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UAE v Ireland, ICC Intercontinental Cup, Abu Dhabi, 1st day

Bowlers put Ireland on top

Cricinfo staff

March 6, 2008

Ireland 46 for 1 (Porterfield 16*, Morgan 23*) trail UAE 228 (Zia 56, Aslam 49) by 182 runs
Scorecard

Naeemuddin Aslam on his way to a battling 49 © ICC

Ireland's bowlers produced a solid all-round display to dismiss UAE for 228 on the opening day of the Intercontinental Cup match in Abu Dhabi. The wickets were shared around as six of the attack enjoyed success, but UAE were guided to respectability by some stubborn resistance from Sameer Zia and Ahmed Raza.

After deciding to bat UAE lost Gayan Silva in the first over when he was trapped lbw by David Langford-Smith and wickets fell at regular intervals. Trent Johnston, Ireland's captain, struck twice while Langford-Smith added a second to his name. Spin then started to play a role as Greg Thompson, the legspinner who has been part of the recent Under-19 World Cup, removed Naeemuddin Aslam for 49.

When Kyle McCallan struck UAE were in deep trouble at 121 for 6 but Zia and Raza managed to stitch together a seventh-wicket stand of 97. Zia went past his half century before he fell to Alex Cusack's medium pace and the innings then came to a swift conclusion.

Faced with a tricky session before the close Ireland lost debutant Paul Stirling for 2 before William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan - two batsmen with county contracts - guided them through to the close. Given that it's Ireland first four-day match in six months they have engineered a strong position from where they can aim for a useful first-innings lead.