CRICKET/Intercontinental Cup: Ireland coach Adrian Birrell has packed his side full of batting for the final of the Inter-Continental Cup against Kenya which gets under way in Windhoek today.
With Paul Mooney out of the team because of a back strain, Birrell welcomes back all-rounders Andre Botha and Andy White, who were not fit for the semi-final against the United Arab Emirates.
The coach has retained specialist batsman Conor Armstrong even though it looks like the North County opener will come in at number nine. Leg-spinner Greg Thompson is the man to lose out.
With Kyle McCallan batting at 10, this is as strong a batting line-up as you could imagine and there is no question that under the bonus points system of the competition which favour a side that can put big runs on the board, particularly in the first innings, it is vital to bat all the way down.
However, it could be argued that by leaving out Thompson, Birrell has restricted his options when it comes to bowling.
"This match will probably come down to a one-innings shootout," said Birrell yesterday after announcing his team. "It is vital that we put a lot of runs on the board in the first innings so that is why I have so many batsmen in the side," he said.
"Greg has not been bowling very well over here. He is not putting enough pressure on the batsmen. It is important that we bowl with discipline so that we can contain their batsmen. I want 11 fit cricketers on the field. Conor provides an option with the ball and he is also an excellent fielder."
Ireland will look to bat first and a total of around 400 in the first innings would give them a good lead in terms of bonus points.
On what is going to be a flat track, conducive to batting, it is unlikely that the game will yield an outright winner. In that case the points system will come into play.
Under the competition rules, each side can bat for a maximum of 90 overs in the first innings, gaining half a batting point for each 25 runs scored. The bowling side receives half a point for each wicket they take. In the second innings, the batting side can score a maximum of five points (by getting to 200), the same number of points on offer to the bowling side.
So for both teams the idea will be to pile on the runs while batting in the first innings and to restrict the other team while in the field through disciplined bowling and conservative field placings.
For Ireland, the dangerman in Kenya's batting line-up will be Steve Tikolo, who scored a record 220 in the first innings against Bermuda. He is confident that the Africans have what it takes to overcome the European qualifiers.
"I think it will be a closely-fought game but we are playing very well at the moment and we can beat Ireland," he said yesterday.
"Our strength is undoubtedly our batting but our bowlers did really well for us in our recent tour of Zimbabwe. We have been together as a team for the best part of 10 years so we know each other's strengths and weaknesses very well and how to get the best out of ourselves."
IRELAND: Dominick Joyce, Jeremy Bray, Eoin Morgan, Niall O'Brien, Andre Botha, Trent Johnston, Andy White, Peter Gillespie, Conor Armstrong, Kyle McCallan, Adrian McCoubrey.
KENYA (from): Steve Tikolo (captain), Thomas Odoyo, Kennedy Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Kalpesh Patel, Ragheb Aga, Lameck Onyango, Collins Obuya, Mohammed Sheikh, Peter Ongondo, Martin Suji, Hitesh Modi, Tony Suji.
