Intercontinental Cup: Ireland scoops first innings lead points on opening day
Report from Eddie Norfolk
ICC Intercontinental Cup at Toronto Cricket Club
Close of play scores: August 31, 2010 (first of four scheduled days):
Canada 120 all out (32 overs; Zubin Surkari 28, Trent Johnston 5 wickets for 23 runs)
Ireland 190 for 3 wickets (51 overs; Kevin O’Brien 57, Paul Stirling 45)
Ireland (6 points for 1st innings lead) leads Canada by 70 runs.

A lack of runs saw Canada dismissed for just 120 runs and end the day some 70 runs behind Ireland. Trent Johnston took three wickets within four balls to reduce Canada to 60 for six wickets in the fifteenth over, just after Kevin O’Brien had ended a promising stand of 53 between Zubin Surkari and Ashish Bagai. Surkari was lbw to O’Brien for what proved the top Canadian score of 28. Bagai was caught at the wicket for 24 to start a golden over for the Irish. Sunil Dhaniram struck some boundaries but fell for 17 and wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq made 25 not out. It was not what skipper Bagai had hoped when winning the toss and electing to bat on a hot day in Toronto.

Johnston ended with 5 wickets for 23 runs after coming on as first change in the bowling. Opening bowler Allan Eastwood ended with 3 wickets for 30 runs, including both Canadian opening batsmen in his second over. Wicketkeeper Rory McCann took four catches.

Paul Stirling struck seven boundaries and a six in scoring 45 of 58 runs before being trapped lbw by Henry Osinde. Fellow-opening bat McCann made just four runs and was bowled by Khurran Chohan. Andre Botha and Kevin O’Brien carried Ireland steadily towards the Canadian total. Consecutive cover drives from Botha gave Ireland first innings lead but the spin of Abzal Dean saw Botha’s knock end on 39. But he did survive one dropped catch before his closing flurry of strokes. Andrew White proved a useful partner for O’Brien who brought up his own 50 with a drive through extra cover.

O’Brien, like Botha, fell to the spin of Dean, the ball went up into the air off the bat and Rizwan Cheema moved in from slip to complete the catch. O’ Brien made 57, the highest score of the opening day, and left with Ireland on 185 for four wickets. White was 30 not out as Ireland closed the day on 190 for four.

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