Sunday, September 8, 2024

Dragons stay perfect and crank up heat in Super20 bid with win over Scorchers

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Cara Murray was to the fore for the Dragons in their victory over the Scorchers

Dragons made it three wins out of three in the Super20 Series with victory in Sunday’s game against the Scorchers at Oak Hill.

The game was rained off 11.3 overs into the hosts’ reply, but at 48 for five, they were 16 runs behind the DLS par score as they chased the Dragons’ 108 for six.

Orla Prendergast top-scored for the Dragons with 36 off 31 balls, and Waringstown’s Cara Murray took two for 11 to put the Ulster side firmly in control when the weather intervened.

Meanwhile, the fringe players in the Ireland men’s squad have a final chance to stake a claim for a place in the Test match against Zimbabwe at Stormont.

The only player missing from the game at Malahide between the Raiders and the Strikers, and in contention for a Test place, will be Mark Adair, who injured his hamstring playing for CIYMS.

However, the encouraging news is that he is on course to play in the Test, starting on July 25. He did his first running on Saturday and will have his first bowl on Monday.

On the field, it looks to be a shoot-out between James McCollum and PJ Moor – they are both on the Raiders team – for the opening batting slot with captain Andrew Balbirnie, while it could be the same scenario between Andy McBrine and Matthew Humphreys – who are on opposite sides – if Ireland go into the Test with only one spinner.

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