Kenya edge closer to final

Kenya all but booked their place in the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 final on Friday after beating Ireland by one wicket at the Ruaraka ground in Nairobi.

An impressive 10th-wicket stand of 55 from Thomas Odoyo and Hiren Varaiya saw the home side safely past the Irish total of 284, with man-of the match Thomas Odoyo scoring an unbeaten 61.

Barring a very unlikely set of results, the unbeaten Kenyans will now almost certainly enjoy a safe passage through to the final, which would mean qualification for the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa later this year.

Kenya won the toss and sent Ireland in to bat. With rain having fallen overnight, it was the obvious decision to make, and after opener Kenny Carroll (2), Eoin Morgan (11) and Niall O'Brien (9) were all dismissed cheaply, Ireland found themselves reeling at 57 for 3.

But a determined fightback by William Porterfield and Kevin O'Brien saw both batsman reaching triple figures and taking the score to a more-than-respectable 284 for four.

Porterfield, who just two days ago scored an unbeaten century against Bermuda, finished on 104 not out while O'Brien was run out on the last ball of the innings for 142.

The pair had smashed 65 off the final five overs and had put together a 227-run partnership.

Coming into the tournament as favourites, a total of 284 looked to be a reachable target for the Kenyans.

And after pounding the first 11 overs for 80 runs with the loss of just one wicket (Maurice Ouma for 6), it seemed the hosts were well on their way to a comfortable victory.

But the Irish produced a greatly improved performance in the field and an inspired spell of bowling from Kyle McCallan and Andre Botha put those plans on hold.

They claimed four wickets each and it eventually came down to the pair of number nine Thomas Odoyo and number 11 Hiren Varaiya to chase the remaining runs.

With just the one wicket standing between them and defeat, the duo needed to put on another 55 runs and Ireland looked to be cruising home.

The equation was then reduced to 19 needed off the last two overs, with David Langford-Smith selected to bowl the penultimate over.

It will be one which will haunt him for a long time as once Varaiya had safely seen off the first delivery and then scored a single, Odoyo did the honours, hitting two sixes and two fours to claim a phenomenal victory.

Ireland, who yet again found themselves on the wrong side of a close game having lost on the final delivery to Scotland earlier in the week, will be grateful for a rest day on Saturday before taking on Canada the following day.

Kenya will face another tough opponent in Scotland, also on Sunday.