CRICKET:Two of Ireland's best players saw to it there were no surprises at a sun-baked Clontarf ground yesterday as Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce contributed to a comfortable win for Middlesex by six wickets
Chasing Ireland's 175 all out, Joyce top-scored for Middlesex with 45 and Morgan was at hand to steer them home at the end.
The Castle Avenue ground was ringed by close to a thousand visitors basking in very warm temperatures on a beautiful Sunday in north Dublin, their faces reddening in the sun.
However, the cricket didn't live up to the setting as Ireland's batmen failed to post an authoritative total, having won the toss and decided to bat.
Their score of 175 was at least 50 runs short of competitive in ideal batting conditions on a wicket that, although taking spin, was otherwise consistent in bounce and pace.
A weakened Ireland took the field due to a mixture of injury and selectorial choice. Missing from what would be considered a full-strength side were Jeremy Bray (rested), Dave Langford Smith (rib injury), Andre Botha (finger injury) and Andrew White (12th man). These absences made the presence of Joyce and Morgan in the Middlesex side even more pointed.
But professional cricket is a hard school and no place for such romantic notions as brotherly love, as Ed Joyce demonstrated when he ended the innings of his brother Dominick, catching him for nine.
Joyce junior was unlucky to be adjudged to have got a thin inside edge on to his pad before it reached his brother, crouching a few yards away at silly mid off.
The morning started promisingly as William Porterfield and Kenny Carroll put on 55 for the first wicket against the opening attack containing Sri Lankan Test left armer Chaminda Vaas. Porterfield looked in good touch, having represented MCC at Lord's this week. Solid in defence and displaying some pleasing off-side shots, his 68 off 116 deliveries was by some margin the most impressive contribution of the innings.
Alex Cusack played well for 29, but Ireland were derailed by the dual spin attack of Jamie Dalrymple and Murali Kartik, who took seven Ireland wickets between them. Dalrymple's off spinners led the way with 4 for 39 off his 10 overs.
Any hope of a 220 plus total were dashed in the space of two balls. Trent Johnston was run out by Dalrymple hitting the stumps from mid on. Then, next ball, Cusack made an error in judgment, charging Kartik only for the ball to spin past his outside edge and he was out stumped.
The paucity of the Ireland total, and the quality of the Middlesex upper order, meant Joyce was able to play without taking risks as he opened with Nick Compton. The Bray man mixed clean off side drives and cuts with nudges to mid wicket. One pull caught the eye, off Cusack, which rushed to the straight mid wicket boundary.
An intriguing tussle then took place as Johnston rushed in hell bent on removing the ex-Ireland player. Bowling quickly and with hostility, Johnston forced Joyce on to the back foot with a series of short deliveries. But Joyce rode this period and then expanded his repertoire, hitting a series of classic off drives.
But this greater freedom led to his downfall as he chunked another attempted straight drive to Nanty Hayward at mid on.
Joyce looked furious with himself for the lapse in concentration five short of his half century. As he stormed off to the pavilion, he was passed by Eoin Morgan walking the other way.
Thinus Fourie made inroads, having Nick Compton lbw, given out in record time by umpire Barry Duddlestone, whose finger was up before the appeal finished.
Having played in the Lord's Test against West Indies, Owais Shah is a man on a mission to get back in to the England team for this week's match at Durham.
He made a quickfire 27, hitting Johnston hard back past the stumps. He went lbw, becoming Fourie's third wicket, the South African-born Fourie finishing with fine figures of 3 for 41.
But despite his efforts it was left to Morgan to score the winning runs, with almost 13 overs to spare.
