Let's be thankful for small mercies. After two days of mind-numbing monotony at Malahide, the finale of Ireland's annual three-day match against Scotland provided some measure of excitement as the Scots chased a victory target of 116 off the final 20 overs before they were forced to bat out the last two to achieve a draw.

Just what this hoary old exercise will do for cricket in either country is a moot point. In terms of the competitive game, the annual bore is about as relevant as caber tossing for Scottish cricketers, or the puc fada for their Irish counterparts. After all, both teams' cricketing future lies in the limited overs game.

In any case, continuing Ireland's second innings, Justin Benson top-scored with an undefeated 61, before declaring at 192 for 5. That set Scotland a winning target of 274, and they were in sight of achieving it, with Bruce Patterson (83) and George Salmond (89) scoring freely and looking quite capable of getting the required 116 runs from the final 20 overs.

Then, as they say, wickets tumbled. Scotland needed 221, with five wickets down, off the last 10 overs and eventually 27 from the final two; an earlier missed catch and a fluffed stumping chance were regrettable. Kevin Thomson and Nick Dyer held out, in the last over surrounded by every man in the field, barring the bowler, Greg Molins, and the Scots drew, 27 runs short of the target.