Bell tolls for sinful wides

Fittingly, the Angelus bell began tolling at Castle Avenue yesterday evening just as Shropshire needed two runs to topple Ireland out of their last-ever NatWest Trophy campaign, sounding a note not only of what lay imminently in store but also a doleful reminder of what might have been. Two minutes later, Tony Parton crashed a drive for two, the runs which not only brought up his own 50 but also sealed his team's victory.

After this, his first home match as the new national coach, maybe the former New Zealand Test captain Ken Rutherford could do with some counselling, perhaps, from fellow-Kiwi Warren Gatland, who knows much about the vicissitudes of Irish sporting life. For Ireland's downfall yesterday can hardly be attributed to Rutherford; with two exceptions, the batting was atrocious and the squandering of 21 extras by the bowlers - 17 wides and four no-balls - just short of sinful.

Skipper Angus Dunlop, the game's top-scorer with 56 (92 balls, one six, four fours), Ed Joyce with 29, and to a much lesser extent new cap Gerard Brophy, were the exceptions to the general batting malaise. Of the rest, three got the proverbial ducks, and the others mustered all of 19 runs between them - not what you'd call a concerted team effort.

When it was Ireland's turn to field, the concession of wides - time was when such ineptitude was an embarrassment - was deplorably wasteful. Just suppose that Shrophsire had needed 21 to win, and not just two, off the two last overs?

It's easier when you're the hurler on the ditch, of course, but Ireland's bowling changes were at least debatable. Admittedly, the dismissals of Bryan Jones by Gordon Cooke with 19 runs on the board and that of Abdul Hafeez when Shrophsire were on 34 runs, in the ninth and 16th overs, respectively, were encouraging.

But Parton and Asif Din put on 49 for the third wicket before Matt Dwyer removed Din in the 30th over and by then Shropshire were well in command. Derek Heasley took two wickets, but at some expense; Dwyer's figures of 1 for 13 off his regulation 10 overs suggest that he might have been brought on earlier.

Adam Byram, with an admirable four wickets for 24 off 10, won the man of the match award.

Shropshire won the toss and elected to field.