ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

NETHERLANDS v IRELAND Ireland lost their captain, Jason Molins, on the morning of the match because of an injury to his hamstring, Kyle McCallan taking over. Early-morning rain and a wet outfield delayed the start by 45 minutes and on a cool, overcast day with a damp pitch, Ireland asked the Dutch to bat. For most of their innings The Netherlands continued in the defensive vein of their previous match against Scotland, seemingly unable to play shots on a slow wicket but equally unable to bat for any length of time. Trent Johnston and Naseer Shaukat obtained considerable swing in the conditions and for much of the morning the batsmen struggled to get the bat on ball. The first 50 took 25 overs and, at lunch, the Dutch were 79 for two from 29 overs. By tea, the Dutch had ground their way to 110 for four after 53 overs. A period of spin bowling from Greg Thompson and McCallan gave little respite. McCallan conceded six runs in his 11 overs, picking up two wickets before being forced to rest through cramp. Jacob-Jan Esmeijer hit two sixes and one four in an over from Thompson and Edgar Schiferli followed with 15 off an over from Andrew White but the innings folded quickly after Johnston returned to the attack when the new ball became due after 80 overs. Ireland batted well in the 22 overs before the close, during which time the Dutch tried five bowlers in search of a breakthrough; they had to be content with one wicket. The second day belonged to Andrew White who scored a century on his first-class debut, attained in 145 balls with one six and 14 fours. He received sound support from Andre Botha, Peter Gillespie and McCallan before Johnston demolished a tiring attack, hitting six fours and three sixes as he and White added 124 for the sixth wicket. Apart from Schiferli, who took four wickets, the Dutch bowling was unimpressive. With rain threatening in mid-afternoon, Ireland declared, but only ten balls were possible in the Dutch second innings before the weather intervened, the last ball accounting for Feiko Kloppenburg to leave The Netherlands 188 runs behind. Despite the rain overnight and on the previous afternoon, the hosts worked hard to ensure the pitch was protected. The Irish players and supporters helped the locals carefully to remove the side covers, which were laden with water. Play was therefore able to start on time at 10.45 am. With further rain forecast, there was the prospect of a draw but, in the end, only 54 overs were required on the third day for Ireland to achieve a commanding victory. The Netherlands aimed to bat through the day but only Maurits van Nierop and Adeel Raja lasted over an hour at the crease. The Irish rotated their attack and it was the spin bowlers who kept getting wickets every time the Dutch looked as though they might produce a worthwhile partnership. White dismissed Raja, McCallan removed Bas Zuiderent and Lucas van Troost, and Thompson gained the vital wicket of van Nierop. Naseer Shaukat then ran through the lower order which offered disappointingly little resistance. The last-wicket pair survived seven overs, causing Ireland to turn again to spin, a successful change as McCallan found the edge of Sebastiaan Gokke’s bat to be caught at gully. In a match in which conditions favoured pace bowling and the slow pitch made scoring difficult, a surprising 53 per cent of the runs came in boundaries (80 fours and 11 sixes). Ireland’s pace bowlers took 60 per cent of the Dutch wickets but their spinners bowled 54 per cent of their overs. 26 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2004