Ireland's top order dominates day one

Centuries from William Porterfield and Andre Botha made sure Bermuda suffered in Dublin as the defending champions ended the first day of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match at Castle Avenue on 362-3.

Having won the toss, Bermuda captain Irving Romaine stuck Ireland into bat and it looked like it could be a good decision when Andy White was bowled by O Brien for five with the score on just seven.

But then the Ireland batsmen took over the show, putting on a devastating 221 runs for the second wicket. Botha s brisk 122 his second century in consecutive matches came off 147 balls and included 20 fours while Porterfield was a little more watchful than his fluent partner, finishing the day on 153 not out off 302 balls.

Stefan Kelly, fresh from helping the Bermuda under-19 team qualify for the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia next February, took the wicket of Botha and then spinner Dwayne Leverock made a breakthrough not long before stumps, removing wicketkeeper Niall O Brien for 39.

Niall s brother Kevin (25 not out) is the other unbeaten batsman overnight and Ireland will be looking to push home its advantage in the morning.

Leverock was probably the pick of the Bermuda bowling taking 162 off 19 overs, on a day when the left-handed duo of Porterfield and Botha dominated proceedings at the picturesque north Dublin venue.

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now ICC's premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members' cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada earlier this year in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be decided.