TRENT Johnston was again the hero as Ireland won their first World Twenty20 warm-up, against Netherlands, in the excitement of a Golden Over.

Although the scores were tied at 135 each, there must be a winner in the shortest form of the game so each team nominates a bowler and three batsmen to contest a 21st over. William Porterfield, Gary Wilson and Trent Johnston lined up for Ireland but could manage only six runs for the loss of one wicket from the six balls bowled by left arm paceman Dirk Nannes.

The Dutch sent in their two most experienced county professionals, Baz Zuiderent and Ryan ten Doeschate, to face Johnston, the bowler who took five wickets in the final of the Intercontinental Cup in April and Ireland's most consistently economical performer since.

He sent down a rare full toss first up which, fortunately, went for only two but the next ball was in the block hole and when Zuiderent missed the third, Wilson took off the bails. Next ball, there was panic in the Dutch camp and Johnston took aim and hit the stumps from halfway down the pitch to run out the stranded ten Doeschate. Two wickets in a Golden Over ends the innings and Ireland had won by four runs.

Skipper Porterfield confirmed it was a ‘no brainer' to chose Johnston to bowl the extra over.

'He had bowled his four overs (in the match) really well and nailed his skills. He's got vast experience, knows what he wants to do with the ball and knows where he wants to put it. It was always going to be Trent.
'Obviously we wanted more than six runs in the over but we knew they were going to give us a chance in the six balls. We got a wicket up front, panic set in and we got the second, but it's a lottery a one-over game.
'We now have to progress from here and keep improving over the next two games (against West Indies today and South Africa on Thursday), cutting down on the number of ‘dot' balls for example, just the little things, and that will stand us in good stead going into the Bangladesh game (next Monday).

And National Coach Phil Simmons faces an unenviable task just picking an 11 for that game. At the moment every member of the 15-man squad here in England could, rightly, expect to play in the first game of the tournament proper, and yesterday Niall O'Brien, Andrew White, Alex Cusack and John Mooney, the batsman of the trip so far, were not even involved.

Andre Botha top scored with 35 and is beginning to look like his old self again, Paul Stirling chipped in with another 27 before he was caught ball-watching and Wilson's batting in the late order for Surrey this season helped Ireland in a similar position today.

Apart from Johnston, Rankin and Regan West had another satisfactory day with the ball but it was against a fellow-Associate team and it will be the next four matches which will show just how far Ireland have to go to be competitive on the world Twenty20 stage.