Day 1

On the day that Scotland announced they would not be going to Zimbabwe to play their Intercontinental Cup tie, effectively ending Ireland's reign as holders, the team went out to prove it was only the weather that has denied them a fourth successive final. Rain in last year's games against Kenya and Scotland forced Ireland to take points for draws instead of victories but Canada have been kind opposition for Ireland down the years and the dominance of Trent Johnston's side was confirmed again on a sweltering morning in the Toronto Cricket, Curling and Skating Club as the home team were bowled out for 120 in 32 overs.

Kevin O'Brien powers a boundary

At the close of the first day, Ireland were already 70 ahead with six wickets standing. Johnston, himself, took five wickets, his last his 48th of the season and no-one has taken more in a calendar year in the history of Irish cricket. Three of them came in four balls in his third over in the middle of a Canada collapse which saw four wickets fall for two runs.

The skipper received good support from Allan Eastwood, in only his second Irish game but in a side full of bowlers - Andrew Poynter and Nigel Jones were left out of the 13-man squad - it is the longest Irish "tail' for many a year. The batsmen, though, have done a job of sorts, so far but although four of them got in, Kevin O'Brien was top score with 57 and like both Paul Stirling and Andre Botha was dropped.

Paul Stirling was again a delight to watch, but a first hint of his vulnerability came when he was on 43, including seven fours and a six from 39 balls. Then, he was missed in the covers but he was unable to cash in and three balls later he was leg before. Andre Botha made his highest score for 34 innings - since his last century - but after being dropped at point on 19, he was caught at slip 11 short of a 50 and the batsman's disappointment at leaving the crease was there for all to see. He knew he had missed a great opportunity.

O'Brien's life came on 35 but at least he did reach 50 - his first in the I-Cup this season - before he, more unluckily, was also caught at slip, via the flap of the wicket-keeper's pads! But Andrew White is still there to resume in the morning and with George Dockrell sent in as nightwatchman, on O'Brien's dismissal, to keep John Mooney - who like White scored a century against the Netherlands last month - for the second day then Ireland could even complete another two-day victory over the Canadians, just as they did in the 2007 I-Cup final.

Day 2

Trent Johnston is unlikely to take the field on Day 3 when Ireland will expect to complete victory in their Intercontinental Cup game against Canada in Toronto with a day to spare. The captain needed six stitches in a cut above his left eye after being hit by a short ball from Henry Osinde in the first session. He took no further part in the day's play and for more than a session Ireland struggled to take wickets as they defended a first innings lead of 141.

Trent Johnston struck

But once his deputy, Kevin O'Brien, got his bowling options right Ireland took seven wickets in 18 overs for 52 runs to leave them firmly in control. O'Brien did not introduce himself into the attack until the 37th over, as his side's eighth bowler, and at that stage Andre Botha had bowled only three overs. But a final session burst of nine overs yielded three wickets for the North County all rounder and O'Brien took three himself to reduce Canada to 190 for eight at the close of the second day, just 49 in front.

"Early on the ball was swinging and John (Mooney) is more of a swing bowler, and on a turning pitch I had to bowl the two spinners. Albert (van der Merwe) seemed to be more of a wicket-taking threat than me and at first I brought Andre on just to give Eagie (Phil Eaglestone) a rest. "But Andre is a proven bowler, he hits the wicket and he brought us back into the game by ending the big partnership," said O'Brien.

Earlier, Osinde did not just put Johnston out of the game for the day but the 6ft 7ins opening bowler took five wickets in a hostile spell which saw Ireland lose their last six for 41 runs. Andrew White scored all but 14 of the 71 added yesterday and moved up to fourth in the all-time list of Ireland run-scorers, going past Alan Lewis and his absent captain, William Porterfield. Now on 3,603 runs, he needs only another 14 to go third ahead of his great friend, the recently retired Kyle McCallan.

George Dockrell, the nightwatchman, did his job, facing 30 balls for two runs in a fifth wicket stand of 35 but Mooney lasted only six balls before he was Osinde's second wicket. Johnston had added 20 before he received the short ball which came off his thumb into his helmet and immediately on impact the blood started flowing and the captain left the field.

With the longest Ireland "tail' that anyone can remember, not too much was expected from the last three batsmen but after losing van der Merwe to a Rizwan Cheema's third catch at first slip, White was the surprise ninth wicket when he attempted to pull Osinde for six over mid-wicket but only found the fielder, 20 yards inside the boundary. Allan Eastwood was caught at mid-off on the stroke of lunch and Canada were batting for a second time immediately after the break. Apart from O'Brien and Botha, the pick of the Ireland bowlers was again Allan Eastwood, the Pembroke seamer although it was Eaglestone, his opening partner, who made the only breakthrough in the afternoon session having opener Nitish Kumar caught at second slip by the safe hands of Paul Stirling.

It was just reward for the Strabane left armer who was the unlucky bowler when Ruvindra Gunasekera was dropped at square leg by Andrew Poynter, the substitute for Johnston. He had made only two at that stage and would hang around for another 36 overs. In all Gunasekera faced 112 balls for his 47 but Ireland are having to bat again almost entirely because of Zubin Surkari's knock of 72 from 110 balls. After top scoring with a run-a-ball 28 in the first innings his responsible and equally attractive second knock cleared the deficit and it needed Botha's reintroduction to, first, end the second wicket stand of 106 and then breach the defence of Surkari.

Captain Ashai Bagai, with an undefeated, rearguard 31 ensured the match went into day three but, lunch on the third day might be a session too far for the Canadians.

Day 3

So much for completing victory by lunch on day three! Ireland's Intercontinental Cup match against Canada in Toronto was taken into the final day by a combination of stubborn home batting, poor Irish fielding and the weather. When the predicted rain hit the Cricket, Skating and Curling Club an hour before the close, Ireland were still 52 runs short of their target with just six wickets left and one of those is the captain, Trent Johnston, still sporting a plaster concealing six stitches above his left eye.

Albert van der Merwe bowling

And, remember, Ireland's last six wickets in the first innings added only 41. It was a record ninth wicket stand against Ireland of 121 which did the damage, keeping the visitors in the field until 55 minutes after lunch and, despite Canada being just 49 ahead with two wickets to fall at the close on Wednesday, Ireland were set the testing target of 176 to win.

It did not start well with Rory McCann, who took a record nine catches in the match but scored only four runs, caught at second slip, to his and first innings bowling hero Henry Osinde's third ball and Paul Stirling followed in the 10th over for 22, going for his sixth boundary. This attempt was placed unerringly into the hands of the fielder at deep square leg. Kevin O'Brien lasted only 21 balls before he was leg before to the accurate Rizwan Cheema but the big positive to come from the extended Canada innings was that it gave Andre Botha time to score his first half century for almost two years.

Still not back to his fluent best, at least Botha found the middle of the bat much more regularly than of late and hit nine boundaries in his 61, off just 84 balls. He was run out going for a quick single in an over which had already yielded runs off every ball and, ultimately, it was a wasted wicket. White and Mooney, who put on the little matter of 221 runs only two weeks ago against the Netherlands, however, are still there to resume this morning and Ireland expects …and also expects a big improvement on yesterday morning's session.

Much like the afternoon on the previous day the two-hour period was one for Ireland to forget with bad tactics and poor fielding disguising Ireland's top ranking in Associate cricket. Paul Stirling, of all people, put down his second and third catches of the innings - Ashish Bagai on 36 the easiest in the covers - and with O'Brien, still captaining in the absence of Johnston, mysteriously delaying the second new ball for 16 overs, captain Bagai reached 90 and Khurram Chohan, at No 10, made his highest first class score.

The previous record for the nith wicket agains Ireland was 78 set by New Zealnd pair B Sutcliffe and R Collinge in July 1965 at Ormeau. Rory McCann, in only his ninth match for Ireland broke the all-time record with nine catches in the match leaving Paul Jackson (seven against Scotland at Titwood in 1984 and Ossie Colhoun (seven against MCC at Castle Avenue in 1964) in joint second place.

Andrew White, currently unbeaten on 21, passed Kyle McCallan in third place on the all-time run list for Ireland when he reached 14. White now has 3624 runs - ahead of him now are Ivan Anderson (3777) and Stephen Warke (4275).

Day 4

This time Ireland could not be denied. Despite a delay of more than five and a half hours on the final day of their Intercontinental Cup match in Toronto, the holders completed victory over Canada by six wickets. When a thunderstorm hit the ground just half an hour into the fourth and final day, it looked as if Ireland would be forced to accept a third draw in five matches.

Andrew White

But excellent drainage at the Cricket, Skating and Curling Club and a liberal dosing of sawdust on the square ensured the game restarted. Just six overs later, it was all over with Andrew White completing another half century - his 16th to go with four hundreds - and John Mooney doing his bit to keep the long Ireland tail in the dressing room.

Their unbroken stand was worth 59. Only 38 balls had been possible at the start of the day, when Ireland resumed on 124 for four, just 52 runs short of victory and with memories of their first innings collapse when the last five wickets fell for 41 runs, Ireland could not afford any early mistakes. White and Mooney, with 273 internationals between them, proved the perfect combination and it was Canada who welcomed the rain when it hit the ground with devastating effect.

White did gave a chance in the second full over after the resumption, the previously safe hands of Rizwan Cheema putting a straightforward catch down at slip, and that was to be the home side's last chance of a getting a win on the board in this I-Cup. They finish bottom of the seven teams. While the Ireland win was thoroughly deserved, it took two days longer than it should have - and that was nothing to do with the weather.

Indeed, unlike last summer's rain-interrupted games against Kenya, when they were two wickets short of victory and against Scotland when they needed just five wickets on the final day, this time the team would have had only themselves to blame if they had failed to collect the win points. The deep cut to the eyebrow of skipper Trent Johnston early on day two, which prevented him taking any further part in the match, was a significant blow but while his astute captaincy was missed, his absence could not excuse the Ireland fielding in this match.

The match would almost certainly have been over in half the scheduled time if Johnston had been bowling or if his deputy, Kevin O'Brien had not, naively, held himself back to sixth change but the four dropped catches in the Canada second innings were just as culpable. Opener Ruvindu Gunasekera was missed on two (and again on 35) and went on to score 47, and, more crucially, captain Ashish Bagai was given two lives, the first on 36, before he had reached 50 and he was last man out for 90.

The Ireland bowling, apart from Andre Botha, Allan Eastwood, in a couple of spells, and O'Brien, who despite not bringing himself on until the 37th over, claimed his first five-wicket haul, was not up to the mark with too many "four-balls' costing them easy runs, the spinners having a particularly disappointing match. But the result was an Ireland success and another maximum points haul in Harare later this month would promote them to second place, above Zimbabwe.

But, if the ICC give the African side the win points for their game against Scotland which will not take place because the Scots are refusing to travel it will be Zimbabwe who will meet Afghanistan in the I-Cup final in Dubai at the end of November.