CRICKET/Intercontinental Cup final:Champagne flowed as Ireland outclassed Canada by an innings and 115 runs to retain the ICC Intercontinental Cup at Leicestershire's Grace Road ground yesterday and confirm their place as the best of the Associate level nations.
The margin of victory gives an accurate portrayal of the gulf between the sides. In a game due to last four days, Ireland killed off the opposition inside two.
Trent Johnston received the trophy in front of the old pavilion from Roger Knight, the chairman of the European Cricket Council and ex-Surrey captain. Jeremy Bray received the man of the match award for his blistering century on the first day.
"It's great to win. Bray and Porterfield set it up yesterday with a 200 partnership and we did brilliantly today to keep them under pressure," said Johnston.
As the final wicket fell, a catch held in the deep by Andrew White off Kyle McCallan's off spin, the team came together in noisy celebration. The silverware was handed out halfway through the final session of a day that began in brilliant sunshine.
Eoin Morgan and Kevin O'Brien played comfortably in the first hour. O'Brien increasingly looks at ease in the number four slot made available by his brother's move to Northants. He mixed well-organised defence with some leg-side shots dominated by the bottom hand.
At the other end Morgan accumulated with the minimum of fuss. He appears to have time to play his shots, a result of a good eye and crisp footwork.
The game shifted a gear when the new ball was taken by Canada, as four wickets fell in five balls to remove the Ireland late middle order. When O'Brien fell with the score on 297 he was the first of four lbws in five balls. Following Johnston's hat-trick against Gloucestershire a week ago, Ireland were on the receiving end of another. Andrew White, Gary Wilson and Thinus Fourie were the victims, each given out lbw to the left arm swing bowling of Umar Bhatti.
It was only the sixth time in all first class cricket that an all-lbw hat-trick has been taken.
When Canada batted they faced a mountain to climb. Few sides win when behind by 260 on the first innings, and not one with a batting line-up as flimsy as Canada's.
Their quality players, John Davison and captain Ashish Bagai, were soon together. Davison is of slight build but hits the ball cleanly, striking Johnston for a series of classy boundaries.
But the Ireland captain is a feisty competitor, capable of sustained hostility and can sometimes appear to alter the course of an innings through sheer force of will. His 3 for 47 made it 7 in the match and a close competitor for man of the match. When he removed Davison's off stump, the celebrations suggested that they knew the game was as good as over. It was confirmed when he followed it up with Bagai, caught at slip by O'Brien.
Wickets then fell at regular intervals as McCallan, with a five-wicket haul, established his superiority. Something they had done since the first morning on Tuesday.
Scoreboard
Ireland First Innings
J Bray c Mulla b Davison 146
W Porterfield c Bagai b Samad 54
E Morgan c Bagai b Bhatti 84
P Gillespie lbw b Samad 18
K O'Brien lbw b Bhatti 35
A White lbw b Bhatti 0
G Wilson lbw b Bhatti 0
J Fourie lbw b Bhatti 0
T Johnston b Osinde 9
K McCallan c Jyoti b Osinde 2
D Langford-Smith not out 1
Extras(b1 nb2) 3
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Total(94.4 overs) ... 352
Fall of wickets:1-202, 2-202, 3-230, 4-297, 5-303, 6-303, 7-303, 8-324, 9-330.
Bowling:Osinde 24-5-81-2, Bhatti 22.4-4-85-5, A Codrington 13-4-38-0, Samad 18-0-71-2, Davison 12-4-48-1, Ali 5-0-28-0.
Canada Second Innings
J Davison b Johnston 28
G Barnett c Wilson b Langford-Smith 1
A Samad lbw b Johnston 7
A Bagai c K J O'Brien b Johnston 13
A Mulla c & b McCallan 48
Q Ali lbw b McCallan 6
T Bastiampillai b McCallan 20
S Jyoti c A R White b K J O'Brien 2
U Bhatti not out 10
A Codrington b McCallan 4
H Osinde c A R White b McCallan 4
Extras(lb2) 2
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Total(36.5 overs) ... 145
Fall of wickets:1-7, 2-26, 3-41, 4-58, 5-81, 6-114, 7-127, 8-141, 9-151.
Bowling:Langford-Smith 6.5-1-33-1, Johnston 12-1-47-3, Fourie 4-2-9-0, McCallan 8.5-2-34-5, Bray 0.1-0-0-0, K O'Brien 5-0-20-1.
Ireland bt Canada by an innings, 115 runs
