Rain thwarts Ireland

CRICKET:IRELAND'S HOPES of a fourth straight Intercontinental Cup title were again hampered by the rain after no play was possible on the final day of their clash with Scotland in Aberdeen yesterday.

Having worked their way into a dominant position in the match and requiring just five Scotland wickets for victory, the Irish players arrived at Mannonfield to see pools of water on the outfield after heavy overnight rain.

An inspection at noon was postponed as the rain returned and an early lunch taken. Any hope of play was ended when a downpour greeted the umpires when they finally went to inspect the playing field, with the game abandoned just before 3pm.

Poor weather also prevented Ireland from claiming victory in their opening game against Kenya in Eglinton last month, and having handed the six bonus points on offer to Scotland after a poor batting display in their first innings, Phil Simmons’s side are facing an uphill task in their four remaining games.

Skipper William Porterfield, who scored 195 runs in the match, summed up his side’s disappointment, but has backed them to bounce back in the remaining games.

“Only 12 points out of a possible 40 is not ideal but there’s not much you can do when the weather goes against you. We needed two wickets against Kenya and we lost the first session of the last day and we’ve lost the last day here in Aberdeen.

“It just means we have to keep performing the way we have been in this competition for the last four years, take it into whatever game comes next and look to get maximum points to get us back on track.”

The two sides meet tomorrow at the same ground in the first of two One-Day Internationals, with the second game on Sunday.

Opening bowler Peter Connell and all-rounder John Mooney come back in, with Jeremy Bray and Andrew Poynter missing out from the four-day squad.

Meanwhile, there was some good news for Simmons ahead of next Thursday’s ODI against England at Stormont after Boyd Rankin claimed his first five-wicket haul in the English County Championship for Warwickshire.

The 6ft 8in opening bowler finished with figures of five for 85 against Durham at Chester-le-Street, including the prized wicket of West Indian star Shivnarine Chanderpaul for a duck.