Niall O'Brien puts Ireland in control on day two
Led by a mature century from Niall O’Brien, Ireland is firmly in control of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match against the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi.
Having resumed the game in Sheikh Zayed Stadium on day two at 46-1 in reply to the UAE’s 228 all out, Ireland progressed to 366-7 by the close with O’Brien still there on 137 not out.
In a knock that has already lasted 237 balls, O’Brien has hit 20 boundaries and at the back of his mind he will know that Eoin Morgan’s all-time record individual score for Ireland could be his if he continues to bat well with the tail in the morning.
Interestingly, Morgan set the record of 209 at this very venue in this competition last year and the curator at the ground has produced another good track for batting.
O’Brien was assisted along the way on day two by Morgan (47), brother Kevin O’Brien (33), Andre Botha (19) and, towards the end of the day, skipper Trent Johnston, who was out just before the close for 69.
In what were not easy conditions for bowling, the UAE attack stuck to its guns well with slow bowlers Saqib Ali (17.2-2-55-2) and Ahmed Raza (24-3-47-2) in particular never letting Ireland dominate entirely.
But defending champion Ireland is very much in control of the game and the fact that it is 138 runs ahead means that it has already bagged the six points for securing the innings lead.
When play resumes in the morning on day three of four at 0930, Ireland will be hoping to open up as big a lead as possible in an effort to make sure it does not have to bat again and thus inflict an innings defeat on the UAE. Saqib’s men are facing an uphill battle to save the game, it would seem.
The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.
Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.
Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.
The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 in Dubai.
For a full scorecard from the match and more information about the ICC Intercontinental Cup go to: www.icc-cricket.com