Ireland finished their preparations for the ICC World Cup qualifying tournament with a comprehensive eight-wicket win against the UAE in Pretoria yesterday.

Regan West and Gary Wilson were the stars of the show, West ripping the brittle UAE middle order to finish with the excellent analysis of four for 21, while Wilson dominated the Irish reply with an unbeaten 83.

Fielding first after the UAE won the toss and elected to bat, Ireland saw their opponents reach 58 for two after 13 overs, Peter Connell having removed both openers. Kevin O'Brien then dismissed Nithin Gopal for 16, and West took over as the last eight wickets tumbled for just 74 runs, with only Saqib Ali proving a significant obstacle to the rampant attack.

Saqib, who made a splendid rearguard 195 against Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup last year, was again top scorer with a much more modest 29 from 74 deliveries. The UAE innings closed in the 44th over for a disappointing 132 on a ground which had yesterday seen The Netherlands and Canada post 572 runs between them.

Apart from West, there were two wickets apiece for Alex Cusack (two for 10), Peter Connell (two for 31), while Kevin O'Brien and Trent Johnston had identical figures of one for 11.

That total never seemed likely to trouble a powerful Irish batting line-up, but there was an early setback when skipper William Porterfield departed for 10 with the total on 16. Gary Wilson, however, continued his recent good form, and in the process further staked his claim for a place in the side in the tournament proper, by hitting a magnificent 102-ball 83 not out, including twelve sparkling boundaries.

England Lions star Eoin Morgan again missed out, making just 12 in a 40-run partnership with Wilson. But that was a last success for the UAE attack, as Niall O'Brien (21 not out) shared an unbroken third-wicket stand of 78 off 98 balls to see their side safely home.

Worryingly for the Irish, André Botha again played no part in the game, and with Kyle McCallan also on the sidelines with injury coach Phil Simmons does not have his troubles to seek ahead of the crucial all-Celtic clash with Scotland in Benoni when the tournament gets under way on Wednesday.