The weather which had behaved wonderfully in Malahide over the last nine days finally turned sour on Sunday at the World Twenty20 Qualifier, as the third place game – between Ireland and Hong Kong – and championship match – between Scotland and the Netherlands – were both abandoned without a ball bowled. It was the first time that any overs were lost for matches played in Dublin during the tournament tournament, with 16 games played to their full conclusion prior to Sunday.
Steady showers had been falling in Malahide since early Sunday morning. Officials waited until the 12:46 pm cutoff time to call off the first match and although the cutoff time for play in the second game was 4:45, a decision was taken at 2:55 pm to abandon the final as rain only got heavier during the afternoon.
Namibia’s Bernard Scholtz was named the Player of the Tournament after tying for the most wickets in the tournament with 14, alongside Ireland’s John Mooney and Scotland’s Alasdair Evans. Scholtz’s best was a spell of 4 for 11 in a win over Papua New Guinea to net a Man-of-the-Match award, while he also claimed the match honours in a losing effort against the Netherlands, taking 3 for 15.
