IRELAND V SURREY BROWN CAPS at
Stormont (C&G
Trophy), 14 MAY 2006
The last time these two teams met, Surrey ended up with egg on their faces,
after being dumped out of the C&G Trophy in 2004's opening round. The good
news for the visitors is that only six remain from the side that beat them on
that occasion. The bad news is that the Irish have since picked up a couple of
useful overseas players, both of whom need little introduction. They are Shahid Afridi,
the man who
hit the quickest one-day century on his international debut, and Saqlain Mushtaq, the fastest bowler in history to the
one hundred ODI
wicket-mark; who will come face to face with his old county.
Other than these two, Eion Morgan, a 19-year-old who is also on Middlesex's
books, appears to be the primary danger with the bat, although he is yet to
really come off in Ireland's opening handful of C&G matches. With a
first-class batting average of 57.79, Jeremy Bray, a 32-year-old former New
South Welshman, also needs to be taken seriously. But, thus far this season, Peter Gillespie
has been the main one to chip in.
With the new ball, new skipper Trent Johnson - who has much to prove after
failing to live up to the promise he showed down under, when he first broke into
the NSW team - Andre Botha and John Mooney have all given a good account of
themselves at various times. But spin appears to be key for the Irish. Kyle
McCallan, who took 3-5 in Ireland's victory over Gloucestershire, will be aiming
to keep things tight with his off-spin in tandem with Saqlain and Afridi.
As was the case prior to last Sunday's clash with Somerset, Azhar Mahmood has 2,953 runs and 247 wickets in List A
cricket. Alistair Brown (9,974), meanwhile, is closing in rapidly on the ten thousand
run-mark.
The only injury is to Martin Bicknell, who is still aiming to make his return in
the championship against Worcestershire next week. But with the Brown Caps
having lost two out of their first three in the C&G, the team is likely to
have rather a youthful look about it on this occasion - and who can blame Alan
Butcher for using the rest of this competition to blood a few up-and-coming
names?
OPPONENT |
DATE |
COMP |
RESULT |
VENUE |
SURREY |
OPPONENT |
Somerset |
7 May 2006 |
C&G |
Lost By 26 Runs |
The Oval |
253 (47.5) |
279-5 (50) |
Kent |
1 May 2006 |
C&G |
Won By 1 Run |
Canterbury |
223-5 (30) |
222-6 (30) |
Sussex |
30 Apr 2006 |
C&G |
Lost By 5 Wickets |
The Oval |
272-9 (50) |
274-5 (48.2) |
Scotland |
25 Sep 2005 |
NL |
Won By 8 Wickets |
The Oval |
204-2 (30.3) |
212-9 (45) |
Warwickshire |
14 Sep 2005 |
NL |
Lost By 68 Runs |
Edgbaston |
224 (40.3) |
292-8 (45) |
Unfortunately, the weather forecast for Sunday is looking none too clever, which
could make it an expensive day watching the rain fall for those Surrey fans
making the trip over to Belfast. Assuming the match does get underway, though,
it would be a major shock if Ireland were to beat Surrey for the second time in
succession. Given that the Brown Caps have had the week off to recharge their
batteries, I think it unlikely.
D Joyce, J Bray (wk), D Langford-Smith, E Morgan, A Botha, Shahid Afridi, T
Johnston (capt), P Gillespie, K McCallan, J Mooney and Saqlain Mushtaq.
Jeff Evans and John Steele.
DATE |
COMP |
RESULT |
VENUE |
TOSS |
DECISION |
SURREY |
IRELAND |
5-6
May 2004 |
C&G |
Lost By 5 Wickets |
Clontarf |
Ireland |
Field |
261 (49.5) |
262-5 (48.2) |
14
May 1996 |
B&H |
Won By 5 Wickets |
Eglinton |
Ireland |
Bat |
198-5 (37.5) |
196-8 (50) |
23
Apr 1995 |
B&H |
Won By 8 Wickets |
The Oval |
Ireland |
Bat |
81-2 (17.1) |
80 (32) |
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