Ireland pile up their highest total in fourth straight win

Ireland 331 for 6 (Stirling 74, Niall O'Brien 51, Whittingham 3-58) beat Scotland 307 for 9 (Jones 74, Leask 59, MacLeod 58) by 24 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Ireland piled up 331 for 6 - their joint-highest total in ODI cricket - and secured their fourth successive win in the tri-series in the UAE. Ireland clinched the series, with Scotland and UAE still to register a point.

Scotland made a decent fist of the chase with opener Michael Jones, Calum MacLeod, and Michael Leask making fifties, but they ultimately fell short by 24 runs. This was only the sixth time Scotland had made 300 or more in an ODI.

After opting to bat, Ireland lost their captain William Porterfield for 6 in the third over, but Paul Stirling, the other opener, gave the innings direction with his 14th ODI half-century. Niall O'Brien hit a fifty of his own while his brother Kevin, Andy Balbirnie, Simi Singh, and Gary Wilson each made forty-somethings to propel the total. Stuart Whittingham, playing only his second ODI, picked up 3 for 58.

Scotland then made a strong start in their reply, with fifty stands for the first two wickets. But from 127 for 1, they slumped to 169 for 5. MacLeod and Leask then raised 95 for the sixth wicket at nearly 10 runs an over to give their side hope, but the rapidly rising asking rate was too much to overcome.

MacLeod was ninth out, for 58 off 46 balls, as Scotland's hopes evaporated. Barry McCarthy, Peter Chase, and George Dockrell claimed two wickets each for Ireland.