Ireland skipper Paul Stirling leads by example in win over Oman

Making his debut as T20 skipper, Stirling struck 11 fours and scored 71 runs from 51 balls to steer his team to 159-5 at Al Amarat.

The home side made a strong start to their run-chase but collapsed from 70-3 to 92-7 as Ireland all-rounder Simi Singh took three wickets in an over. ball) and Peter Chase, put the game beyond doubt and Oman finished on 144-9, giving Ireland victory by 15 runs.

Stirling said:

“I think we just about got a competitive total on the board.

“There was a lot less grass on the wicket than over the last few days - so it wasn’t too bad a toss to lose.

“I think we got a score that was a minimum score we needed to get - and we knew if we got a couple of quick wickets we’d put them under pressure, and that’s exactly what happened.”

“The captaincy has been good fun, but I’m just happy we got across the line today.

“We didn’t really know what a good score was going to be.

“From a personal point of view it was good to take a few balls and get myself in and make a decent enough score.”

“I think there is plenty of work to do still - one game doesn’t make us a good team, and we need to continue to improve.”

“In terms of the tournament, the challenges keep getting harder and harder. We know what Scotland have got, and on their day - just like when they beat England the other day - they can be a real powerhouse.

“They’ve got a few key players that we’ll need to try and keep quiet. But I think we can get a win if we play our best.”

In the other tournament fixture yesterday, Netherlands defeated Scotland by seven wickets off the second last ball of the match (scorecard).

Ireland’s next match is on Friday against Scotland, with a start time of 9.45am(GMT).