Kyle McCallan  was instrumental in taking Ireland to the brink of victory following an unbeaten 52 and 3 wickets in the UAE second innings.

"To be honest, I'm a little disappointed we didn't finish it off today, but in the context of the game, we're very much on top, and it's a very good wicket to bat on, so to take 7 wickets is a good effort.We can go to bed content with our day's work."

On his batting McCallan said, "It;s nice to get a bat out in the middle with plenty of time to build an innings. Normally in my role in the One day team, I'm coming in with only a couple of overs left, and having to hit from ball one. I enjoyed batting today immensely - if ever there's a place you want to bat, then it's out here. I've been hitting the ball well in the nets, and it's good to transfer that form out into the middle."

What did the veteran campaigner make of the new stricter fitness regime that's been introduced into the camp? "Well Simmo has very definite ideas about fitness, and he's brought Ian McKeown from SINI (Sports Institute Northern Ireland) on this trip. He's working with the full squad, and I reckon we've made great progress from the start of the trip. This was always an important game, but the big test for us will come next week in Bangladesh when we play them in 3 ODI's in their back yard."

"It's certainly a big challenge for us as they are a tough proposition at home. They expect to beat us, but we'll certainly to be looking to improve our placing in the ICC World Rankings."