UAE v Ireland, ICC Intercontinental Cup, Abu Dhabi, 1st day

Bowlers put Ireland on top

Cricinfo staff

March 6, 2008

Ireland 46 for 1 (Porterfield 16*, Morgan 23*) trail UAE 228 (Zia 56, Aslam 49) by 182 runs
Scorecard

	Naeemuddin Aslam on his way to a battling 49 © ICC

After deciding to bat UAE lost Gayan Silva in the first over when he was trapped lbw by David Langford-Smith and wickets fell at regular intervals. Trent Johnston, Ireland's captain, struck twice while Langford-Smith added a second to his name. Spin then started to play a role as Greg Thompson, the legspinner who has been part of the recent Under-19 World Cup, removed Naeemuddin Aslam for 49.

When Kyle McCallan struck UAE were in deep trouble at 121 for 6 but Zia and Raza managed to stitch together a seventh-wicket stand of 97. Zia went past his half century before he fell to Alex Cusack's medium pace and the innings then came to a swift conclusion.

Faced with a tricky session before the close Ireland lost debutant Paul Stirling for 2 before William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan - two batsmen with county contracts - guided them through to the close. Given that it's Ireland first four-day match in six months they have engineered a strong position from where they can aim for a useful first-innings lead.

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Matches

United Arab Emirates v Ireland at Abu Dhabi

Players/Umpires

Trent Johnston

Sameer Zia

Greg Thompson

Series/Tournaments

ICC Intercontinental Cup

Teams

Ireland

United Arab Emirates