Ireland win comfortably against Namibia

Ireland bounced back after the disappointment of losing to New Zealand yesterday, to defeat Namibia by 6 wickets at the NCC ground in Colombo. Having won the toss, Ireland inserted Namibia, but some quick running between the wickets got Namibia off to a steady start. Neil Gill suffered the effects from the gruelling conditions in the New Zealand game, and was replaced after bowling 5 overs for 16. The breakthrough came with the total on 25, Gary Kidd taking a routine catch, to give Niall Mc Darby his 12th wicket of the competition, one behind the leader Moises Enriques of Australia.

Kidd then got into the act with the ball, and in conjunction with his Waringstown team mate, James Hall, proceeded to decimate the weak Namibian batting line up. Louis Van Der Westhuizen offered some resistance at the top of the order, hitting 3 boundaries in his 32, and Henno Prinsloo took the ir score over the 100 mark, scoring an unbeaten 33 off 60 deliveries.

It was fitting that James Hall took the last 2 wickets, to finish with 4 for 29, as he found the surface to his liking. There were also wickets for Richard Keaveney, having his first bowl of the tournament, and Greg Thompson removed Olivier with a real ripper, that clipped the off stump. The only down note was the concession of 19 wides and 1 no ball in the low score of 115.

Ireland juggled the batting order in the absence of Mc Kee and Stirling, opening with Greg Thompson alongside Fintan Mc Allister. The pairing worked as they added 51 for the first wicket before both fell in the space of 4 balls in the over before lunch, Van Der Westhuizen being the bowler. Mc Allister was bowled for 23, while Thompson hit 26, which included 4 boundaries, mixing up solid defence with some controlled hitting.

Any post lunch nerves were settled by a lovely cameo knock of 27 by Eoin Morgan off just 23 balls, and in that there were 5 text book cover and straight drives which all found the boundary. He was eventually caught at mid on, a good catch by Marx low down off the bowling of Olivier. David Rankin looked to be returning to somewhere near his best, making a very composed 27, before being trapped lbw with the scores level.

Still, 2 balls later, the victory was secured, and a very happy Eoin Morgan said afterwards of his first win in the series, "It's nice to get a win under our belts, but it's just a pity it's so late in the tournament. It was a great effort by the lads to lift themselves after the soul destroying loss to New Zealand. The bowlers did well today, especially James Hall and Gary Kidd. Namibia aren't a bad side, but we showed determination and great character, and fully deserved the win. We'll be hoping to finish on a high note by winning our game on Saturday