Abu Dhabi XI v Ireland XI, Abu Dhabi

Eoin Morgan thrashes Ireland to victory

Cricinfo staff

March 12, 2008

Ireland XI 307 for 7 (Morgan 196*, N O'Brien 45) beat Abu Dhabi XI 282 (Fayyaz Ahmed 72, Rizwan Khan 64, Eaglestone 3-40, K O'Brien 3-48, Thompson 3-53) by 25 runs
Scorecard

Ireland's preparations for their tour of Bangladesh received a boost with a 25-run win over an Abu Dhabi XI under lights at the Sheik Zayed Stadium.

Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach, rested several senior players, and the move looked to have backfired as they slid to 12 for 3. Reinhardt Strydom who was run out without scoring on his first appearance, Paul Stirling made 0 and William Porterfield 1.

But Eion Morgan, who scored a double-hundred on this ground a year ago, thrashed a magnificent unbeaten 196, reaching his hundred off 107 balls before accelerating as the innings progressed, taking only 64 deliveries to score the remainder of his runs . He put on 97 for the fourth wicket with Niall O'Brien and then 182 in 27 overs with Alex Cusack. In all Morgan smashed 23 fours and five sixes, giving only one chance near the end.

Ireland's bowlers also showed early nerves, but Kevin O'Brien took three wickets as the home side tottered on 50 for 4. Only opener Rizwan Khan of the top five reached double figures, and when his battling 47-ball 64 was ended by Phil Eaglestone, Abu Dhabi were 94 for 5. Gopal Nitten and Fayyaz Ahmed added 89 for the sixth wicket, but they kept up a chase that was always just off the pace, although they had three-and-a-half overs remaining when they were bowled out.

The only concern for Ireland came when Cusack pulled up after one over with a groin strain.

© Cricinfo

Add to del.icio.us | digg this | Stumble It What's this? If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content on cricket, you may use these buttons. When you add them to any of these sites, you "social bookmark" them for others to find and rate. More on del.icio.us>> More on digg>> More on stumbleupon>> Close

WI v Aus edition now live - Play now Cricinfo Cricket Quiz NEW fantasy cricket game - England v South Africa (starts July 10) Login and enter your team now Live scores, results, news, features and more - a click away Download the Cricinfo Toolbar

Matches

Abu Dhabi XI v Ireland at Abu Dhabi

Players/Umpires

Eoin Morgan

Kevin O'Brien

Niall O'Brien

Series/Tournaments

Ireland tour of Bangladesh

Teams

Ireland

United Arab Emirates