Scottish Students got their quest for the Celtic Cup off to a fine start with a victory over their Irish counterparts in Dublin today. Having recorded three victories over Scotland U18s, East of Scotland League XI and the MCC in preparation, the Scottish Students continued their fine form in the opening 50-over clash recording a 166 run win.
Dynamic captain Andrew Brock lost the toss and the Scottish Students were put into bat. Shot making was difficult early on but Edinburgh University’s Keith Allen and Heriot-Watt’s Tom McBride got the students off to a solid start. The fall of Allen after a 40 –run opening stand was closely followed by Bailwal, also removed by Irish skipper Danny Graham of Queens University Belfast and North Down CC. Graham was by far the best bowler collecting 2-22 off 7 overs. This double strike was quickly followed by McBride, leaving the students in somewhat of a predicament at 69 for 3.
However, the ship was steadied in some style by the soon to graduate Josh Edwards of Stirling University and Abertay’s Fraser Burnett. They put on 93 for the 4th wicket before Burnett fell, having made an industrious 42 off just 32 balls. Edwards fell to the same off spinner, leading to another mini collapse with Alex Baum and ‘keeper Jake Starkey falling cheaply and leaving the score at 190 for 7 in the 41st over. Captain Andrew Brock then joined Ed Kneale at the crease; the two leading the Scotland recover with a partnership of 61 in just five overs. After Brock’s dismissal, Kneale and Ed Abel-Smith kept the momentum in the Scottish Students’ favour. A strong finish from Kneale left the Scots with a challenging total of 283 for 8 from their 50 overs. Kneale’s powerful hitting at the close of the innings brought him 49* from only 43 deliveries.
Young seamer Ed Abel-Smith immediately derailed the Irish reply with two early wickets. Edwards then came on first change and removed the Irish opener Darcy, who had come flying out the blocks for a quick fire 20 but was unable to sustain his early burst. This reduced the Irish to 35-3 which should have been 39-4 but for wicketkeeper Jake Starkey dropping a regulation chance from Danny Graham. Graham and number four Michael Gilmour made the most of this opportunity and put on 55 for the fourth wicket. The fall of Gilmour, Starkey atoning for his earlier error with a stumping off Brock, led to a collapse from 90/3 to 117 all out. Keith Allen scythed through the lower order, picking up 3-10 whilst Abel-Smith returned to clean up the tail, finishing with excellent figures of 4-9 off 6.5 overs.
The two teams meet again tomorrow (Wednesday) in two T20 matches before finishing the series with another 50 over fixture on Thursday. Although the result was comfortable today, the T20s should prove far more competitive so the boys of Scotland will need to bring their A-game.