HANDY ANDY AS IRELAND CLAIM BACK-TO-BACK TEST WINS

While the main focus locally last weekend was the Senior Cup final, 70 miles away at Stormont there was significant Tyrone involvement as Ireland beat Zimbabwe in their one-off match to record back-to-back wins.

While Donemana would dearly have loved to have the talismanic Andy McBrine in their ranks, there was understanding he was required by his country and how he performed as they won a pulsating battle at the Belfast venue.

McBrine was front and centre as they clinched the four-wickets win, having been in dire straits at 21 for 5 chasing 158. ‘Scra’ loves nothing more than a crisis, rolling up his sleeves to get his side over the line with an unbeaten 55, sharing match winning partnerships with Lorcan Tucker and Mark Adair.

‘It was a fantastic win,” McBrine told the media in the post-match euphoria. “The way we went about it, we said we’d be as positive as we can. We stuck to our plan and kept being positive when Mark Adair came in.

‘The pacers were fantastic, the skipper rotated them allowing me to take wickets at the other end. It’s nice to be part of the first home Test win, especially here in Northern Ireland, we’ll have a few celebrations.”

As well as his runs, the Warriors captain took seven wickets across the two innings, including the prize scalp of Sean Williams, with his all-round efforts making him a shoo-in for the Man-of-the-Match accolade.

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie was full of praise for the Donemana man, who had also made an unbeaten 28 as he and Matthew Humphreys added what proved to be a crucial 47 for the last wicket in the first innings that secured their lead.

“Andy is the sort of player you just want to put in your cricket bag and bring him around to every game with you.”

Former Bready pacer Craig Young was also a pivotal figure in the win, taking three wickets including the big wickets of Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and the wonderfully named Joylord Gumbie.

Both McBrine and Young may be in their early 30’s but both are playing better than ever, and should be in the green of Ireland for a few more years yet.