Ireland move closer to Test dream

Ireland have taken their first step towards becoming cricket’s 11th Test nation with an emphatic win over United Arab Emirates in the Intercontinental Cup.

It took Ireland just four deliveries on the fourth morning to wrap up victory by an innings and 26 runs against UAE, taking a maximum 20 points from their first match of the 2015-17 tournament.

The team which wins the four-day first-class Intercontinental Cup – an eight-team round-robin competition featuring the top Associate sides – will earn the right to play the 10th-ranked Test team in 2017 in the inaugural four-match ICC Test Challenge in 2018.

If the Associate team wins the series, to be played on a home and away basis, it will become the 11th Test nation.

Ireland have won four of the six Intercontinental Cups, while Afghanistan was triumphant in 2009-10 and Scotland in 2004.

In Dublin, Ireland had a dream start their 2015-17 campaign when a double century from Ed Joyce batted UAE out of the game on the opening day, as he partnered with Paul Stirling (146) to help the home side post 492.

Ireland’s bowlers then dismissed UAE for 213 in its first innings, thanks to right-arm medium-pacer Craig Young’s 4-51 and spinner George Dockrell’s 3-48.

After enforcing the follow-on, Ireland had taken nine second-innings wickets by the close of play on the third day.

UAE then added just two runs added to their overnight total on day four, bowled out for 253.

Young snared 3-59 in the second innings, to finish the match with 7-110, while Dockrell’s 4-91 took his match tally to 7-141.

Former UAE skipper Khurram Khan, 43, announced his retirement at the end of the match, while Ireland joined Namibia at the top of the Intercontinental Cup table, after Namibia defeated Hong Kong by 114 runs in their opener in Windhoek last month.

Meanwhile in Stirling, Scotland and Afghanistan’s match ended in a rain-affected draw.

Having scored 233 in their first innings, Scotland entered the final day needing two wickets to take the first-innings points.

They managed to do so in 16.4 overs, bowling Afghanistan out for 135. With ten hours lost to rain, both sides were awarded seven points, with Scotland earning an additional six points for the first-innings lead.

The final match of the first Intercontinental Cup round will pit The Netherlands against Papua New Guinea in Amstelveen on June 16.