Leah Paul hammered 67 not out from 40 balls, and Gaby Lewis and Amy Hunter both scored half-centuries in Lahore yesterday as Ireland worked off some of their World Cup qualifying frustrations with a 46-run victory over Thailand.

The Girls in Green saw their hopes of reaching the finals end on Sunday after suffering a third defeat in a game they should have won, but there was no denying them a consolation win against the tournament minnows once they had charged to 305-4 from 50 overs.

Skipper Lewis, who was dropped on four, led the way with 75 from 89 balls at the top of the order, including 14 boundaries, while Hunter continued her good form going one better with 76 from 71 balls, with 10 boundaries.

The real impetus to put the match beyond Thailand came from left-hander Paul, who hit the only six of the innings as she added 87 with Laura Delany in the last 10.2 overs.

Ireland rested experienced bowlers Arlene Kelly and Jane Maguire, and gave a debut to 20-year-old off-spinner Kla McCartney who took two wickets and gave glimpses of her potential but was also wildly inconsistent.

The star with the ball was Pembroke medium-pacer Louise Little, who ran through the Thai lower order to claim 5-28 in her ninth one-day international, having only taken one wicket in her first eight ODIs.

Little was also involved in a controversial to disallow what looked a clean catch at mid-wicket when the umpires adjudged that she had grounded the ball as she fell.

Ireland again missed four or five chances in the field — after spilling six catches against the West Indies — and will need to be more clinical if they are to end the tournament positively with a victory over Scotland on Friday.