Simmons delighted with impressive Irish

Ireland coach Phil Simmons paid tribute to his side's collective work ethic after guiding them to a second Intercontinental Cup crown with an emphatic win over Canada at Grace Road.

The defending champions retained the trophy with victory over the North Americans by a comprehensive margin of an innings and 115 runs inside two of the scheduled four days.

"It's been brilliant," said Simmons. "The guys have been playing well for the last two days, especially after winning the toss we had to make use of it and we did that.

"We didn't expect to get them out for 92 but that's how it turned out.

We had to bat on more or less the same wicket so take nothing away from how the guys performed, they did well."

The former West Indies all-rounder was particularly pleased with the performances of skipper Trent Johnston, who picked up seven wickets in the match, vice-captain Kyle McCallan, whose five wickets finished off the Canadian tail, and batsmen Jeremy Bray, William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan.

"The captain put in a tremendous effort with his bowling, then the batting of the first two (Bray and Porterfield) with the (202-run) partnership they put on and then Morgan later on," recalled Simmons.

"Then we come to the end and you have Kyle McCallan getting five wickets to finish off the game.

"There were a lot of good performances but in general the whole team played together so it was nice to see the team effort."

Canada hat-trick hero Umar Bhatti had earlier stolen the show on day two of the final, brightening up the morning session with a sensational spell of four wickets - all lbw - in five balls.

"It's nice to get some wickets under our belts," said Bhatti, who ended with five for 85. "We're coming off a break since the World Cup and not too much bowling, but it's nice to get out there and get some wickets.

"Unfortunately things didn't go our way but that happens. You've got to move on from here." Bhatti was disappointed with the lack of runs Canada were able to put on the board - managing only 92 in the first innings and 145 in the second.

"Once you lose the first wicket in the first over, especially in a four-day game, it's always going to be difficult to get back," he said reflecting on John Davison's early dismissal on Tuesday.

"I don't think our batsmen showed any application whatsoever, that was the biggest disappointment for us as a group. But hopefully we can go back home now and prepare for the next match against Holland and hopefully get a better result."