Ireland's good form in the UAE continued as they beat English County side Essex by 6 wickets in their final warm up game ahead of their tour of Bangladesh.

Both teams agreed to a 35 over, 12 a side fixture, with Ireland leaving out the unwell Phil Eaglestone, the injured Alex Cusack (groin), and Gary Kidd.

Batting first Essex openers Mark Pettini and Jason Gallian got their team off to a solid start, adding 53 in 12 overs, before a direct hit from Kevin O'Brien ran out Gallian for 21.

Pettini played the major role for Essex, top scoring with 84 from just 82 balls, hitting 6 fours and 3 sixes. The only other contributor of note was Tim Philips (24*), as Essex posted 196 for 8 in their 35 overs.

Andre Botha (4-36) was the most successful of the Irish attack, but Greg Thompson (2-32) also performed well.

The new opening partnership of William Porterfield and Reinhardt Strydom ensured there was no repeat of the early collapse on Wednesday, adding 22 before Porterfield (17) was caught by Phillips off Palladino.

Strydom and Paul Stirling then  put the Irish well on course for the win, as they put on 80 for the second wicket. Stirling struck 3 boundaries in his 31 ball score of 26, before being dismissed by Palladino.

The in form Eoin Morgan then joined Strydom, and the pair took the Irish to the brink of victory, adding 75 in rapid time for the 3rd wicket. Strydom struck 12 fours in his 99 ball 73, and fully justified Phil Simmons' decision to continue his experiment with him as opener.

He was eventually bowled by Tim Phillips, who also accounted for Niall O'Brien (0), but that was the end of the success for Essex. Morgan (57*) hit 4 fours and 3 sixes in another superlative innings, while Kevin O'Brien (12*) saw the Irish safely home with 8 balls to spare.

A morale boosting win for Ireland ahead of their 3 ODI's in Bangladesh - they head for Dhaka in the morning, with the games taking place on March 18, 20 and 22.

IRELAND XI V ESSEX XI SCOREBOARD

Played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.