Match report Netherlands v Ireland 2004 by Gerry Byrne

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Scorecard:

Netherlands v Ireland

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DateLine: 16th December 2004

 

Highlights

 

This was Ireland’s first match in a new competition run by the ICC. It involves 4 continental regions, and in each one there are three countries who play each other once in a three-day game with first class status. Each game carries Bonus Points and points for a win. The ultimate winner of each region goes to semi-finals and a final to be held in Sharjah in November. The 3 European countries are Ireland, Holland and Scotland. Scotland and Holland drew earlier in Aberdeen, with Scotland getting 17.5 Bonus Points and Holland 16.5. After this game the final match is in Castle Avenue between Ireland and Scotland in August 2004.

 

This is the first time Ireland and Holland have met in a game with first class status. Of the Irish team J.P.Bray; D.I.Joyce; J.F.Mooney; G.J.Thompson; A.R.White and S.Ogilby were making their first class debut. A.C.Botha; D.T.Johnston and Naseer Shoukat had made their first class debut previously in South Africa; Australia and Pakistan respectively but this was their first class debut for Ireland.

 

The Irish squad of 12 for this match shows one change from the team that played M.C.C. A.R.White comes back in and G.E.Kidd drops out. Initially J.A.M.Molins also came in but at the last moment he withdrew because of injury and M.Hutchinson (uncapped from Bangor Club) was called into the squad but became 12th man. The main Irish concern was likely to be with bowlers as of this squad 3 – A.C.Botha (injured in M.C.C. game) D.T.Johnston and J.F.Mooney (injured in InterRegional games after M.C.C. match) either had or were recovering from injuries. In addition G.Cooke, A.G.A.M.McCoubrey and P.J.K.Mooney were not sufficiently recovered from injuries to be considered for selection.

 

Dom Joyce took his first wicket for Ireland.

 

White’s century his second for Ireland. Second highest score for Ireland in first class cricket, and 4th highest for Ireland in all cricket. Reached 1,000 runs for Ireland in 47th Match and 42nd Innings. 38th to do so for Ireland.

 

Naseer Shaukat took 5 wickets in an innings for Ireland for first time.

 

First Innings score of 388-8 dec. second highest for Ireland in 1st class cricket. Margin of victory highest by an Innings for Ireland in first class cricket.

 

50 Partnerships

For Ireland
2nd wicket	 50	J.P.Bray/A.C.Botha
4th wicket	 72	A.R.White/P.G.Gillespie
5th wicket	 61	A.R.White/W.K.McCallan
6th wicket	124	A.R.White/D.T.Johnston. Record Ireland in 1st Class Cricket
 
Against Ireland
3rd wicket	 64	M.W.A.van Nierop/B.Zuiderent
2nd wicket	 54	M.W.A.van Nierop/A.Raja.

 

Result gave Ireland 30 points in InterContinental Cup Group, and Holland 10½. That means at this stage with Ireland v Scotland still to be played Ireland lead Group with 30, Holland second with 27 and Scotland third with 17½.

Match Report

 

Day 1
On the first day of the Intercontinental Cup match at Deventer, Trent Johnston has bowled Ireland into a good position with 4 for 34, as Netherlands were dismissed for just 200. Ireland, who won the toss and opted to field first, are without their captain, Jason Molins, who has had to withdraw from the match after injuring his hamstring.

 

Tom de Grooth was the first to go this morning, caught by Kyle McCallan, who took over as stand-in captain, off the bowling of Johnston, Ireland's Australian import, for 10 (18 for 1). Adeel Raja blocked his way to 1 off 30 balls before being trapped lbw by Dominick Joyce (29 for 2), but Maurits van Nierop and Bas Zuiderent temporarily steadied the ship with a 64-run partnership. However, when both were dismissed before the score had reached 100, the Netherlands innings never recovered.

 

Zuiderent was caught behind by Stephen Ogilby off the impressive Johnston for 24 (93 for 3) and van Nierop, who had crawled to 38 off 125 balls, was lbw to Andrew White (97 for 4). Luuk van Troost, Netherland's captain, made 19 before he was bowled by McCallan and Feiko Kloppenburg, on his first-class debut, became McCallan's second victim when he too was bowled. McCallan bowled 11 overs of offspin for just six runs, as well as picking up the two wickets, as the Netherlands batsmen seemed unwilling to play their shots, but unable to protect their wickets for any length of time.

 

Darron Reekers, Jacob-Jan Esmeijer and Edgar Schiferli all made starts, with Reekers in particular looking promising, but all were dismissed in the 20s, and Johnston eventually wrapped up the innings when Sebastiaan Gokke was caught behind for a duck.

 

Day 2
An unbeaten century by Andrew White and some lusty hitting from Trent Johnston has put Ireland into an excellent position on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup match at Deventer. White scored 152 not out, while Johnston slammed a run-a-ball 60 as Ireland amassed 388 for 8 declared. Netherlands made the worst possible start when they came out to bat, 188 behind, losing Feiko Kloppenburg for a four-ball duck.

 

Earlier, Ireland made a positive start to their batting, although they lost Dominick Joyce early, bowled by Edgar Schiferli (38 for 1). Jeremy Bray and Andre Botha added 50 for the second wicket in quick time, before Bray became Schiferli's second victim when he was caught by Darron Reekers for 29 (88 for 2). Botha fell soon after for a well-paced 42 (103 for 3), but Peter Gillespie (31) and Kyle McCallan (26) provided White with some good support as he raced towards his hundred.

 

Johnston came to the crease with the fall of the fifth wicket at 235, and quickly set about the tired Netherlands bowlers. With White, he added 124, smashing six fours and three sixes before he tried one shot too many against Schiferli and was bowled (359 for 6). Schiferli bowled impressively, and was the pick of the Netherlands bowlers, taking 4 for 70 in 20 overs. John Mooney did not last long, trapped lbw by Schiferli, but Naseer Shaukat stayed with White until he brought up his 150, when the declaration came.

 

Feiko Kloppenburg, unusually pushed up the order to open, fell in Shaukat's first over and Netherlands closed at 0 for 1. They will have a lot of work to do tomorrow if they are to stop Ireland from securing a famous victory.

 

Day 3
Ireland needed just 54 overs on the third day at Deventer to wrap up an emphatic innings-and-47-run victory over Holland, in their opening fixture of the ICC Intercontinental Cup. The star of the show was their Pakistani-born seamer, Naseer Shaukat. After dismissing Feiko Kloppenburg in the final over last night, he returned with four more scalps today, to finish with 5 for 30 from nine impressive overs.

 

Holland were always up against it, after conceding a first-innings lead of 188, but Maurits van Nierop dug in for a valuable 41, as he and Adeel Raja (18) added 53 for the second wicket. But once Andrew White had made the breakthrough, the wickets started to come in clusters. Kyle McCallan struck twice to remove Bas Zuiderent and Luuk van Troost, and when Greg Thompson had van Nierop caught behind off a legbreak, the resistance was all but broken.

 

Shaukat returned to the attack with a withering spell, as five wickets tumbled for 22 runs. Of the last six batsmen, only the No. 11, Sebastiaan Gokke, made it to double figures, as Ireland wrapped up the match with a session to spare. They take 30 points for their victory to Holland's 10.5, and are now in the box seat to reach the finals in Sharjah in November.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2004 Gerry Byrne)