Cricket / Inter-Continental Cup Final: The feats of this Irish cricket team seem to get better and better. Not content with having qualified for the 2007 World Cup by getting to the final of the ICC Trophy in July, Adrian Birrell's team went out to Namibia last week and brought home the Inter-Continental Cup, beating a Kenya side in the final that would have been regarded in the eyes of many as a couple of notches above them.
Their Inter-Continental Cup campaign began back in August when a trip to Aberdeen brought a thrilling three-run victory for Ireland over reigning champions Scotland. Then it was a battling innings from Dominick Joyce and a classy spell of fast bowling from Adrian McCoubrey on the final afternoon that won the day and effectively booked their place in Namibia for the finals.
A professional job was done on an understrength United Arab Emirates team in the semi-final and a magnificent six-wicket victory against the highly fancied Kenyans on Saturday means skipper Trent Johnston will bring the cup home today.
They deserved to win this, not only because their batting was superb with no fewer than three players, Jeremy Bray, Niall O'Brien and Andre Botha, averaging more than 100 for the week; not only for some of the best bowling you could hope for, particularly in Kenya's second innings, on a track that batsmen fantasise about; not only for their committed fielding that yielded some stunning catches and no shortage of diving stops and long chases in searing African heat; but also for their tactical astuteness and positive attitude throughout the tournament.
After the first innings, when Kenya scored 401 for 4, Ireland were always going to struggle in a draw situation because they were so far behind on bonus points. So they needed to try something different in an effort to force an outright result.
O'Brien and Botha brought the side to within 88 runs and then Johnston declared. From that moment the impetus had shifted Ireland's way.
The Kenyans were gobsmacked. As they strolled off the pitch, they seemed bemused as to what was happening and clueless as to what to do next. Their coach, the former Pakistan Test player Mudassar Nazar, was at first confused and then, as the game progressed, admiring of the tactic. By the end, he was in awe. "It was a superb declaration," he said ruefully.
The rattled Kenyans batted the final session on Friday without a plan and conceded three wickets for 104 runs before the close. But the real damage was done the following morning. Ireland bowled beautifully, dismissing the remaining seven Kenyan batsmen for just 52 runs (the last five wickets fell for six runs). Waringstown off-spinner Kyle McCallan was phenomenal, taking four wickets, including the brilliant Steve Tikolo.
And all this without their main strike bowler, Johnston, who had broken a finger earlier in the match.
"I think they were surprised by our early declaration and they weren't actually sure how to bat in order to win the game. So we turned that into a big positive and bowled very well," said McCallan, who won a joint man-of-the-match award with fellow spinner Andy White (3-24).
"I think to say they got themselves out would be a disservice to our bowlers. We bowled very well. We put a lot of balls in good areas. I think that, coupled with their mindset, made all the difference."
This is a huge setback for Kenya. They have been preparing to launch a campaign to win Test status from the ICC but those plans now lie in tatters. They got caught on the defensive, trying to bat out for a draw and they ended up crumbling to 156 all out, leaving Ireland 245 for victory.
Such is the confidence and belief in this Ireland team, that total did not faze them, even though 245 in the fourth innings is not an easy target to hit. This was the finest victory Ireland have achieved in a competitive match and that includes a couple of historic wins over county opposition in the one-day form of the game.
