This match was almost a non-event! Ireland recovered from 179-6 but then probably batted too long - over six hours and 103.3 overs to make 327. Scotland batted on all three days to score 366 in not far short of eight hours and 124.2 overs. Ireland then batted out time. When Ireland went in to bat a second time there were 52 overs left in the match which ended when Warke got his second century against Scotland - there being 8.2 overs then left. There was some rain on all three days causing seven breaks and 110 minutes play was lost. Ireland kept the team that played against Wales but Smyth cried off. Vincent, due to injury, was unable to take his place so Patterson was recalled. Dunlop, N Nelson and P McCrum were playing against Scotland for the first time. Scotland also had three newcomers to the match in AC Storrie, CT McKnight and M Mahmood. The pitch had improved since Ireland's first visit to Myreside in 1984 but it did look like deteriorating. However, in fact, it did not.

Cohen's gear did not in fact arrive until the second day but he and Rea put on 44 in 79 minutes against the bowling of Moir, Bee and Russell. There were three rain breaks of 8, 10 and 22 minutes before Russell had Rea brilliantly stumped by Haggo. With Dunlop in 50 came up in 22.5 overs. By lunch (there had been 115 minutes scheduled for the session) 26 overs were bowled and the Irish total was 65-1, Cohen 21, Dunlop 15. The lunch to tea period began well for Ireland. Dunlop took on O Henry, who had taken 13 wickets in the 1989 match. Henry came off after bowling seven overs for 23 while Dunlop went on a merry romp. 100 was up in 37.4 overs as Dunlop rushed to 56 in 82 minutes with 8 fours. Then Mahmood, off cutters, and McKnight, offspin, were tried. In the next hour before tea they took five wickets for 50 runs, and 129-1 became 179-6.

The Cohen - Dunlop stand put on 85 at a run a minute. Then Dunlop misdrove Mahmood and was caught and bowled for 56 in the bowler's fourth over. Two overs later Warke was caught at silly point for 3 off the same bowler. He appeared not to have hit the ball. Cohen went to his 50 in three hours, his first in 14 innings against Scotland. At 155 McKnight, in his second over, bowled Cohen for 60. Worse followed in McKnight's next over. Lewis was caught at silly point for 6. He felt he was not out but his reactions were inappropriate. 13 overs later Harrison was also caught at silly point off Mahmood. Tea was now taken with Patterson 22 not out with 4 fours, two off each bowler. The score was 179-6 in 64.4 overs.

Jackson joined Patterson after tea and the game changed once again. In 95 minutes the pair put on 110! The stand lasted 28 overs so the pace was rapid with Patterson making 62 of the runs and Jackson 44. Patterson went to his 50 in 76 minutes and was then dropped by Moir at slip off Bee with the total on 243. 250 was up in 83 overs, so 71 had been made in 16 overs since tea. Patterson had 9 fours in his 50. He added seven more before being caught at deep mid-wicket off Henry for 84 in 122 minutes, of which 64 came in boundaries. N Nelson and McCrum were out quickly and Jackson reached his 50 in 115 minutes. However, AN Nelson and Jackson spent 34 minutes adding 35 for the last wicket - time that might have been better spent bowling. As it was Scotland faced only nine overs for 22 runs before close of play, both openers, Philip and Patterson making 11. The bat was passed good deal by McCrum and AN Nelson. Four scores of 50 in an innings had only twice before been achieved by Ireland, the last occasion being against Scotland in 1913.

The Scottish opening stand survived into the afternoon session on the second day. McCrum had to retire with an injured back after bowling 8 overs in the morning. He took no further part but had seen 2 catches dropped off his bowling before his departure. At 28 Philip (14) was put down by Rea at gully and again when 39, and the total 57, Patterson put one down at backward short leg. Ireland bowled 107 overs during the day of which Harrison bowled 38 and AN Nelson 27. Scotland went very slowly. The openers had 50 up in 23.5 overs and 100 in 39. At 102 Philip (65) was dropped in the gully by AN Nelson in Lewis's second over. Lunch came with the score on 117 in 45 overs, Philip 73, Patterson 43. Philip had reached his 50 in 131 minutes.

38 minutes after lunch, in Harrison's 12th over, the 55th of the innings, and after an 8 minute rain break, the first wicket fell with the total on 147. Harrison bowled Patterson for 60 in 194 minutes. This was the third best ever opening stand for Scotland in this match. Storrie came in and 28 were put on in 27 minutes (with the 150 coming up in 55.1 overs). He saw Philip to his century which came in 216 minutes. Without addition he was bowled by Harrison. He had batted for 222 minutes, faced 179 balls, and hit a six and 8 fours. In 1986 he had made a century on first-class debut in this match at Titwood. Now he had 344 runs in seven innings. 18 slow runs later PM O'Reilly, fielding substitute for McCrum, caught Swan at mid-on. Scotland went to tea with the score on 209-3 (200 had come up in 79 overs), Storie 32, Henry 1 after 82 overs.

Without addition Harrison bowled Storrie in the first over after tea. Henry hit Harrison for a six but in the bowlers 30th over he claimed his fifth wicket (for 69 at that stage) when Henry was well stumped by Jackson. Now Russell and Haggo were together and they had a reasonably enterprising stand of 75 in 66 minutes. There was an irritating 14 minute rain break and a new ball was taken after 100.2 overs (with the score on 283-5) with the Nelson brothers sharing it. Harrison was back for the 107th over and in the 108 he took his sixth and seventh wickets. Haggo was LBW for 34 and McKnight caught at slip five balls later. For an over or two all 10 wickets looked "on" for Harrison. However, at 324, Noel Nelson at point caught Russell off his brother Alan. Russell's 47 came in 114 minutes. Bee (7) and Moir (5) brought the day to a close with the score at 333-8 in 100 in 16 overs and Scotland's lead at this point was 6 runs.

The last day, a short one, began at 10:30 AM. 8.2 more overs were bowled by Harrison and AN Nelson and 33 more runs were scored, mostly by Bee. He finished 29 not out in 67 minutes while Harrison disposed of Moir, caught at deep mid-wicket and Mahmood, caught at short leg. The Scottish lead was 39 but unless they could bowl Ireland out very quickly, a draw had to be the outcome. Harrison took 9-113 in 43.2 overs of accurate offspin to add to the seven he had taken in the second innings against Wales. He doubled his wicket tally against Scotland and all this made up for his very poor batting year - he averaged only 7.37! This was the fourth 9-wicket haul by an Irish bowler in 11-a-side matches and the first since 1957 at College Park when F Fee took 9-26 against Scotland - the first 9 to fall in that innings. Harrison's nine in an innings was the only such feat in British Isles first-class cricket in 1990. AN Nelson's 1-74 in 33 overs was also accurate bowling in view of the loss of McCrum.

Warke decided to go in first in the Irish second innings with Cohen. He played remarkably well although both openers were dropped. At 21 Cohen (then 11) was dropped by Storrie at short leg off Bee. At 32, in Henry's first over, Haggo put Warke (then 17) down behind the wicket. 50 came up in 16.1 overs but with the first ball of the 18th over Mahmood bowled Cohen. 51-1-15. With Rea in lunch came 30 minutes later after a further 34 had been added in 10 overs. Warke had reached his 50 in 65 minutes with 8 fours, mostly drives. By lunch Warke was 65, Rea 6 and the total 85-1 in 27 overs. Rain extended the lunch break to 70 minutes.

Play then went on for half-an-hour before more rain caused a further 20 minute delay. By now the final hours play had started. Henry tossed the ball up and the field stayed in. Normally in a dead match situation such as this the match stops after 10 overs of the last hour. By then Warke was on 94. Rea played a maiden over out and then Warke hit Henry for a 2 and a 4 to make him 100 not out. The match then stopped in mid-over! Warke's century came in 140 minutes off 145 deliveries with 11 fours. It came out of the score of 138-1 in 43.4 overs. By scoring his second century against Scotland he matched SF Bergin and IJ Anderson. In nine matches against Scotland Warke now has 705 runs in 16 innings, twice not out, at an average of 50.35. His average is also his average in first class cricket. As well as his two centuries there are also three 50s.