Jaarsveld steers Northamptonshire into quarter-finals

Ireland 263-8 Northamptonshire 267-4 <i>Northants win by six wickets </i>

Ireland's C&G Trophy campaign came to an end after Martin van Jaarsveld steered Northamptonshire to a six-wicket victory at Clontarf.

Ireland's C&G Trophy campaign came to an end after Martin van Jaarsveld steered Northamptonshire to a six-wicket victory at Clontarf.

The South African hit 93 not out as Northants overhauled Ireland's 263-8 with eight overs to spare. Northants will play Warwickshire in the quarter final - but they had to work after Australian Jeremy Bray chalked up 76 for the hosts.

The Irish went into the game on the back of 10 wins - but Northants won the toss and had them struggling.

Captain Jason Molins and Andre Botha quickly fell to Philip Jones, and Gerald Dros followed them into the pavilion after a smart catch from wicketkeeper Gerald Brophy to leave the hosts on 37 for three. But a century stand between Bray and Peter Gillespieturned the tide before Bray was run out. Cameos from Kyle McCallan and Andrew White steered the hosts to respectability.

Northants started confidently, Timothy Roberts crashing a run-a-ball 39. However, Botha captured the scalps of both openers to bring Usman Afzaal to bat with his side on 74 for two.

Van Jaarsveld polished off the remaining runs with Afzaal, David Sales and Graeme Swann all chipping in.

Molins said: "Playing against the pros in competitive games like this is a great experience."