Cricket European Championship: Ireland got their European Championship campaign back on track in Utrecht yesterday - after losing in a bowl-out to the ECB on Sunday - with a hard-fought win in a reduced overs match against host nation Holland.
A partnership of 86 between Daan van Bunge and former Sussex batsman Bas Zuiderent threatened to spoil the day for Ireland as the Dutch set about chasing 181 off 31 overs but then a quicker and fuller delivery from Trent Johnston yorked van Bunge and when, two balls later, Zuiderent top-edged Paul Mooney into the grateful hands of Jason Molins, the match turned Ireland's way.
The Dutch continued to fight, however, in the ebullient form of Tim de Leede and the peroxide-headed Edgar Schiferli, whose 23 off just 15 balls got Holland within shouting distance.
But in his fine second spell, another Johnston yorker did for de Leede and Schiferli eventually played on to Gordan Cooke, leaving the tail-enders with 20 runs to get off the final two overs. It was to prove too much for them and they fell 10 runs short.
There were fears this game would go the same as the one against England on Sunday and end up in an unsatisfying bowl-out such was the heavy rain that fell yesterday morning.
Shortly after lunch, however, the clouds parted and play finally got going at 3.15 with the overs reduced from 50 per innings to 31.
Having won the toss and deciding to bat, Ireland did not get the best of starts on a variable pitch with Jeremy Bray holing out to mid-off for eight.
Jason Molins followed Bray back shortly after when he played a Darron Reekers ball onto his stumps. Andre Botha and form batsman Andrew White kept things going nicely for Ireland, though, putting on 53 for the third wicket. White, in particular, played some sublime shots, but having got to 40, he spooned an easy catch back to bowler Luuk van Troost.
It was a big blow for Ireland as White and Botha had just started to accelerate the scoring and looked comfortable doing it.
But with Johnston the next man in, there was no danger the run-rate would go south. The Clontarf all-rounder hit a wonderful 49 off just 30 balls, an innings that included two fours, four sixes and the plundering of 21 off the last of Feiko Kloppenburg's seven overs.
But with a score well in excess of 200 beckoning, Botha was run out going for a foolhardy second run and then Johnston skied a catch to Tom de Grooth at deep midwicket.
After that, a big straight six from Naseer Shoukat aside, a man who had bowled a niggardly line earlier in the day, no one really got going in the final overs and Ireland limped a little to 181 for nine off the allotted overs.
Most of the impartial observers within the sizable crowd in Utrecht thought that six per over on the sluggish pitch and slow outfield would be enough.
However, it was not until the Irish saw the back of van Bunge and Zuiderent that the Irish travelling supporters began to relax a little.
The whoops of delight when Johnston made the all-important breakthrough briefly had Kampong Cricket Club rivalling the nearby Utrecht FC stadium for noise generated.
So now, it's all to play for as Ireland head northeast to Deventer today to take on old rivals Scotland, whom Holland beat on Monday.
Scotland beat Denmark comfortably in Rotterdam yesterday while the ECB, who beat Denmark on Monday, had a rest day. The ECB play hosts Holland today in Utrecht.
IRELAND
J Molins b Reekers 13
J Bray c de Leede b Gokke 8
A Botha run out 24
A White c and b van Troost 40
T Johnston c de Grooth b de Leede 49
P Gillespie c and b de Leede 5
K McCallan run out 12
P Mooney not out 7
N Shoukat c van Bunge b Esmeijer 11
S Ogilby c Zuiderent b Esmeijer 0
Extras (8lb, 3w) 11
TOTAL (for 9, 31 overs) ... 181
DNB: G Cooke Fall: 14, 33, 86,107, 145, 157, 163, 181, 181.
Bowling: Schiferli 6-1-20-0, Gokke 3-0-16-1, Reekers 4-0-17-1, Kloppenburg 7-0-47-0, van Troost 3-0-23-1, de Leede 5-0-23-2, Esmeijer 3-0-18-2.
HOLLAND
T de Grooth c Ogilby b Shoukat 3
D Reekers b Botha 17
D van Bunge b Johnston 50
B Zuiderent c Molins b Mooney 36
T de Leede b Johnston 16
L van Troost b Johnston 2
E Schiferli b Cooke 23
A Buurman b Cooke 3
F Kloppenburg not out 5
JJ Esmeijer not out 3
Extras (4lb, 4w, 2nb) 10
TOTAL (for 8, 31 overs) ... 171
Fall: 10, 29, 115, 115, 120, 144, 155, 162.
Bowling: Johnston 7-0-44-3, Shoukat 4-1-9-1, Botha 6-0-23-1, Cooke 6-0-37-2, White 3-0-18-0, McCallan 1-0-9-0, Mooney 4-0-26-1.
Ireland won by 10 runs.
