The third match for Ireland in three days due to the rearranged match -v- Scotland. Italy were much improved from recent years and the match was twice in the balance. Ireland were 76 for four and 108 for five but got to 231 for eight due to an 89 run stand by McCallan and Heasley for the sixth wicket. Then Italy were 153 for two in the 32nd over needing 79 to win in 18 overs. A collapse followed with the last eight wickets falling for 50.
The day was cloudy and not very warm. Comber was its usual self with a dry hard pitch and a good smattering of spectators. Gillespie and McCoubrey were now out injured. Armstrong and McDaid came in thus weakening the batting. McGonigle was also left out. A relaxing of qualification regulations allowed Italy to play J. Scuderi who was born in Australia, and almost made their one-day team, before playing for Lancashire.
Ireland won the toss and Molins and White opened to two medium bowlers, Corbellari and Scuderi, the latter of whom swung the ball a little. The start was slow and in the fifth over Molins gently patted a Corbellari long hop to cover. 5-1-2. White and Joyce quickened the scoring rate, 30 being up in 10 overs. Scuderi dropped Joyce on a knee high caught and bowled when seven at 26 but Joyce did not profit. In the next over, from new bowler Giordano another medium pacer, Joyce pushed out a crooked bat and played on off an inside edge. 31-2-11.
Davy arrived and scored 13 off 14 balls. Then Giordano (two overs for 13 and Joyce's wicket) was replaced by leg spinner Jayasena. Davy played a tentative shot at the second ball and he, too, played on. 49-3-13. McCallan joined White in the 15th over and 50 was up in the 16th. This stand put on 21 in 40 balls. It included McCallan taking 10 off an over from Bonora and being dropped at slip when 13 off the same bowler. The next ball accounted for White. He was caught at slip by Scuderi, the ball coming off wicket-keeper K. Kariyawasam's gloves. 76-4-26. Mooney joined McCallan and saw the score up to 91 at the 25 over half way stage.
Off breaker Ketipe now came on to replace Bonora but it was Jayasena who got the next wicket in his ninth over. Mooney had been dropped at slip (difficult) in Jayasena's previous over and was always tentative against the leg Spinner. He was LBW for nine at 108. Heasley came to join McCallan who was now 33. When drinks were taken after 34 overs the score was 120.
The opening bowlers returned and there were a lot of extras and a dropped catch offered by Heasley (5) at 127 to the wicket-keeper (far to his right) off Scuderi. The score was 142 in 40 overs. Ketipe and Bonora now returned for three overs each. In the first five of these overs 45 runs were scored. McCallan swept Ketipe for a six to mid-wicket to go from 47 to 53. Then Heasley hit 11 off Ketipe's next over. Heasley hit Bonora for six to square leg in the next over (46th) but perished four balls later, caught at long-off. 197-6-38. McCallan was now 65 (his first 50 for 25 innings) and the stand with Heasley was a much needed 89 in 93 balls. Scuderi came on again. McCallan hit him for two successive fours and snicked to the wicket-keeper next ball. 209-7-75. McCallan hit a six and seven fours and faced 86 balls. It is a long time since he played so fluently and seems to have increased his repertoire of shots. Corbellari returned for over 48 in which Armstrong was run out without facing a ball. He took off from the non-striker's end and McDaid rightly refused to run. 209-8-0.
The last three overs of the innings put on 22 chiefly due to a straight six by McDaid off Scuderi and a final over which cost nine. Italy used six bowlers. By far the best was leg spinner Jayasena who had three for 22 in his 10 overs. The opening bowlers did well but Bonora and Ketipe were expensive and fielding was not of a high standard.
Jayasena and Bonora gave Italy a good start in their reply. They put on 38 with Jayasena leading the way. He scored 28 of the runs to Bonora's five and he hit five fours, four of them off Mooney. It was Neely who had Jayasena caught at the wicket in the eighth over. 38-1-28. Scuderi came in and was regarded as the prize wicket. In fact he was out in Neely's next over caught at mid-on from a poor shot. 49-2-5.
Now came Ketipe and the best stand of the match. He and Bonora put on 104 in 24 overs in a partnership which looked like giving Italy their first ever win over Ireland. Ireland switched their bowlers. Mooney's five overs cost over 30 while Neely in six had two for 20. Then Armstrong and McDaid bowled seven overs between them. Five fours were hit in this period. 50 was up after 11 overs. After 18 overs the score was 87 when a double change brought on McCallan and White. In White's first over Ketipe gave a chest high chance to Molins at square leg, Ketipe was 15. In over 21 Ketipe hit McCallan for a six over long-on and 100 was up in this over.
Heasley came on for White. In McCallan's next over Ketipe hit another six over long-on and then a four to go to 50 off 63 balls in over 29 and the score was 140. Two overs later Armstrong was given one over in place of McCallan. Nine came off it and Bonora reached 50 off 81 balls. 31 overs had now been bowled for 152 runs but only two wickets were down with 80 required in 19 overs. Wickets were needed urgently!
They came. The first in the very next over, Heasley's third, Heasley had an LBW appeal against Ketipe turned down. He tried again, next ball, this time with success. 153-3-51. Giordano came in and a slip and gully were restored. Mooney joined Heasley at the bowling crease. Although Bonora hit two fours the scoring rate slowed, a stand of 16 in 34 balls.
Then Heasley struck again when Giordano skied to mid-off. 169-4-3. Zuppiroli came in and 12 runs were scored in 22 balls. The 40 over score was 177 with 55 now needed in 10 overs. Disaster hit Italy off the last ball of the 41st over. Bonora, probably pressing on too soon, was well caught by Armstrong at long-on off Mooney. Bonora's 69 came in 118 balls with six fours. 181-5-69.
The last five wickets fell in 7.2 overs for 22 runs. Bonora's dismissal was off the last of Mooney's 10 over stint. Neely replaced him and took three of the last five wickets. In the 45th over he took wickets with successive balls. He yorked Zuppiroli and Gatti at 187. K. Kariyawasam survived the hat-trick but was run out off the last ball of the over. He hit the ball, wanted to run, and was sent back by Corbellari, and was run out when Neely retrieved the ball and hit the wicket.
McDaid replaced Heasley (two for 23 in 10 overs). His second ball bowled Y. Kariyawasam. Moretti and Corbellari brought up 200 in over 48. Then Neely had Corbellari caught by Mooney off a skier in over 49 to end the innings.
Neely took five wickets (for 30) an unusual feat in limited overs cricket last achieved by Heasley -v- Papua New Guinea in Toronto in 2001 and by McCallan at Ayr in the European Cup of 2000 also -v- Italy.
It had been an interesting match.