Namibia eye World Cup second round after limiting Ireland to 125-8

Namibia restricted Ireland to a modest 125-8 in their decisive T20 World Cup qualifier in Sharjah on Friday as the tournament's lowest-ranked team eyed a place in the Super 12 second round.

Ireland were well set at 71-2 at the midway point but the runs then dried up as Namibia's bowlers turned the screws.

Openers Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien gave Ireland, who won the toss and chose to bat, a flying start.

They put on 67 for the first wicket before Stirling fell to left-arm finger spinner Bernard Scholtz in the eighth over.

Stirling made 38 with five fours and his team's only six while O'Brien hit 25.

Skipper Andy Balbirnie contributed 21 before he fell to seamer Jan Frylinck attempting to force the pace.

Only 54 runs came off the last 10 overs with Ireland's next seven batsmen all failing to reach double figures.

Frylinck finished with 3-21 with David Wiese, who played for South Africa at the 2016 World Cup, claiming a respectable 2-22.

As well as securing the last place in the Super 12 stage, the winners will be guaranteed a spot in the 2022 tournament in Australia.

Both teams went into Friday's match with two points after wins over the Netherlands but they came up short against 2014 champions Sri Lanka who top Group A and have already made the next round.

Ireland have not reached the second round since 2012 while Namibia, ranked a lowly 19 in the world, are playing in the tournament for the first time.