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Ireland A lose to MCC by 1 wicket
Barry Chambers
Ireland 'A' contrived to lose a game from a seemingly unbeatable position at Malahide. Thinus Fourie with 3-8 had reduced MCC to 80 for 8, and an early finish looked very much on the cards.
However, a 9th wicket stand of 107 between Ruel Braithwaite and S Choudry in just 101 balls brought MCC to the brink of victory. Choudhry with 47 off 87 balls which included 6 boundaries, departed with just 12 needed.
Braithwaite stood resolute, and smashed 12 off the 47 th over, bowled by Roger Whelan. He dispatched the ball to all parts, hitting 8 fours and 2 sixes, and faced just 50 deliveries for his unbeaten 71.
He was particularly severe on Gary Kidd and Ryan Haire, who went for a combined total of 57 in their 9 overs.
Earlier, Ireland posted 198 for 8 in their 50 overs. On a difficult wicket, they were indebted to half centuries from Kenny Carroll and Jason Molins for a fairly respectable total.
Molins was hampered by a groin injury sustained when attempting a quick two, and after having batted 23 overs for 18 runs, returned to score an unbeaten 53, which came from 94 balls and contained 3 boundaries.
He didn't receive much of the strike early on as Conor Armstrong made the most of two early reprieves to hit 32 -4 fours, 55 balls, before edging Mali Richards, son of the famous Vivian, behind, to give Wood the first of 4 catches.
Dom Joyce, Ryan Haire and Gary Wilson all fell cheaply, but kenny Carroll held the innings together with a fluent 50. His knock came off just 65 balls and contained 1 six and 6 fours. He and Molins added 41 for the 7th wicket, and then Langford-Smith hit a breezy 17 to get Ireland up near the 200 mark.
The MCC fielding wasn't the sharpest, but their bowlers performed well on a surface that offered them some assistance. King took 3-30, Richards 2-29, and Choudary 2-35 in the MCC attack.
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