Ireland advance but bowlers need to find form urgently

THE quest for a place in the World Cup finals was out of Ireland's hands for a couple of hours yesterday in Kuala Lumpur but by, mid afternoon the worry was over and coach Mike Hendrick could begin planning for the next round of the ICC Trophy.

There was little doubt that Ireland would defeat Singapore in their final Group A qualifying match, and that was achieved by 10 wickets. But if the USA had beaten Kenya... During the morning it seemed the other game was being played at the Rumour Has It ground as reports filtered back on the progress of a Kenyan winnings that was finally confirmed as 243-7.

Were the USA to better it there would be a three way tie at the top of the group. That never materialised: Decker Curry and Andrew Patterson knocked off the runs in 10.2 overs and Kenya bowled out the USA for 32 to render mathematics redundant.

Ireland had been chastened by the manner of their defeat by Kenya on Saturday and aside from a lack of commitment, Hendrick is concerned that there was no viable alternative when his four man spin policy failed to stem the African flow. If Ireland are to find a place in the semi finals by finishing in the top two of the group of four that includes Bangladesh, Holland and Hong Kong, the seam bowlers will have to finds some form.

Paul McCrum and Mel Graham were recalled against Singapore and both bowled tidily without really impressing. Mark Patterson again strayed too often while picking up three wickets, and Ryan Eagleson has been dropped.

If finding the right bowling mix is still a problem, the team and supporters were in good heart again after a thumping performance from Curry who blazed 10 boundaries in as many overs, six of them very big sixes. In full flow, Curry could be mistaken for his hero Viv Richards, except for the fact he is white and left handed!

He times the ball beautifully off his legs and has the power to clear the big boundaries with ease.

Curry finished the match with a towering six over the far sight screen and took the man of the match award for his 65 not bout off 32 balls. It was his second award of the tournament.

. The match between Holland and Canada was abandoned yesterday when the PKNS ground was invaded by Muslims protesting against Israel's participation in the ICC Trophy.