ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

AFGHANISTAN v IRELAND Ireland began confidently with a century opening partnership between William Porterfield and Gary Wilson. The stand of 120 in 28.2 overs, a strike rate of 70.5, was ended three balls before lunch, when Wilson advanced down the wicket to Mohammad Nabi, only to be beaten by the off spin, offering a simple catch to Hamid Hassan. Alex Cusack continued Ireland’s excellent start and a high total seemed likely until, on 170, Porterfield pulled Hamid Hassan into the hands of Samiullah Shenwari. The score passed 200 but, by mid afternoon, the wicket was taking spin and Samiullah Shenwari exploited it well with his leg breaks, dismissing Alex Cusack, Andre Botha and Kevin O’Brien. Ireland slumped from 203 for two to 231 for five. Niall O’Brien and Andrew White retaliated with a partnership of 85 but, just when looking set, both fell in the last half-hour to leave the match evenly poised after the first day. Trent Johnston and Gary Kidd fell quickly on the second morning but Afghanistan were unable to dismiss Ireland cheaply as Mooney and Peter Connell embarked on an entertaining tenth-wicket stand which reached 66 before Connell was beaten for pace by Shapoor Zadran. Mooney was undefeated for a valuable 58, made off 90 balls. Ireland’s total of 405, though impressive, was soon made to look vulnerable, as Afghanistan took advantage of good batting conditions. Noor Ali dominated the opening stand of 72 but both openers went in the space of two runs to give Ireland hope. Shabir Noori and Nawroz Mangal responded with a stand of 104, with the latter the dominant partner. It was somewhat of a surprise when Nawroz Mangal, who had a strike rate of 73.6, edged a ball from Botha to the wicketkeeper. Mohammad Shahzad, following his three catches and a stumping, proceeded to bat with purpose whilst Shabir Noori remained an immovable object at the other end. At the close, Afghanistan were still 142 runs behind but they had seven wickets in hand. The fourth-wicket partnership was extended to 147 on the third morning before Botha induced Mohammad Shahzad to edge the ball to the wicketkeeper. The scoring rate slowed slightly as Asghar Stanikzai joined Shabir Noori, but Ireland still struggled to take wickets. The breakthrough came with the last ball before lunch, a long hop from White, which Shabir Noori hit straight to Kevin O’Brien. Shabir Noori’s vigil had last five and a half hours, with his 85 runs coming at a strike rate of 36.3. After the interval, Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi ensured that Afghanistan claimed first-innings points but, instead of continuing on to a really big score, the lower order succumbed to White’s off spin and the miserly medium pace of Botha. When Afghanistan’s innings ended at 474, the match had seen 879 runs scored without any batsmen reaching a century. Afghanistan had a lead of 69 but were unable to capitalise on this; Porterfield and Wilson had reduced it to 30 by the close. Ireland gave a pitiful display on the fourth morning, as the top and middle order succumbed to an inspired spell of pace bowling from Dawlat Ahmadzai, who obtained a five-wicket haul, and some top-class spin bowling from Mohammad Nabi. They were reduced to 101 for seven before putting up much in the way of resistance. Johnston decided to attack, hitting seven fours and one six in his unbeaten 63. Mooney defended resolutely for one hour and twelve minutes whilst 40 runs were added and Connell again contributed to a productive last-wicket stand of 59. A total of 202 was never going to be enough to avoid defeat. With lead of only 133 runs and 34 overs remaining in the day, Ireland needed to bowl very tightly to secure a draw. Despite using eight bowlers, they were unable to restrict the run rate and Afghanistan reached their target with 15 balls and 10 minutes to spare. 194 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10