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Ireland
yesterday claimed the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2005 title by beating
Kenya by six wickets in a thrilling climax in Windhoek, Namibia.
Ireland
becomes the second European winner of the event, following in the
footsteps of Scotland who won the inaugural title in 2004.
Victory
in the final of the 12-team event gives Ireland the right to lay claim
to being the best first-class nation outside the Test arena. Their
path to the final saw them beat Scotland and complete winning draws
against Holland and UAE.
This success caps a fantastic year for Ireland that has also seen them
qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time.
They did that by reaching the final of the ICC Trophy in July where
they lost out to Scotland.
ROAD TO THE TITLE – IRELAND (Europe
group qualifiers)
13 – 15 August,
Aberdeen: Ireland 172 & 196 (D Joyce 61) beat Scotland 234-9 declared
(English 66) & 131 by three runs.
23 – 25 August, Belfast: Ireland 407-4 declared (Bray 135, Botha 97, D
Joyce 54, Molins 53, Gillespie 50*) drew with the Netherlands 204-6
(ten Doeschate 84).
Semi-final:
23 –
25 October, Windhoek: Ireland 350 for 7
dec and 444 for 4 dec (Bray 190, O'Brien 176) drew with UAE 189 and
227 for 8 (Ali 59, Saleem 68, McCallan 3-32)
Final:
27 – 29 October,
Windhoek: Ireland 313
for 4 dec and 245 for 4 (Bray 64) beat
Kenya 401 for 4 dec and 156
(M Suji 52, McCallan 4-34) by six wickets.
A match report from the
final written by James Fitzgerald of the Irish Times can be found
below:
A tactical declaration on Friday by
Ireland captain Trent Johnston helped to turn what looked like a
certain draw into an almost incredible victory in the final of the
Intercontinental Cup against Kenya in Windhoek, Namibia.
Having qualified for the World Cup
by getting to the final of the ICC Trophy earlier this year, 2005 is
surely the most successful year in Irish cricketing history. While
winning the Intercontinental Cup brings nothing in terms of more
finance from the ICC or invitation to another event, it lifts the
profile of Irish cricket internationally and should make the national
team a more attractive proposition to potential sponsors.
The first session of play yesterday
was what cricket lovers watch the game for. In the space of a few
short overs, this three-day game was turned on its head. Such was
Kenya's first innings lead, it was clear that all they had to do was
bat all day and then claim a winning draw by virtue of having more
bonus points. And on a batting track that was as flat as a road, that
was where the smart money was going overnight.
Kenya
resumed on 104 for 3 and managed only another 52 runs for their
remaining seven wickets (the last five coming for just six runs).
Ireland
bowled and fielded magnificently, despite the absence of captain and
main strike bowler Trent Johnston who broke a finger on Friday.
Kyle McCallan (4-34), Andy White
(3-24), Adrian McCoubrey (2-37) and Andre Botha (1-22) soldiered
superbly in his absence. That, coupled with some excellent fielding,
notably diving catches from McCoubrey and White, reduced the
semi-finalists from the 2003 World Cup and possible candidates for
Test status to a team of chumps.
And the reason? Well, if reason is
ever a genuine part of cricket, it has to be Johnston's imaginative
declaration when his side were still 88 runs behind. It gave Ireland
the time to attempt to bowl Kenya out or force them into setting them
a target in the fourth innings. But more importantly it completely
bamboozled the opposition.
They walked off the field on Friday
shrugging, shaking their heads and completely surprised. As a result
they batted with no focus and no plan.
Having more bonus points than
Ireland at that stage, should they just close up shop and bat out the
game for a winning draw? Or should they be positive and try to set
Ireland a high total in an effort to win outright?
They got caught somewhere in the
middle and with Ireland knowing exactly what they were doing, Kenya's
batsmen didn't last long. By the end, it was like watching a child
pull apart a daddy longlegs. And boy, did Ireland enjoy it.
Ireland
then showed great composure to knock off the runs, with all the top
order chipping in. Dom Joyce and Jeremy Bray set the foundation with
an opening stand of 83 and after that, the positive run-rate kept
Ireland ahead of the posse. In the end they passed their target of 245
to win with six wickets and 13.1 overs to spare. Cue the cheers, the
bear hugs and the high-pitched shrieks. |
