5th One-Day Match: Ireland v Australia 'A', Beechgrove

Australia A won the toss and inserted Ireland on a low slow pitch, such that the Tourists omitted their fastest bowler, Jason Gillespie. Bichel dismissed McCallan and Smyth in successive balls to leave Ireland on 16 for 2. A gritty 36 from Steve Waugh in 75 Balls, supported by contributions of 20 from Ed Joyce and 11 from Gordon Cooke enabled Ireland to eventually reach 128 for 8 in their 50 Overs. Best of the Australian Bowlers was Brad Young with 4 for 25.

Australia started off with an opening partnership of 34 between Dene Hills and Matthew Hayden. The advent of the spinners suddenly left Australia finding themselves in some difficulty. They lost 4 wickets for 2 runs and at 47 for 5, Ireland's total looked some distance away. However, Brendon Julian (53*) and Michael Hussey (16*) led them home to what was ultimately a comfortable 4 wicket win with almost 19 Overs to spare. The best of the Irish bowlers were the spinners, McCallan with 3 for 41 and Dwyer with 3 for 19, which included a spell of 3 for 3 in four Overs.

Whit ethe Australians ended with a comfortable 4-0 series win, Ireland will have learned from the experience. They were not without their moments and there were times when the Australians did not feel comfortable.

Contributed by Gerry Byrne (byrnegy@iol.ie)