A panel of 13 players was selected for a trip to England involving three matches. Of the 13, 11 were selected to play against MCC in the middle of match of the three. It would appear that the option was left with the Captain as to the 11 to be selected in each of the other two matches.

Two men were mainly responsible for the Irish total of 188 made in 2½ hours on a fast wicket. Shearer and Ingram played two innings that were curiously similar. Both hit eight fours and got most of the runs by driving. Shearer's 52 took the longer of the two. He batted for an hour and got his runs out of 95. Ingram got 50 out of 90 in 40 minutes. This was very fast scoring on the part of both batsmen. Together they added 57 for the third wicket. Butterworth caused a collapse with his leg-breaks and, after being 120-3, the side was all out for 188. After lunch Butterworth took all his five wickets in a spell of 28 balls for 16 runs. His full analysis was 5-60, Billingsley hitting him for two sixes and a four in the last over he bowled.

Cahn's batsmen had 50 up in 55 minutes and this was 20 minutes longer than the Irishman had taken. Boucher had taken wickets at 25, 36 and 44 at a personal cost of 14 runs. Morkel was 18 and appeared to be settling down when Ingram bowled him with a beauty at 73. Maxwell joined Mudge and a stubborn partnership ensued. 100 came up in 85 minutes and Mudge reached 50 out of 106 in 90 minutes. The pair added 81 in 65 minutes and then Maxwell was brilliantly caught by Shearer at deep square leg off Morgan for 51, which included eight fours. The score was 163-5 at the close with Mudge 69 not out.

By lunchtime on the second day Cahn's XI had reached 264-9 and at that point they declared with a 76 run lead. Mudge played a very fine and careful innings of 87 and was eventually caught at the wicket. Hall hit very hard and made 47. Billingsley, who only bowled 11 overs, had the best figures, 3-37. He took the three wickets in a spell of nine balls in his eighth and ninth overs.

The Irish opening was disastrous. Morkel and Crisp took a wicket each, Ingram needlessly ran himself out and the score was 7-3. Then came a great innings of power and beauty from Donald Shearer. Those who saw it maintained that this was the masterpiece of all the fine innings played by this great player. Shearer made 102 runs but it was the manner in which the runs were made rather than the runs themselves which distinguished the innings. He went for the bowling and made Butterworth's slows into full tosses by going down the wicket and he also faced the fast bowling of Crisp with confidence. Boucher scored 41 out of the 97 added for the fourth wicket and played very well. Lambert helped to add another 64 for the next wicket but a collapse followed and 168-4 became 199 all out. Crisp came into his own and in one spell of 33 balls he took 4-5. After Boucher left Shearer increased his pace and raced from 50 to 100 in 30 minutes. He was fifth out at 168 and had scored his 102 out of 162 in 80 minutes with 14 fours. He scored all around the wicket and his placing was perfect. He was brilliantly caught at third slip by Mudge off Crisp.

Cahn's XI needed 124 to win. After a quiet opening runs came at a terrific pace and only 50 minutes were required. Seven sixes were hit, Morgan being hit for three of them in one over. Summers hit three of these sixes, all straight drives, Butterworth hit one and Crisp hit the other three. One of these sixes of Crisp's was hit when the match was won, apparently an over was allowed to be completed as one ball remained after the winning hit was made. Only 16 overs were bowled by the Irish bowlers and off these 130 runs were scored

Derek Scott