Ireland and United Arab Emirates book place in men's T20 World Cup

Victories over Nepal and Oman in Al Amerat secured two of the qualifying berths for the 2022 tournament in Australia

Ireland and United Arab Emirates have secured passage to the 2022 men's T20 World Cup in Australia after progressing through the qualifying competition.

Andrew Balbirnie's side confirmed their place after clinching a 56-run win over Oman in Al Amerat.

Meanwhile, UAE will take their place in the 20-over showcase for just the second time after overcoming Nepal. The two teams will meet in the tournament final on Thursday (February 24)

Two more places remain up for grabs at the second global qualifier taking place in Zimbabwe from July 11-17.

Hong Kong, Jersey, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Uganda, United States and Zimbabwe will face-off to complete the line-up for the 16-team tournament.

^{Oman failed to secure a third successive appearance at the T20 World Cup (ICC)}

Both Ireland and UAE will enter the first round alongside Namibia, Sri Lanka, Scotland and West Indies - with four sides progressing to the Super 12.

Two eight-team competitions were agreed on to determine the final four qualifiers for the postponed event in Australia, which starts on October 16.

It was not without a fair degree of jeopardy that Ireland secured a seventh straight appearance at the T20 World Cup after they were beaten by UAE in their tournament opener.

Balbirnie's men couldn't afford another slip up in Group A and ensured they reached the knock-out phase after beating Bahrain and Germany - which led to them topping the group.

^{Player of the match Andy McBrine (Cricket Ireland)}

And they had too much for Oman, accumulating 165 for 7 from their 20 overs with Gareth Delany top-scoring with 47 from 32 balls.

Oman, who were eliminated in the first round in 2021, rarely threatened in the chase and were eventually dismissed for 109. Simi Singh was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 20 while Andy McBrine, after scoring 36, capped a player of the match display with 2 for 24.

“I think our determination got us there today, we knew at the start of the week we needed to win three games, and we’ve got better every match – and that’s what you need to do in tournament cricket," said Balbirnie.

"Our T20 cricket has been inconsistent, and to win three matches in a row we knew we’d have to be at our best – we managed to do that, and that was probably our best all-around performance."

^{Vriitya Raza hit form once again (ICC)}

UAE were similarly dominant after securing a place at the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2014.

Ahmed Raza's side made a formidable 175 for 7 batting first with opener Muhammad Waseem leading the way with a punchy 70.

Vriitya Aravind (46) continued his fine run of form - a streak of 97*, 40 and 84* - to help push the score beyond Nepal's reach.

It was not to be for the nation captained by Sandeep Lamichhane, whose side were eventually skittled for 107 with eight balls to spare, as a second World Cup appearance evade them.

Nepal and Oman will now contest the inconsequential third-place playoff

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