Porterfield and West ensure Ireland's win

Ireland 205 for 9 (Porterfield 50) beat Scotland 109 (Hamilton 36, West 4-26) by 96 runs
Scorecard

Two days after rain dashed Ireland's hopes of a final-day push for victory in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in Aberdeen, the visitors crushed Scotland by a massive 96-run margin in a low-scoring contest at Mannofield Park. William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, continued his excellent form on the tour, anchoring his side's innings with 50, before Regan West picked up four wickets to help dismiss Scotland for 109.

The wet weather in Aberdeen produced good conditions for bowling and so it was no surprise that the hosts put Ireland in. Gordon Goudie struck early, forcing an edge from Gary Wilson to the wicketkeeper, and Paul Stirling fell in similar fashion a few overs later to Dewald Nel. Ireland were 32 for 2 and in need of a solid partnership, and it was provided by Porterfield and Andre Botha.

Porterfield had begun his innings with two fours over square leg and midwicket in the first over of the match, and he continued to play confidently despite the fall of early wickets. Botha too drove Goudie and pulled Gordon Drummond to the boundary before launching Goudie over the square leg boundary.

The pair added 69 before Porterfield's fluent innings was cut short by a run out. His dismissal triggered a collapse: Majid Haq got Botha to mistime a drive to cover and then bowled Kevin O'Brien with a well-flighted delivery. Ireland had suddenly slipped from 101 for 2 to 103 for 5. Andrew White and West provided some resistance, scoring 32 and 24, but Ryan Watson and Drummond struck twice each to dismiss Ireland for 205.

Chasing a moderate target, Scotland found runs extremely hard to come by; they had scored only 8 in the seventh over. And then they began to lose wickets. Alex Cusack bowled an outstanding spell, conceding only three runs off five overs, but it was Trent Johnston who provided the breakthrough for Ireland when Fraser Watts top-edged a pull that was held by O'Brien.

A brace of run outs - Navdeep Poonia and Watson were the batsmen dismissed - left the hosts struggling at 49 for 3. The decisive blow, though, came when Gavin Hamilton, who had scored a patient 36, slapped a full toss from West straight to mid-off. Scotland collapsed thereafter, losing their last five wickets for 27 runs.