Joyce leads the way as Ireland crush Kenya

Ireland recovered from their first defeat in the WCL Championship, and gained revenge over the team they lost to at the weekend, with a dominant 117-run victory in the second ODI against Kenya. Led by 88 from Ed Joyce - the only man to pass 30 in Mombasa - Ireland compiled a competitive total on a slow pitch and then dismantled Kenya's batting with a disciplined display from their bowlers.

Trent Johnston, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell and Paul Stirling all took two wickets apiece as the hosts' line-up slowly disintegrated. Kenya staggered to 37 for 5 and then 74 for 7 and were well behind the run-rate when Shem Ngoche initiated a miniature fightback, putting on 40, the best partnership of the innings, with Nehemiah Odhiambo. Ngoche was eventually the last man out, having top-scored with 28 - a tally that beat his previous one-day best of 7 not out by some distance.

Ireland's seamers had done the initial damage, with Boyd Rankin removing Duncan Allen in the third over and Kenya's matchwinner in the first ODI, Tanmay Mishra, falling for 2 soon after. Following a double strike from Cusack, Ragheb Aga and Alex Obanda combined for a 36-run stand but the recovery was checked when Dockrell removed them both in his second over.

Thereafter it was just a question of how many overs the tail could survive as Ireland consolidated their position at the top of the table, in pursuit of one of two automatic qualification spots for the 2015 World Cup.

Ireland's batting effort was built around a composed effort from former England ODI player Joyce, who steadied the innings after his side lost their first three wickets with less than 50 on the board - a slump that followed captain William Porterfield's decision to bat. Joyce put on consecutive half-century partnerships with Kevin O'Brien and then Andrew White and, having reached his fifty off 93 balls with a six, stepped up through the gears to add a further 33 off 32 deliveries before becoming Hiren Varaiya's third victim in the 47th over.

White departed four balls later but John Mooney jolted the total along further with a colourful cameo as Ireland added 24 from the final three overs. Kenya had chased successfully at the same ground on Saturday but it rapidly became clear that this time the target was beyond them.