Ireland Under 19s go into their World Cup campaign on the back of a morale boosting 117-run win against Zimbabwe, finishing the series with a consolation victory.
Batting first in a game reduced to 46 overs because of early rain, the Irish reverted to 'old school' limited overs cricket, laying a solid foundation and the switch proved a very successful one.
Liam Doherty (17) and David Vincent shared an opening stand of 30 in eight overs, with the Clontarf teenager going on to make 44 as he Josh Cox (29) added a further 63 in 17 overs to take the Boys in Green to 93 for 1.
That base was a perfect launching pad for skipper Tim Tector, who powered his way to a half century, clearing the ropes three times in his 53 from just 44 balls, also hitting two fours.
That saw the Irish post 196 for 8, despite a late flurry of wickets with spinner Victor Chirwa claiming a five wicket haul.
The Zimbabwe chase never got going, with their reply soon in tatters as they slumped to 38 for 9.
YMCA's 15 year-old speedster Reuben Wilson was the destroyer-in-chief, as he claimed five wickets, with Nathan McGuire (3-20) and Matthew Humphreys (2-21) both continuing their excellent form as they took their series tally of wickets into double figures.
YMCA and Leinster's Reuben Wilson
Connor Mitchell (38*) showed late resistance as Zimbabwe's last pair more than doubled the score, but the result was a foregone conclusion as they finished on 79.
Plenty to ponder then for Ireland Head Coach Pete Johnston as they head into the business end of the tour, heading to Guyana for three days quarantine ahead of their first official warm-up against Sri Lanka.
The batting remains fragile, although they will take great heart from this display, and it may be the blueprint for the tournament.
As for the bowling, spin would appear to be the Irish trump card as both Humphreys and McGuire took ten wickets at 9.1 apiece. Wilson's late burst may just be enough to earn him a starting berth with the seam bowling not proving as effective in Barbados.
Ireland have been drawn in the same group as Uganda, South Africa and favourites India - that game live on television.
It promises to be an exciting few weeks ahead.
IRELAND U19 BATTING AVERAGES FOR ZIMBABWE SERIES
| # | Name | Club | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 | 4s | 6s | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim H Tector | Ireland | 4 | 4 | - | 204 | 94 | 51.00 | 259 | 78.76 | - | 2 | - | 11 | 6 | 204 |
| 2 | J Cox | Ireland | 3 | 3 | - | 76 | 29 | 25.33 | 173 | 43.93 | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | 76 |
| 3 | David M Vincent | Ireland | 3 | 3 | - | 65 | 44 | 21.67 | 140 | 46.43 | - | - | - | 6 | - | 65 |
| 4 | P Le Roux | Ireland | 3 | 3 | - | 37 | 24 | 12.33 | 61 | 60.66 | - | - | 1 | 2 | - | 37 |
| 5 | L Whelan | Ireland | 2 | 2 | - | 25 | 18 | 12.50 | 53 | 47.17 | - | - | - | - | - | 25 |
| 6 | J Dickson | Ireland | 3 | 3 | - | 25 | 12 | 8.33 | 64 | 39.06 | - | - | - | 3 | - | 25 |
| 7 | L Doherty | Ireland | 3 | 3 | - | 22 | 17 | 7.33 | 35 | 62.86 | - | - | 1 | 2 | - | 22 |
| 8 | S Macbeth | Ireland | 2 | 2 | - | 14 | 14 | 7.00 | 22 | 63.64 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 14 |
| 9 | M Humphreys | Ireland | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 7* | 6.50 | 39 | 33.33 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 13 |
| 10 | NJ McGuire | Ireland | 4 | 4 | - | 10 | 8 | 2.50 | 28 | 35.71 | - | - | 2 | - | 1 | 10 |
| 11 | R Millar | Ireland | 2 | 2 | - | 8 | 7 | 4.00 | 23 | 34.78 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 8 |
| 12 | J Forbes | Ireland | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2.50 | 30 | 16.67 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| 13 | D Burke | Ireland | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4.00 | 14 | 28.57 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 14 | R Wilson | Ireland | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1* | 2.00 | 9 | 22.22 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 15 | M Sherzad | Ireland | 3 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 | 0.33 | 5 | 20.00 | - | - | 2 | - | - | 1 |
IRELAND U19 BOWLING AVERAGES FOR ZIMBABWE SERIES
| # | Name | Club | Mat | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | SR | 5WI | 10WM | wds | nbs | Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NJ McGuire | Ireland | 4 | 36 | 8 | 91 | 10 | 4-16 | 9.10 | 2.53 | 21.60 | - | - | 4 | - | 10 |
| 2 | M Humphreys | Ireland | 3 | 29.1 | 2 | 91 | 10 | 5-37 | 9.10 | 3.12 | 17.50 | 1 | - | 12 | - | 10 |
| 3 | R Wilson | Ireland | 2 | 12 | 1 | 45 | 6 | 5-21 | 7.50 | 3.75 | 12.00 | 1 | - | 5 | - | 6 |
| 4 | J Forbes | Ireland | 3 | 25 | - | 109 | 3 | 2-24 | 36.33 | 4.36 | 50.00 | - | - | 5 | - | 3 |
| 5 | D Burke | Ireland | 2 | 8 | - | 57 | 2 | 1-13 | 28.50 | 7.12 | 24.00 | - | - | 9 | - | 2 |
| 6 | M Sherzad | Ireland | 3 | 17 | - | 76 | 2 | 2-38 | 38.00 | 4.47 | 51.00 | - | - | 3 | - | 2 |
| 7 | David M Vincent | Ireland | 3 | 4 | - | 15 | - | 0-15 | - | 3.75 | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| 8 | R Millar | Ireland | 2 | 5.2 | - | 35 | - | 0-15 | - | 6.56 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 0 |
| 9 | D Forkin | Ireland | 2 | 11 | - | 54 | - | 0-13 | - | 4.91 | - | - | - | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | L Doherty | Ireland | 3 | 13 | - | 69 | - | 0-31 | - | 5.31 | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |