Ireland crush Namibia by eight wickets

Ireland 176 for 2 (Cusack 59*, Porterfield 45) beat Namibia 175 (Scholtz 35*, der Westhuizen 34, Mooney 3-31, Kevin O'Brien 3-50) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Ireland stamped their class on the second one-dayer against Namibia, outclassing their opponents by eight wickets after a tougher win a day earlier. A spirited bowling performance ensured the visitors weren't able to bat even the allotted 38 overs in the rain-hit game, and the Ireland top order knocked off the target without any fuss at all.

The only time Namibia seemed to match Ireland was when Louis van der Westhuizen clattered six boundaries in making 34 off 18 deliveries. Namibia rode to 78 for 2 in 15 overs on the back of some big hitting from der Westhuizen, who took 20 runs off four deliveries at one stage. But the return of Boyd Rankin brought an end to his assault as he mistimed a pull to give the bowler a simple catch.

Ireland quickly regained control of the game with the impressive left-arm spinner George Dockrell striking in successive overs to reduce Namibia to 93 for 5. Dockrell first ended opener Pikky Ya France's struggle by having him stumped for 14 off 55 deliveries. He then had Namibia captain Craig Williams stumped off an attempted sweep. Kevin O'Brien added to the visitors' woes with a double-strike of his own.

Nicholaas Scholtz tried to push Nambia towards 200 but he eventually ran out of partners as John Mooney picked up the last two wickets.

Ireland came out determined to attack at the start of the chase, with the normally-steady William Porterfield outscoring his aggressive partner Paul Stirling. Porterfield smashed Louis Klazinga's fifth delivery over the cover boundary and into the Irish team's tent. He then tore into the bowler's second over, hitting him for three fours down the ground and through cover.

The opening stand of 65 in 58 deliveries meant Ireland were always ahead of the asking rate. Though Porterfield missed out on a half-century, Alex Cusack capitalised on a dropped chance to motor to an unbeaten 59 off 55 balls. Cusack was on 31 when he was put down at short midwicket and grew in confidence after that. Klazinga was the bowler to suffer again, being taken for three consecutive fours as Cusack and Niall O'Brien added 84 in an unbroken partnership.