IRELAND V USA – ICC UNDER-19 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER - MATCH RECAP

• 

Ireland v USA – ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier - Match Recap

USA U19 177/9 (50 ov) v Ireland Under-19s 180/9 (49.5 ov) - Ireland Under-19s won by 1 wicket (with 1 ball remaining)

Ireland beat the United States of America (USA) by one wicket in the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup Qualifier, 2011 season. The one-day game that was played at Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin, saw the team from the USA post a total of 177 runs on the board after being put into bat by Ireland.

The home side made early inroads by grabbing the wicket of USA’s opener Cameron Mirza on the penultimate delivery of the third over, when the 18-yearl-old Irish pacer Graeme John McCarter bolted a short delivery, forcing the batsman to give an edge straight in the hands of wicketkeeper Niall Hodgins without scoring a run.

It was then Amarnauth Persaud who alongside Steven R Taylor took a rigid stand against the opposition as both batsmen played superb shots all around the park, showing good touch with the bat.

However, after the US had managed to post 69 runs on the board, Ireland struck again by snatching the wicket of opener Steven R Taylor, who after playing a knock of 28 runs off 70 balls, edged a delivery bowled by Barry McCarthy for the wicketkeeper to pounce on.

McCarthy clearly looked unplayable as he struck again in the 23rd over by grabbing the wicket of USA’s skipper Gregory Raj Sewdial, who after scoring four runs off eight deliveries was caught by Jason B van der Merwe at first slip.

The US middle-order showed vulnerability as none of the batsmen could stand-up against the bowling onslaught of the Ireland squad in the middle of the innings.

The youngster Abhijit Chidambar Joshi lost his wicket by scoring one run off two deliveries as he was bowled by George Henry Dockrell. At the time of his departure, the US had scored 82 runs for the loss of four wickets.

In the next over, the well set batsman Amarnauth Persaud after playing a struggling innings of 24 runs off 55 deliveries was removed by none other than McCarthy. The bowler managed to take three wickets in the game and proved to be the most destructive pacer from Ireland.

At this point in time it seemed as if the USA was heading for a total meltdown, however, it was the lower batting-order that managed to prevent a disaster from happening as Jodhbir Singh Sandhu smacked a sensational knock of 36 runs off 57 deliveries, while Salman Rashid Ahmad and Shayan Abdulghani scored 21 and 20 runs as they helped their side post a respectable total at the end of their innings.

With a target of 178 runs in their sights, Ireland failed to have a comfortable start to their innings as they lost three quick wickets, putting immense pressure on the rest of the batting brigade to get the team across the required tally. The USA managed to grab the first three wickets in the third, fourth and fifth overs when the opener Hugh McDonnell fell on seven runs, while Ryan Hunter and Jason B van der Merwe went back to the pavilion after scoring four runs.

However, Adam Richard M Berry and skipper George Henry Dockrell crafted a solid resistance against the US bowlers by playing splendid shots all over the park as they took the US bowlers to task with zeal and confidence by scoring 22 and 29 runs.

Later it was Graeme John McCarter and Adam Coughlan who piled up 35 and 49 runs which actually helped crush USA’s hopes of stopping the home side from winning the game as Ireland managed to score 180 runs to secure a victory against the USA.

A Coughlan from Ireland was named as the man of the match for his astounding match winning performance with the bat.