O'Brien and Botha give Ireland the edge on day two

Neil McCallum in action © pacemakerpressintl.com

An unbroken partnership of 120 between Niall O Brien and Andre Botha gave Ireland the edge on day two of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match at Stormont on Friday.

O Brien and Botha came together when Ireland were in serious trouble on 59-4 on a gloomy, damp day in Belfast but managed to put together a partnership of real class to give their team the initiative once again by finishing the day on 179-4.

Earlier Scotland had rallied from its overnight position of 183-7 to 314 all out. John Blain and Simon Smith put on 79 for the eighth wicket and then Blain and Dewald Nel added another 60 as the Scots posted a competitive total in what were challenging conditions for batting.

Blain was the last man out having scored 93, an innings that included 11 fours and two sixes. It was a fine effort from the opening bowler whose first-class average was less than 13 at the start of this match but unfortunately for the 28-year-old it ended just seven runs short of what would have been his maiden century.

Kevin O'Brien appeals © pacemakerpressintl.com

Kevin O Brien was the pick of Ireland s bowlers taking 4-38 off 19.4 overs and there were three wickets each for captain Trent Johnston and leg spinner Greg Thompson.

Scotland used the momentum gained by Blain to put pressure on Ireland s top order and soon made it pay on the scoreboard. William Porterfield, Eoin Morgan, Andy White and Kevin O Brien all fell cheaply before Kevin s brother Niall and Botha steadied the ship. Former Scotland skipper Craig Wright and Nel shared the four wickets between them.

At the close, Ireland was 135 runs short of a first innings win with six wickets in hand. O Brien remains unbeaten on 83, searching for his third first-class ton, and Botha is also still there on 53.

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

Kyle McCallan in action © pacemakerpressintl.com

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.