William Porterfield hit 97 from 102 balls in Sunday's game

Ireland lost their opening warm-up game in South Africa when they went down by one wicket to a strong Eastern Province XI in a high-scoring encounter.

A last-wicket stand of 24 in five overs saw Eastern Province successfully chase down a daunting target of 310, with just 2 balls to spare.

Earlier, Irish skipper William Porterfield had hit 97 from 102 balls while Andrew Poynter struck a brisk 62.

However, the Irish bowlers came in for some heavy punishment.

Sunday's game was Ireland's first warm-up match since their arrival in South Africa ahead of the World Cup qualifiers which start with the 1 April contest against Scotland.

The Eastern Province openers put on 170 in just 21 overs with 18-year-old Mangaliso Moshele hitting 102 and 21-year-old wicket-keeper Tumelo Bodibe contributing 60.

They were particularly severe on opening bowlers Peter Connell and John Mooney, while the introduction of Trent Johnston, Regan West and Kevin O'Brien did little to stem the flow of runs.

Alex Cusack (1-42) was more economical although both Connell (2-56) and Mooney (3-72) fought back well to bring Ireland well into contention at 285 for 9, before the last-wicket stand.

The Irish were missing three of their frontline attack, with Kyle McCallan rested after suffering a chest injury in training, Andre Botha recuperating after ankle surgery and Boyd Rankin rested.

Eoin Morgan also has yet to arrive from New Zealand after missing a connecting flight.

Porterfield outscored Niall O'Brien (22), as the pair added 97 in 15 overs.

In addition to Poynter's boundary-laden 62 from 52 balls, Trent Johnston scored a quickfire unbeaten 34 while Alex Cusack hit 30 as Ireland posted what appeared an impressive 309-8 in their 50 overs.

The Irish take on Zimbabwe A on Thursday and the UAE on Sunday in further warm-up games before they face an opening qualifier fixture with Scotland on 1 April.

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