Ireland in pole position after day one of ICC Intercontinental Cup final

Ireland had a day to remember at Grace Road today (Tuesday) on day one of the ICC Intercontinental Cup final, bowling Canada out for just 92 and then building an innings lead of 158 by the close.

Defending the cup it won at the end of 2005 in Namibia, Ireland showed why it is favourite to retain the title, putting in a clinical display of probing bowling, athletic fielding and hungry batting. As such, the box seat is theirs.

The misery began early on for Canada. In his first competitive match as captain, Ashish Bagai lost the toss and, having spotted a little greenness in the pitch, his opposite number Trent Johnston did not hesitate in deciding to bowl first.

Grace Road is renowned for offering swing on the first morning of a match and this was no exception. Johnston and David Langford-Smith put the ball in the right areas, full of a length, and soon reaped the reward.

John Davison was out in the first over, trapped lbw to a yorker-length delivery from Langford-Smith. His opening partner, Geoff Barnett, didn’t last much longer, out in similar fashion to Johnston for just four.