Arlene Kelly claimed the Player of the Match award in Kathmandu on Sunday as the Girls in Green trounced minnows Thailand by 62 runs to confirm their participation at the T20 World Cup which will be staged in England this summer.

It would have taken an almost impossible sequence of events on the final day of the qualifiers for Ireland to finish outside the top four but a win allied to Bangladesh’s victory over the Netherlands meant they leapfrogged the Dutch into second place.

The big three of Amy Hunter, Gaby Lewis and Orla Prendergast got the innings off to a bright start but all fell in the 20s as their side, battled to 121-8 on a tricky pitch.

Lara McBride struck with the fifth ball of the reply, and took the final wicket among her 3-6, while Kelly went one better with 4-7 from a nagging four overs as Thailand were bowled out for 59.