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Niall O'Brien evoked memories of his famous match winning knock against Pakistan in 2007 with a magnificent 62 from 52 balls against South Africa at Southgate.

The Northamptonshire left hander displayed his full range of stokes in a innings which drew widespread applause from the assembled crowd. O'Brien showed his team mates the perfect formula for batting in the abbreviated format of the game, combining quick running with boundaries at regular intervals.

Chasing a victory target of 164, Ireland and Jeremy Bray in particular got off to a flier, as the tall left hander crashed four boundaries in his 12 ba ll score of 17, before tamely driving spinner JP Duminy to Albie Morkel at mid-off.

Graeme Smith had introduced spin into the attack as early as the third over, and the move paid immediate dividends. It was the triumvirate of Duminy, Botha, and Peterson in particular, who ensured that despite the heroics from O'Brien, that Ireland were never seriously in contention.

The trio had a combined analysis of six for 64 from 12 overs, as Ireland struggled to find the boundaries required.

Williams Porterfield (8), Kevin O'Brien (6), Gary Wilson (0), and John Mooney (6), all succumbed to the spinners, on a track which was always difficult to score on once the pace was taken off the ball.

Andy White (16*) shared in a 50 run stand for the 6th wicket in 6.2 overs with Niall O'Brien, bringing respectability to the total after they had been reduced to 77 for 5.

Duminy (3-15), Peterson (2-30), and former Malahide professional Johan Botha (1-19) were the wicket takers in Ireland's final total of 130-6.

Earlier Ireland had fought back well after an early onslaught from Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.

The pair had added 109 in 12 overs, before Smith retired having made 63 from just 41 balls. He hit 7 fours and 2 sixes, being particularly savage on Alex Cusack, whom he struck for 24 in one over. Kallis was only slightly less severe on the Irish attack, smashing 57 from just 40 deliveries, which included 7 fours and 2 sixes.

After they both departed, retired out, Ireland fought back well, with Regan West in particular helping keep the run rate in check. The left arm spinner bowled with plenty of guile and variety, conceding just 20 runs from his four overs, while capturing the wicket of Justin Ontong.

Peter Connell (2-35) picked up the wickets of Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel, while Cusack finished well removing the prolific Duminy for just 14.

A final South African total of 163-6 was always likely to be out of Ireland's reach, but Niall O'Brien ensured that there were one or two anxious moments for one of the tournament favourites.

Speaking after the game Ireland captain William Porterfield saw reasons for optimism, "We've been improving steadily over the 3 games, and I think Nobby (Niall O'Brien) showed that we can score runs at this level. I thought it was a great knock and a perfect example of how to bat in this form of the game. We've got to have the belief and confidence to play positively and not be in awe of any of our opponents."

"Our preparations have gone well, and it's now a case of fine tuning certain aspects of our game over the next 3 days. It'll be about reinforcing the lads confidence that we have the ability to post a match winning total in this form of the game. I think we've picked up our momentum nicely, and that's encouraging ahead of next week. We've bowled and fielded pretty well, and it's just a case of getting the batting to fire again."

"This tournament is a great chance for us to showcase Irish cricket again. It's a big stage, and we want to show that we are capable of mixing it with the top sides. We want to show that the gap is narrowing between ourselves and the ‘big boys'. We haven't played a lot of Twenty20 cricket, but the last 3 weeks have improved our game enormously, and we're ready to show the world again just what Irish cricket is capable of."

Ireland travelled to Nottingham immediately after the game, which will be their base now before taking on Bangladesh on Monday, and India on Wednesday.

Mini Scorecard:

South Africa 163-6
G Smith 63            P Connell 2-35

Ireland 133-6
N O'Brien 62         JP Duminy 3-15

Photograph Courtesy: ICC

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