World Twenty20 Qualifiers: Netherlands, Scotland Joint Winners After Rain Spoils Final

The final of the ICC World Twenty20 qualifier between the Netherlands and Scotland was washed out in Dublin on Sunday. Both teams qualified for the World Twenty20 finals in India next year. The third place match between hosts Ireland and Hong Kong was also abandoned without a ball being bowled.

It was a watery ending to a tournament that saw 16 matches being played in fine weather and without a ball being lost.

Namibia's Bernard Scholtz was named the Player of the Tournament. He finished with 14 wickets, the same as Ireland's John Mooney and Scotland's Alasdair Evans. Scholtz's best figures were 4 for 11 in a win over Papua New Guinea.

Scotland captain Preston Mommsen lavished praise on his team for finishing as joint winners. This will be Scotland's third entry in the World Twenty20 finals. They had qualified in 2007 and 2009. The Scots are yet to win a match in the finals.

"It's the first time that we've topped this tournament, we're ecstatic as a team," Mommsen told ESPNcricinfo after lifting the trophy with Dutch skipper Peter Borren.

"Throughout this tournament it's been a genuine all-round team performance. There have been many contributions in many different aspects of different games where guys have put in performances to get us over the line," the Scotland captain said.

The Netherlands will also make their third trip to the World Twenty20 finals. They participated in 2009 and 2014 and both their wins have come against England. Borren wants to come up with a good show in India next year.

"We were absolutely gutted to miss out on what was a fantastic World Cup in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year," Borren said.

"I think Netherlands have pretty consistently been at world tournaments so that was one we were very disappointed to miss. In a way, a lot has changed in the last two years in Dutch cricket. We've become far more professional," the Dutch captain added.