T20 World Cup 2021: Preview of Qualifying round Group A teams - Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia

In the Group A of the qualifying round of the T20 World Cup 2021, Sri Lanka will be up against Ireland, the Netherlands, and Namibia, who have all made it till here on the back of some strong performances. In this piece, we will be looking at their performances in T20, what would be their expectations, and how they shape up ahead of the mega event.

Ireland: 

The Irish team has gone from strength to strength in the last few years and has really evolved as a T20 team. They have some experienced pros such as Paul Stirling, George Dockrell, Andrew Balbirnie, and Kevin O’Brien. Apart from them, there are a few young guns who have a brilliant understanding as far as the shortest format is concerned. 

Last time Ireland had failed to qualify for the main round of the tournament, but this time under the leadership of Balbirnie, the squad looks much better. There is an issue of inconsistency that this unit possesses. They got wins in the warm-up matches against Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea, but at the same time, lost a few T20Is against the United Arab Emirates right before that. Before arriving in the middle east, they won a T20I series against Zimbabwe at home. 

As far as the adaptability and flexibility of this squad are concerned, it is safe to say there is enough in store. There are a bunch of all-rounders in this squad, which provide a great balance to the side. Most importantly, the style of the bowling of a lot of their bowlers (medium pace and spin) might just suit them in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. 

Probable finish: 2nd in Group A, qualification to the main round and not any further.

Netherlands

The Dutch team has a unique ability to catch teams off-guard, especially in the T20 format. In the 2014 edition, they shocked Ireland and entered the main round, where they defeated England. They can fall apart on a bad day, but also have the ability to knock their oppositions on their day. The only problem for them as a unit is the fact that they haven’t played a lot of cricket in recent times. 

Their last outing as a T20 team before this tournament was in Nepal where they lost a final of a tri-nation series that also involved Malaysia. They lost a warm-up match of the T20 World Cup against Scotland but came back to defeat Oman by just four runs in the second game. What works in their favor is their experiences on the UAE pitches. 

In 2019, they won the ICC T20 World Cup qualifiers in the UAE, which laid their path to this tournament. During the course of the tournament, they won eight games and lost only one, but all of those games were played in Dubai. Yet, one may believe that they have a unit of players who can be effective in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. 

In total, they have eight all-rounders and some of them are fairly experienced. Ryan Ten Doeschate, Roelof van der Merwe, Pieter Seelaar, Colin Ackermann, Logan van Beek, Paul Van Meekeren and Tim van der Gugten makeup a squad which is good enough to intimidate an associate nation. This would be a good challenge for them and an opportunity to test them against the very best, something they don’t get enough of despite being a country on the rise in world cricket. 

Probable finish: 3rd in group A, unless they shock us all again.

Namibia

The last time Namibia featured in a World event in men’s cricket’s highest level was way back in 2003. In the last few years, they have built a good side that has exciting prospects. They had surprised a few people when they finished third, ahead of Scotland, in their group during the T20 World Cup qualifiers back in 2019. 

As a matter of fact, their win over Oman, which ensured their qualification, might seem like a monumental effort considering that Oman had qualified for the 2016 edition. They eventually finished fourth in that competition. They might be the weakest team in this group, but they are not the ones to back down. 

As far as experience goes, the team has got a boost in the form of David Wiese, who played for South Africa in the 2016 edition. Skipper Gerhard Erasmus is a 26-year-old, about whom only good things have been told. They haven’t started their preparation well though, having lost both their warm-up matches against Scotland and Oman. Yet, one can hope to see some delightful performance from them as they appear on the world stage, after a long time. 

Probable finish: 4th in Group A