Ireland hold nerve to beat Kenya

Cricket:Ireland completed a remarkable 10-run victory over Kenya in Mombasa today, as their Intercontinental Cup clash ended within two days.

Ireland’s spin duo of Albert van der Merwe and George Dockrell were again the heroes, yet again taking all 10 wickets in Kenya’s second innings as they were bowled out for 108 chasing 119 for victory.

Off-spinner Van der Merwe finished with figures of six for 27 in the second innings, including the vital last two wickets after Kenya looked like staging a remarkable fight back after being reduced to 36 for eight at one stage.

A 58-run stand for the eight wicket was eventually broken by the tall YMCA spinner when Nelson Odhiambo’s drive was caught by skipper William Porterfield at short mid-wicket after he had made 32.

Number 11 batsman Shem Ngoche then went for broke with 24 runs required for victory, hitting Dockrell for 13 runs in the following over, including a six off the final delivery to leave Hiren Viraiya on strike on 26 not out and looking to complete a dream match after taking 12 Irish wickets.

Viraiya defended Van der Merwe’s first ball, but the next one sat up on the batsman as he tried to turn the ball around the corner for a single, with Andrew White running in from short fine leg to take the match-winning catch.

It gave Van der Merwe match figures of 11 for 68 and earned him the man of the match. Dockrell, who along with Ed Joyce was struggling with an upset stomach, braved the tough humid conditions to finish with second-innings figures of four for 50 and nine for 87 for the match.

Joyce was unable to return to the crease at the start of play on the second day due to illness, with Alex Cusack and White adding a vital 28 runs for the third wicket.

After Cusack departed for 22, Ireland continued to lose wickets, with Joyce coming in late on to add three to his overnight score before being trapped leg-before by Varaiya for 54.

When the left-arm spinner got his Irish counterpart Dockrell for a duck in his next over, Ireland were all out for 152, a lead of 118 that proved just enough in the end.

The result is Ireland’s third straight victory in the competition and they lead the table by 31 points from the United Arab Emirates, with a game more played.

Next up for Ireland are the vital one-day World Cup qualifiers against the same opposition, and tellingly at the same venue, on Saturday and Monday. The fact that Van der Merwe has not been included in that squad may be something that Ireland yet regret.

SCORES

Ireland 75(33.5 ovs) (E Joyce 26, W Porterfield 18; H Varaiya 6-22, S Ngoche 3-11) & 152(49 ovs) (E Joyce 54, A White 26, A Cusack 22, P Stirling 20; H Varaiya 6-51, Nehimiah Odhiambo 3-35) beat Kenya 109(35.1 ovs) (R Aga 46; G Dockrell 5-37, A Van der Merwe 5-41) & 108(47.2 ovs) (A Van der Merwe 6-27, G Dockrell 4-50) by 10 runs.