| ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| Netherlands 106 (20.0 overs): O’Dowd 51 (47); Campher 4-26, Adair 3-9 |
| Ireland 107-3 (15.1 overs): Delany 44 (29), Stirling 30* (39) |
| Ireland won by seven wickets |
| Scorecard. Table. |
Curtis Campher took a remarkable four wickets in four balls to lead Ireland to a seven-wicket victory over the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup.
Seamer Campher reduced the Netherlands from 51-2 to 51-6 in the 10th over before they were bowled out for 106 off their 20 overs in Abu Dhabi.
Campher is only the third man to claim four wickets in four balls in T20 internationals.
He then hit the winning runs as Ireland reached 107-3 with 29 balls to spare.
Ireland move top of Group A, with the first two teams in each group qualifying for the Super 12 stage.
Sri Lanka face Namibia in Group A later on Monday in the United Arab Emirates.
How Campher’s stunning over unfolded
The Netherlands made a poor start to their innings, with opener Ben Cooper run out for a duck off the third ball after a mix-up with Max O’Dowd.
Bas de Leede was then bowled by Josh Little, playing an ill-advised ramp shot, but the Dutch did recover to reach 50-2 off nine overs before Campher ripped through them in his second over.
After starting with a wide, here is how Campher’s historic over unfolded….
Ball one: Colin Ackermann drives a full delivery to a fielder for no run
Ball two: Ackermann chases a short ball down the leg side, given not out and a wide on field but Ireland successfully overturn the decision as UltraEdge shows the ball grazed the glove
Ball three: Ryan ten Doeschate is struck on the pads by a fine, full delivery and is given out lbw
Ball four: Scott Edwards is also pinned in front of the stumps by another quick, full ball but not given out. Ireland review again and it is overturned, giving Campher his hat-trick
Ball five: Roelof van der Merwe flashes at a wider delivery and deflects the ball off the inside edge into the stumps, sparking delirious celebrations by the Ireland players
Ball six: Captain Pieter Seelaar arrives with his side in total disarray and manages to tap his first ball through the covers for one
O’Dowd went on to hit 51 off 47 balls, but another late collapse from 105-7 to 106 all out, with Mark Adair claiming 3-9, meant the Dutch could not post a challenging total.
Opener Paul Stirling made an unbeaten 30 off 39 balls and Gareth Delany hit 44 off 29 to ensure Ireland were well in control of the chase before Campher tapped a single to complete victory.
Who is Curtis Campher?
All-rounder Campher, 22, was born in South Africa but has an Irish passport and qualified for Ireland through his grandmother.
The former South Africa under-19 player was brought into the Ireland set up by former wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien, who played against him in 2018 when Ireland faced a South Africa provincial XI.
He made his Ireland debut in a one-day international loss to England in 2020, top scoring with 59 not out, before making his T20 debut in defeat by Zimbabwe in August.
“It’s just been good to be out there again because I’ve struggled with injuries lately,” said Campher.
“I wasn’t feeling great out there with the ball but [captain] Andrew Balbirnie just told me to crack the game open and thankfully I did.”
Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan was the first player to take four wickets in four balls in T20 internationals, against Ireland in February 2019, while former Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga did so against New Zealand in the September the same year.
Germany’s Anuradha Doddaballapur became the first woman to take four wickets in four balls in T20 internationals against Austria in August 2020.
Campher is the first Ireland player to take a hat-trick in T20 internationals.
He is also only the second bowler to do so at the Men’s T20 World Cup after Australia’s Brett Lee took the first T20 international hat-trick against Bangladesh at the inaugural tournament in 2007.
