Eddie Norfolk
Summary scores (Day 1 of 2, March 8, 2013): Ireland 240 for 12 wickets (90 overs; Ed Joyce 87, Nikhil Dutta 4 for 51, Rayyankhan Pathan 4 for 56) v Canada
An opening batsman sometimes carries his bat, remaining not out when all others have been rolled over, but it is not too often in international cricket that an opening batsman is both the first man out and the tenth out in the same innings. But this happened on the first day of the two-day game between Ireland and Canada at the GCA, Dubai on Friday (March 8, 2013).
Canada won the toss and invited Ireland to bat. Unusually, Ireland almost failed to bat on this opening day as Henry Osinde and Rayyankhan Pathan each took two early wickets. But Ed Joyce, who had top-scored for England with 66 in a 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup match against Canada in St Lucia, provided some substantive batting.

Later, the second visits of Niall O’Brien and Gary Wilson to the crease brought the day’s largest stand for the 13th wicket. Ten batsmen failed to reach double-figures. The two opening bats had offdays, neither reaching ten in two “at bats”. Even extras had a “bad day”, which is good from a Canadian bowling and fielding perspective.
Ed Joyce entered the scene after Paul Stirling had been caught by Canadian wicket keeper Hamza Tariq for 4 and Ireland’s running total on 12. Joyce produced the ballast for the innings before being caught at the wicket by Tariq off Pathan for 87 off the first ball of the 39th over.
Pathan had bowled opening bat William Porterfield for 9 in the tenth over, to leave Ireland on 22 for two wickets. Porterfield’s nine runs were to prove one of the larger individual scores in the course of Ireland losing ten wickets. Pathan ended the day with four wickets for 56. His other victims were Niall O’Brien, bowled for four runs in his first “at bat”, and Kevin O’ Brien, caught at the wicket for just 2 runs.
In the midst of losing batsmen for few runs, Ed Joyce hit fifteen boundaries and scored 87 out of 106 runs that Ireland tallied during his time in the middle. Joyce departed with Ireland on 118 for seven wickets.
It should be recognized, that Canada’s bowlers conceded few gifts of no-balls and wides, and in keeping to a reasonable line picked up a lot of wickets. Indeed, there were just the four extras in the course of Ireland’s opening day tally of 240 runs for 12 wickets from 90 overs. These extras comprised three no-balls and one wide.
James Shannon, batting at number ten, scored 30 before being run-out in what proved to be the last wicket to fall on the day. The thirteenth wicket stand carried Ireland from 162 for 12 wickets to that closing score of 240 for 12. A stand of 78 runs; double the day’s previous best stand of 39 for the sixth wicket between Ed Joyce and Kevin O’Brien. Niall O’Brien made 37 not out in his second “at bat” of the innings and Gary Wilson’s second knock of the innings had reached 43 not out on when play concluded for the day.
Paul Stirling had returned to bat at number eleven, only to be caught by wicketkeeper Tariq off the bowling of young Nikhil Dutta. Thus Stirling became the first and tenth dismissal of the innngs. Four balls later, Dutta trapped Porterfield leg-before wicket for a duck.
So it was a contrast to the confident batting seen from Ireland in the final of the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier in Centurion, South Africa, when Porterfield lead the way with an unbeaten century in a nine wicket win against Canada. But that was a different day and some of the Canadian side were suffering from some injuries at the end of a long competition.
Day two of these match will see Canada bat and will presumably see Trent Johnston in action for Ireland. Johnston did not bat today, but some may recall he did a lot of damage with a spell of five wickets for just 14 runs from ten overs in that 2009 World Cup qualifying final at the Centurion ground.
Nikil Dutta four wickets for 51 runs from 23 overs. Wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq took six catches.
It seems a long time ago that Canada beat Ireland in the inaugural ICC World Cricket League Division One in Nairobi back in 2007. But the important part of this current trip to the United Arab Emirates requires Canada to perform well in next week’s matches against Kenya. Some useful performances against Ireland’s bowling on Saturday

With thanks to Ian Callender who provided scoring information and commentary through Cricket Europe on a somewhat unusual day’s play. But there’s one more day of intrigue to follow in this game.