A great combination effort with the bat followed by a fine bowling performance from Tim Murtagh and Barry McCarthy helped Ireland begin their campaign with a 93-run victory against Netherlands at the Old Hararians Sports Club. Asked to bat first, Ireland rode on solid contributions from the top five to finish with 268 for 7 in their allotted 50 overs, although Andrew Balbirnie was the lone half-centurion among them. Chasing a revised target of 243 in 41 overs after a rain delay, Netherlands' top order fell apart quickly as they lost half their side for only 63 runs, with Ryan ten Doeschate being the fifth to depart. Having sent back the batting mainstays early, the Irish bowlers hardly found any trouble in running through the lower order despite Scott Edwards and Timm van der Gugten, bat at no. 7 and 9, coming up with the highest scores for their side. Netherlands were eventually bowled out for 149 in the 33rd over, with four Ireland bowlers picking up two or more wickets.

Brief scores: Ireland 268/7 in 50 overs (Andrew Balbirnie 68, Niall O'Brien 49; Timm van der Gugten 3-59) beat Netherlands 149 in 32.2 overs (Timm van der Gugten 33, Scott Edwards 26; Tim Murtagh 3-28, Boyd Rankin 2-19) by 93 runs (DLS Method)