Cricket: Paul Mooney did not enjoy a happy day against Hertfordshire on Thursday so it showed great character yesterday for the North County seam bowler to bounce back with two wickets to help Ireland complete a 75-run victory at Bishop Stortford in the qualifying round of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy.
Mooney has been one of Ireland's best players this season but his first spell on the fast-scoring ground is one he will want to forget. It began with a chest-high no-ball then the next two deliveries were despatched for a four and a six. He said: "The third ball I bowled would have hit three quarters of the way up off stump yet it disappeared somewhere over the sightscreen." Taken off after conceding 72 runs from six overs with only a solitary wicket to show for the abuse, Mooney returned to the attack yesterday morning and removed Iain Fletcher's middle stump and disturbed the castle again to bowl Simon White. His three overs yielded two wickets for nine runs.
Only 5.3 overs into the morning Kyle McCallan held a good catch back-pedalling at mid-wicket and Ireland's name was into the hat for a home tie against one of the county sides.
Andre Botha, the Dublin-based South African, was confirmed as man-of-the-match for his 139 and four for 37.
IRELAND 387-4 (50 overs) (JAM Molins 84, AC Botha 139, G Dros 124)
HERTFORDSHIRE (overnight 283-7)
S Cordingley ct McCallan b Eagleson 58
I Fletcher b Mooney 25
S White b Mooney 6
T Pearman not out 4
Extras (1b, 6lb, 1w, 4nb) 12
Total (43.2 overs) 312 all out
Fall of wickets: 8/300, 9/308.
Bowling: Mooney 9-0-81-3; Eagleson 7.2-0-56-1; Botha 7-1-37-4; White 7-0-35-0; McCallan 8-0-52-0; Morgan 5-0-44-0.
Ireland won by 75 runs.
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