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Ireland go down
fighting against England |
June 14, 2006 (Click to see the
Scorecard)
England was made to work hard for a victory by
the latest minnows in the cricketing world -
Ireland in the only ODI at Belfast. Chasing what
would have been a mammoth target of 302, Ireland
ended at 263 for 9 falling short by 38 runs
which was indeed a big achievement for a side
playing its first ever ODI. One drop batsman
Andre Botha laid the foundation for Ireland by
scoring 52 which came in 89 balls with the help
of five fours. The 30-year-old left hander fell
at the score of 135 for 6 in the 29th over. But
the lower middle order batsmen, Andrew White and
Kevin O’Brein enjoyed their moment to put on 74
runs for the 7th wicket at a good pace. That
helped Ireland to go down fighting with their
heads up. John Mooney who had come at no. 11
slogged his way to an unbeaten 30 which also
included a six off Ian Bell. For England, Steve
Harmison who has returned to international
cricket after a shin injury took three wickets.
England had chosen to bat first after winning
the toss and their innings was controlled by
Marcus Trescothick’s 11th ODI hundred and Ian
Bell who scored a well paced 80. Trescothick
scored 113 in 114 balls with the help of 12
fours before falling in the 42nd over. England
finished at 301 for 7 with the finishing touches
done by Geraint Jones and Glen Chapple. Jones
made a quickfire 13-ball 20 and Chapple scored a
7-ball 14 which included the only six of the
England innings.
England had the opportunity of testing its new
faces Ed Joyce, Jamie Dalrymple and Glen Chapple,
who were all selected to play against Sri Lanka
in the upcoming One Day Series. All the three
made their debuts in this game and for Ireland,
all the 11 players were making their ODI Debut.
This match gave Ireland the much needed feel of
international cricket before playing in their
inaugural World Cup in the Caribbean.
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