Cricket Inter-Continental Cup : In September, when Ed Joyce, the best Irish batsman of our time, was selected onto the England A squad thus precluding him from playing for Ireland again, it was feared we'd have to wait many years to see his likes again.
Well now it looks like Eoin Morgan could be the one to fill those boots and it was with a Joycean maturity and quality of stroke-making that the 19-year-old Dubliner stamped his authority on this Inter-Continental Cup semi-final and put Ireland into a very strong position at the end of day one, 273 runs ahead of the United Arab Emirates.
His 151 runs came off just 150 balls (18 fours and one six) in an innings full of cultured drives, wristy flicks to leg and the occasional savage hook behind square. Although it was his first century for Ireland, the left-hander looked entirely at home and one suspects this will be the first of many first-class tons that he makes in his career. Although on the books at Lord's, he has yet to make his full Middlesex debut but surely the summer of 2006 will be the time when head coach John Emburey comes to his senses and picks him alongside Joyce.
"I couldn't be happier. I can't describe how I'm feeling. It's the best I have ever played," he said after the close of play yesterday evening. "The wicket wasn't that quick but it was true so I decided to take on the short ball and felt confident doing that. I knew where I was hitting it," he said.
This Inter-Continental Cup competition gives non-Test nations such as Ireland the chance to experience the longer form of the game and it also encourages batsmen to occupy the crease for more time than the one-day version allows.
One of the most impressive things about Morgan's knock yesterday was that he had the presence of mind not to throw it away once he got to three figures. He stayed, he concentrated and he built a potentially match-winning innings of real quality.
"Absolutely, the way the points system goes in this competition you have to value your wicket for the team. I wanted to make it a big one and thankfully that is how it worked out," he said.
Apart from the searing Namibian heat, conditions for batting were near perfect and batting at number three Morgan was given the perfect platform by his openers who put on 111 for the first wicket. Jeremy Bray made a watchful 78 and Dom Joyce looked good for his 38 before miss-hitting a short ball to square leg.
Ireland made 350 before declaring and then Paul Mooney (Morgan's former team-mate at North County) took two wickets in his first over, leaving the Emirates reeling on 3 for 2. They rallied somewhat but are 273 runs behind with Ireland very much in control.
In the other semi-final Steve Tikolo made a competition record 220 as Kenya reached 403 for six against Bermuda. Play in both games resumes this morning.
Scoreboard
IRELAND
D Joyce c Samir b Ali Asad 38
J Bray lbw Sockalingam 78
E Morgan lbw Ali Asad 151
N O'Brien c and b Ali Asad 2
P Gillespie lbw Kashif 11
T Johnston c Sockalingam b Ali Asad 30
C Armstrong b Ali Asad 5
K McCallan not out 16
P Mooney not out 5
Extras (7b, 7lb) 14
Total (for 7 dec, 87.4 overs) 350
Fall: 111, 143, 146, 189, 283, 294, 343.
Bowling: Ali Asad 28-8-93-5, Saleem 6-1-21-0, Al-Hashimi 7-0-33-0, Rizwan 16-1-56-0, Samir 10-1-44-0, Arshad Ali, 9.4-1-34-0, Sockalingam 6-0-32-1, Kashif 4-1-10-1, Usman 1-0-13-0.
UAE
Arshad Ali lbw Mooney 3
M Taskeen not out 38
Samir Zia b Mooney 0
V Sockalingam c Joyce b Johnston 16
Kashif Ahmed c Gillespie b McCallan 8
Extras (12nb) 12
Total (for 4, 17.3 overs) 77
Fall: 3, 3, 56, 77
To bat: Rameez Shahzad, Fahad Usman, Usman Saleem, Ali Asad, Rizwan Ahmed, Fahad al-Hashimi.
Bowling: McCoubrey 4-0-20-0, Mooney 4-1-21-2, Johnston 4-0-24-1, McCallan 3.3-1-3-1, Thompson 2-0-9-0. Ireland lead UAE by 273 runs.
SECOND SEMI-FINAL: At United Sports Club, Windhoek (Day One): Kenya 403 for 6 declared, 89.5 overs (S Tikolo 220, H Modi 98 not out, K Obuya 34); Bermuda 13 for 1, 13 overs. Kenya lead by 390 runs.
