Ireland’s Craig Young took five wickets on his one-day international debut as Ireland beat Scotland by seven wickets in the first of three one-day internationals on Monday.
Skipper Kevin O’Brien top-scored in the match with an unbeaten 56 to help the hosts overhaul Scotland’s 172 all out at Malahide with more then 13 overs to spare. The visitors had slumped to 101-7, before a half-century by Michael Leask helped them recover slightly following medium-pacer Young’s burst.
Both sides are preparing for the World Cup which takes places in Australia and New Zealand in February and March.
With Ireland missing captain William Porterfield and established players Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien, Gary Wilson and Tim Murtagh due to county commitments, fringe players had the chance to impress the selectors.
“The team result is always most important, but individual performances matter because there is a big carrot which people are trying to grab,” said 24-year-old Irish bowler Young, who had a spell with Sussex.
“It is always nice to get five wickets. It is a nice start to the series and it was a good win for the team.”
In Ireland’s innings, O’Brien hit an unbeaten 56 off 56 balls, opener and former Under-19 captain Andrew Balbirnie scored 38 and Stuart Thompson finished on 35 not out.
The Scots got off to a disappointing start to the match as they lost Matty Cross for just nine runs after he edged Max Sorensen’s delivery to wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter.
Young then made his introduction as he took Calum MacLeod (25) and Hamish Gardiner (10) in quick succession.
The Derry bowler took his third when he clean bowled Preston Mommsen (10) to leave the Scots in trouble at 62-4.
Leask offered some resistance, but when he and Safyaan Sharif (18) also fell to Young, Scotland’s hopes of posting a more challenging tally were gone.
The sides meet again on Wednesday and Friday at the same venue.
