CRICKET INTERCONTINENTAL CUP:SOME STUBBORN resistance from Kenya's middle order helped them earn a draw at Eglinton last night as Ireland failed to take the final two wickets in a tense end to their Intercontinental Cup clash.
Phil Simmons’s side were always going to be up against it after three hours were lost due to heavy rain, with play eventually getting under way at 1.30pm.
Resuming their second innings on 139 for four, a lead of 212, Ireland suffered an early loss when Alex Cusack failed to add to his overnight tally as he was caught and bowled off Elijah Otieno’s first delivery of the innings for 55.
Knowing they would need as much time as possible to get through a strong Kenyan batting line-up for a second time, Ireland’s batsmen went on the offensive, with Gary Wilson hitting a quick-fire 38 in a sixth-wicket partnership of 52 with Andy White.
White was unbeaten on 59 when Ireland skipper Kyle McCallan called the batsmen in with the score on 224 for seven, setting Kenya a target of 298 off a minimum of 67 overs.
Trent Johnston got the ball rolling in the fifth over when he clipped the edge of Seren Waters’ bat for Wilson to take a routine catch behind the stumps.
David Obuya had made a solid 18 before he was trapped leg-before by Johnston with the score on 33 to increase the belief that full points could be garnered.
But Kennedy Obuya and Steve Tikolo added 48 to help Kenya make it to tea on 81 for two.
Ireland’s spinners were now working in tandem, and Regan West struck in the second over of the final session when Obuya edged to Jeremy Bray for 26.
Seven balls later McCallan took the key scalp of Tikolo for 28 when Paul Stirling held a close catch to reduce Kenya to 82 for four.
Far from panicking, the Africans showed the depth in their battling line-up as skipper Maurice Ouma played the steady hand to Collins Obuya’s more expansive approach as the pair put together a match-saving stand of 105 for the fifth wicket.
The game would have one more turn to take as Ouma (37) and Obuya (84) departed to leave Ireland with 65 deliveries to prise out the last four wickets. White would add late drama as he removed Jimmy Kamande and Nehemiah Odhiamno, but time ran out as they had to settle for the draw.
The two sides now move to Dublin where they will play a three-match One-Day International series, which gets under way at Castle Avenue in Clontarf on Thursday morning.
