Porterfield, Dockrell star in Ireland win

A captain's century from William Porterfield followed by a miserly three-wicket haul by George Dockrell powered Ireland to a clinical 85-run win over United Arab Emirates in the first of two One-Day Internationals in Dubai's ICC Global Cricket Academy on Thursday (March 2).

After Porterfield's 116-ball 100 carried the visiting side to a competitive 270, UAE was shot out for 185 in 41.4 overs. Dockrell, with 3 for 27 in 10 overs, was the pick of the bowlers.

UAE looked for a positive start going for the big shots early. Mohammad Naveed hammered a six and a couple of fours before falling for an eight-ball 14. Rohan Mustafa's 29-ball knock yielded 43 runs, but things started going downhill for the home side after the openers fell.

Dockrell choked the scoring and chipped away at the middle order to sap all momentum from UAE's innings. At 112 for 7, things looked grim, but Ahmed Raza's 45 at No. 8 helped his side close the gap to some degree.

Apart from Dockrell, Andy McBrine and Peter Chase helped Ireland's cause with two wickets apiece, ensuring that UAE didn’t build stable partnerships.

Put in, Ireland had a flaky start with Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie falling cheaply, leaving the visitors precariously placed at 14 for 2.

Porterfield found a willing accomplice in Niall O'Brien in a 59-run stand for the third wicket to pull things back. Kevin O'Brien went one up on his elder brother, scoring a 53-ball 69 in a 124-run stand with the skipper for the fourth wicket.

After Porterfield and Gary Wilson (33) added 56, things fell away quickly for Ireland with Zahoor Khan, the right-arm pacer, snaring 6 for 34, including the wickets of Porterfield for a round hundred and Wilson. Ireland slipped from 253 for 4 to 270 all out, but the score proved plenty.

The second match will be played at the same venue on Saturday.