Cricket: Ireland eye tri-series title

DUBAI: Barring the first game against UAE, where Ireland had a scare, the European nation have flexed their muscles winning all their three matches so far in the UAE tri-series.

Ireland put up a professional show in their last game versus Scotland, beating them by six wickets with more than 15 overs to spare.Andrew Balbirnie continued his good run with the bat, compiling a fluent 67. On the other hand, Niall O’Brien, who has been in poor form in the recent past, made a welcome return to form with a gritty fifty. Boyd Rankin, the veteran pacer, who was rested for the second match, led the attack well with a three-fer.

It would be interesting to see whether the Irish side will continue to experiment in their next and final game versus Scotland. Ed Joyce, the fulcrum of the batting line-up, started the tri-series on a great note with a hundred against UAE. Since then he has been rested. Ireland also have the option of giving Jacob Mulder, the legspinner, a chance in place of the experienced George Dockrell or Andy McBrine. The team is sitting pretty at the top with six points and a NRR of +1.090. So only Scotland can realistically catch them by winning three straight games. For Scotland, they will again miss the services of Kyle Coezter as he is taking a break from competitive cricket to complete his Level 4 coaching qualification. That is a major blow as he is the mainstay of the batting line-up. Michael Jones, the 20-year-old, who has played for Derbyshire 2nd XI, Durham 2nd XI and Leicestershire 2nd XI, made a strong ODI debut with a resolute 87.

The Ireland camp would expect more from the likes of Richie Berrington, the stand-in captain, and the former Nottinghamshire batsman Matthew Cross. Among the bowlers, Safyaan Sharif and Alasdair Evans will lead the pace attack while the promising legspinner Tom Sole will look to make an impact. Ireland might continue to experiment and give Jacob Mulder a chance. It would be interesting to see if Ed Joyce returns to the side.

Squads: Ireland (probables): William Porterfield(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Jacob Mulder, Kevin O Brien, Stuart Poynter, Niall O Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson

Scotland (probables): Richie Berrington(c), Scott Cameron, Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Tom Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Stu Whittingham.