Ireland vs the Netherlands: 3rd ODI, June 7, 2021, Match Prediction

Match: Ireland vs the Netherlands

Date: 7 June 2021

Place (venue): Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht

Tournament: Ireland tour of the Netherlands

Format: One Day International

Caption

Can the Netherlands stun the Irish to win the series?

Key Stats

• The Netherlands won the first ODI thriller by a single run.
• In the last five meetings, Ireland dominated the Oranges with 3 wins and a tie. (Subjected to change after the 2nd ODI).
• The Netherlands cricket team has not lost an ODI series on home soil since 2006.

Match Preview

After drawing the home series against Scotland, the Dutch team started a strong campaign against the visiting Ireland team. In the first ODI, the hosts triumphed over the visitors by a single run to make a successful start to their World Cup 2023 qualification plan. The Netherlands’ all-rounder Logan van Beek successfully defended 3 runs required on the last ball to give a nail-biting finish. With 10 points, the Netherlands are currently 9th in the World Cup Super League points table.

The Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat first in the first ODI. After losing 5 wickets on 53 runs, all-rounder Timm van der Gugten’s 49 runs took them to a respectable total of 195 runs. Chasing 196 runs, the Irish suffered the same feat as that of the hosts. Opener Paul Stirling’s 69 runs and all-rounder Simi Singh’s 45 runs went in vain as Ireland couldn’t score 3 runs off the last ball. Tim van der Gugten was awarded the Man of the Match.

By winning the first ODI, the Netherlands finally registered their first victory against Ireland after a gap of 15 years and 4 months. The last time they won against Ireland was in 2007 in Nairobi, Zimbabwe. It was a win by 6 runs. After that, Ireland went on to win 7 ODIs in a row and tied the 8th one.

With their recent win, the Netherlands have kept their record of not losing a bilateral ODI series on home soil since 2006 intact. Sri Lanka were the last visitors to beat the Netherlands at home in a two-match ODI series.

Ireland Preview

Ireland are going through a rough phase in recent times. They have lost 4 of their last 5 games. They are currently 11th in the World Super League points table with the direct qualification chances starting to disappear.

One of the reasons behind this is the failure of the top order excluding Paul Sterling. Sterling has amassed 355 runs in his last 4 ODIs at an average of 88.75. On the other hand, his fellow top-order batsman Porterfield and captain Andrew Balbirnie have scored 59 runs at an average of 14.75 and 29 runs at an average of 7.25 respectively. Ireland needs to sort out their top-order problems to get back on the winning track.

The middle order is a bit stable with Lorcan Tucker, Simi Singh and Andy McBrine and the Irish will go forward without any changes. Craig Young and Joshua Little will continue to lead the bowling attack. They took 3 wickets each in the first game to stop hosts below 200. A little help from Singh and McBrine can result in a sheer dominance and a deserved comeback at the World Cup 2013 qualification campaign.

Here are the top batsmen and bowlers for Ireland.

Key players for Ireland: 

Ireland’s Probable Playing XI: Andy Balbirnie (C), William Porterfield, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, George Dockrell, Lorcan Tucker (WK), Simi Singh, Andy McBrine, Bary McCarthy, Josh Little, Craig Young.

Netherlands Preview

The Netherlands will go ahead with Stephan Myburgh and Max O’Dowd as their openers. Both of them had a decent series against Scotland with O’Dowd finishing as the top scorer from the Netherlands. The Netherlands team management must be expecting Ben Cooper to stable the innings in case the openers fail to provide a good start. Unfortunately, his poor form (36 runs in the last 4 games) has caused a bit of a problem to the middle order.

Captain Pieter Seelaar and Scott Edwards will team up with Bas de Leede in the middle order. Skipper Seelaar is having a good year with the ball so far but he is struggling with the bat. After a long time, the Oranges have come up with a perfect all-rounder team. Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek and Timm van der Gugten have saved them with either ball or bat in recent matches.

Netherlands missed Vivian Kingma and Paul van Meekeren in their first ODI. Fred Klassen and Brandon Glover will continue to lead the bowling department in their absence.

Here are the top batsmen and bowlers for the Netherlands.

Key players for the Netherlands

Netherlands’ Probable Playing XI:

Pieter Seelaar (C), Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Scott Edwards, Ben Cooper,  Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klassen, Brandon Glover, Bas de Leede.

Venue

The game will be played at Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht. Built in 1967, the stadium is famous for hosting T20Is. The ODI between the Netherlands and Ireland was the first ODI played on this ground.

Toss Info

In the 1 ODI played here, the team batting first won the game. Out of 12 T20s, teams batting second have won 10 times. A team winning the toss, therefore, should bat second.

Pitch and Weather Report

The pitch is a bowler’s paradise with most games ending up low-scoring. The maximum and minimum temperatures are predicted to be 22°C and 11 °C respectively, with a wind speed of 10 to 15 kph. Humidity will be around 70% as per the weather reports. No rain is expected.

Our Prediction

Though Ireland have a 75% winning record over the Netherlands, their recent form has made them take a back seat. The Dutch have not lost a bilateral series for 15 years. Ireland though have more experience than the hosts. Therefore, we predict Ireland to win the 3rd ODI as a start of their comeback to the cricket world.

Prediction: Ireland will defeat the Netherlands.

Disclaimer: Our match previews are fully researched but as per the nature of the game, anything is possible on the match day. You are advised to decide for yourself when betting on a team. Thanks!