In a friendly match held earlier today the Ireland Under 19 and Under 17 squads faced each other as the former continue their preparations for their World Cup Qualification tournament later this month.
The game has been included as both teams take part in training camps this week, giving both sides the opportunity to play against strong opposition as part of the camp.
Batting first the Under-19 side set out with positive intentions and looked to set another large score after posting 298 earlier in the week against the Isle of Man.
Gary McClintock made 52 early in the innings but the star of the show with the bat was Aaron Gillespie who accelerated quickly in the latter stages of the innings to push the score up to 311-9, finishing unbeaten on 115, including 7 sixes – his second 50 coming in just 19 balls.
On a difficult day for the Under 17 bowlers Aaron Heywood was the pick of the bunch finishing with 2-39 from his allocation.
Chasing the unlikely 312 to win the Under 17’s made a steady start but the loss of four wickets inside the first 20 overs to leave the side 67-4 was always going to make things very difficult for the younger of two sides.
When rain started to fall victory for the Under 17’s seemed even more unlikely, with the score at 83-7 from 27 overs. The rain was not heavy enough to save the game though, and the Under 17’s were eventually bowled out for 127 to give the Under 19’s a 184 run victory.
Pic: @CarrickCC1868
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