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Ireland U17 Win Inaugural Celtic Cup

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Ireland U17s triumphed over Scotland in the first ever Celtic Cup Series at this level, which was staged in Scotland over the past week. The Irish team won the series 2-1.
In the first game of the series, Ireland batted first. However, they were in trouble early, and were at one point 4/44 after 14 overs. But some solid middle order batting by Morgan Topping, who made 67(97), along with the support of Ian Anders, who got 49(96) to have a 6th wicket partnership of 102, got the Irish team to 208/8 from their 50 overs. In reply, the Scottish innings never really got going, with thanks to the bowling of Morgan Topping. He continued his fine performance in the match to bag 6-23 from his 10 overs. Scotland were all out for 117 in 32.5 overs, and Ireland won by 91 runs.

The second game of the week, Scotland batted first, and were nearly able to see out the whole of their innings, which gave them a total to defend against. Varun Chopra had the best of the bowling figures for Ireland. His 4-32 from his 10 overs, as well as Josh Little’s 2-39 restricted the opposition to 185 from 49.1 overs. Owais Shah opened the batting for the Scottish side, and made 55 (91) for them. In the run chase, Jamie Grassi top scored with 75 from 79 deliveries. However, only Reece Kelly (14) was able to reach double figures, and the batters could not stick around long enough to bat out the innings. In the end, Ireland were bowled out for 149 in 39.1 overs. Scotland won by 36 runs and levelled the series 1-1.

In the final game, it was very much all to play for, with the final game being a T20 match. Scotland won the toss, and decided to bat. The made Nelson for the loss of 8 wickets in their 20 overs. Owais Shah making the most runs for them (18). Reece Kelly was the pick of the bowlers for the Irish side. He took 3-14 from his 4 overs, with Max Neville (2-15) and Varun Chopra (2-17) taking 2 wickets each. In reply, Ireland had some good contributions, with Graham Kennedy making 26 (22) and skipper Harry Tector scoring 24(37). But the match still went down the final over. In the end, it was up to Josh Little to hit the winning 4, also coming off of a no ball, to win the match by 3 wickets, and clinch the series for Ireland 2-1.

A special thanks must be given to Cricket Scotland, especially Ayr Cricket Club, for hosting the series over the past week, as well as to the Irish management of Nigel Jones and John Mooney for all of their efforts.

Celtic Cup Game 1:

Ireland – 208/8 (50 Overs) – M. Topping 67, I Anders 49.
Scotland – 117 All Out (32.5 Overs) – M. Topping 6-23.
Ireland won by 91 Runs.

Celtic Cup Game 2:

Scotland – 185 All Out (49.1 Overs) – O. Shah 55; V. Chopra 4-32, J. Little 2-39.
Ireland – 149 All Out (39.1 Overs) – J. Grassi 75, R. Kelly 14.
Scotland won by 36 Runs.

Celtic Cup Game 3:

Scotland – 111/8 (20 Overs) – O. Shah 18; R. Kelly 3-14, M. Neville 2-15.
Ireland – 115/7 (19.5 Overs) – G. Kennedy 26, H. Tector 24.
Ireland won by 3 Wickets.