfield (47).

A rain delay left the Dutch with a revised target of 243 from 41 overs.

Netherlands were easily dismissed for 149 in 32.3 overs with Scott Edwards top scoring on 26 while Tim Murtagh took 3-28 and Boyd Rankin 2-19.

Timm van der Gugten was the best of the Dutch bowlers with 3-59 but Ireland made steady progress including a 101-run partnership between Balbirnie and Niall O'Brien.

Ireland are back in action on Tuesday against Papua New Guinea, who were beaten by 56 runs (D/L) by United Arab Emirates in the other Group A game on Sunday.

The top three in each of the two groups progress to a Super Six competition, from which two will go through to the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.

Scores	Upcoming	Results
No games being played at this time. 1st Test - Bangladesh v Zimbabwe - April 20-24, 04:00 GMT 2nd Test - Bangladesh v Zimbabwe - April 28-02, 04:00 GMT 3rd ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan at New Zealand won by 43 runs 2nd ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan at New Zealand won by 84 runs

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