Dockrell to the fore in Ireland win

Captain Will Porterfield gave Ireland typical impetus with 36 at the top of the order to kick-start their UAE campaign

Ireland and Scotland gained partial revenge for setbacks in recent Twenty20 tournaments by winning their warm-up matches for the ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates.

Ireland beat Canada by 11 runs in a low-scoring match at Sharjah, thanks largely to 4-20 from 17-year-old George Dockrell.

Ireland managed just 138 batting first, despite a swift opening stand of 38 between Will Porterfield and the in-form Niall O’Brien. Porterfield went on to top-score with 36.

The Canucks were always in the hunt, despite four early wickets from Dockrell’s left-arm spin, but collapsed from 107 for six to 127 all out.

This victory for Ireland followed a three-run loss to Canada in the Sri Lanka Associates quadrangular series in Colombo last week.

South-west in Abu Dhabi, Scotland put two away defeats by Kenya behind them to win by a comfortable 16 runs.

Former England Test player Gavin Hamilton led Scotland’s charge to 149 for six, with a dominant 58.

In reply, Kenya’s top three all moved into the 20s, but Majid Haq and Richie Berrington swooped with three wickets apiece to make short work of the rest of the line-up.

Scotland and Ireland are drawn together in this qualifying tournament, which begins on Tuesday. Scotland's opening match is against the United States, followed by matches with Afghanistan and Ireland.

Both finalists earn a place in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in April and May. The winners are placed in Group C with South Africa and India, while the losing finalists go into Group D with West Indies and England.

Also in Abu Dhabi, USA beat UAE by one wicket, while back in Abu Dhabi Afghanistan saw off Shrajah, who do not feature in the competition, by 39 runs.