Ireland coach Phil Simmons stole the show as he top scored as the Cricket Ireland President's XI beat Cork County in a special 140th anniversary match at The Mardyke.

Simmons bludgeoned 8 fours and a six as he made a majestic 51 out of a total of 291 for 9.

Internationals Fintan McAllister (37*), Reinhardt Strydom (33) and skipper John Mooney (20) all batted well for Joe Doherty's star-studded side.

Apart from a rousing reception for Simmons, the loudest cheer of the day was for Ted Williamson, who made a run a ball 45 (6 fours, 1 six).

Cork County used no fewer than ten bowlers, one of which was England international John Stephenson, who has a close affiliation with the Munster club through his MCC offices.

Club stalwarts Morne Bauer, Andy Wootton, and Robert Duggan each picked up a wicket, but the prize scalp of West Indies legend Simmons went to Tim Clifford (3-16).

Chasing such a large total, Cork County fell well short on 153 all out, with Aidan Kelleher (35), Andrew Wootton (34) their top scorers, while Oscar Cotter and Ian Coleman both made 16.

John Mooney took 2 wickets for just a single, while there were also wickets for Kyle McCallan, James Newland, Yaqoob Ali, Phil Simmons, Tim Affleck and Reinhardt Strydom.

Cricket Ireland President Joe Doherty paid tribute to the integral part Cork and Munster cricket had played in Irish cricket history, and thanked all who made the Mardyke one of the most beautiful settings for cricket.

There was a great turnout for the game by Corkonians young and old, including Munster legends Dermot Giltinan (who received a lifetime award), Brian O'Donnell and Pat Dineen.

The day was rounded off by a performance by the St Nicholas Brass Band which had played at the first Cork County match in 1874!

CORK COUNTY V CRICKET IRELAND PRESIDENT'S XI

At The Mardyke,

CI PRESIDENTS XI
R Strydom c Coleman b Wootton 33
J Mooney c Coleman b Bauer 20
P Simmons c O'Reilly b Clifford 51
K McCallan st Coleman b Grobler 9
E Richardson c Cotter b Clifford 10
T Affleck c Grobler b Clifford 6
J Newland b O'Brien 29
T Williamson c&b; O'Brien 45
J Bray c O'Brien b Duggan 10
F McAllister not out 37
Y Ali not out 19
Extras 22 (3b, 3lb, 14w, 2 nb)
Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 291

Bowling:M Bauer 10-1-40-1, A Wootton 5-1-48-1 A O'Reilly 4-0-27-0, S Grobler 5-19-1
O Cotter 4-0-35-0, T Clifford 6-1-16-3, J Stephenson 7-0-34-0, H O'Brien 4-0-23-2, R Duggan 4-0-27-1, A Kelleher 1-0-16-0.

CORK COUNTY
I Coleman c Ali b McCallan 16
S Grobler b Newland 2
M Bauer run out (Richardson) 4
A Kelleher c Bray b Mooney 35
J Stephenson c Strydom b Mooney 6
R Duggan b Affleck 7
R Durity c Bray b Simmons 0
T Clifford run out (Richardson) 1
A O'Reilly b Strydom 4
A Wootton c Simmons b Ali 34
O Cotter not out 16
Extras 28 (10b, 1lb, 17w)
Total (all out, 32.4) 153

Bowling: E Richardson 4-0-12-0, J Newland 4-0-22-1, F McAllister 4-1-22-0, Y Ali 5.4-1-39-1, K McCallan 4-1-7-1, J Mooney 2-1-1-2, P Simmons 3-0-8-1, T Affleck 2-1-4-1, R Strydom 2-1-1-1, T Williamson 2-0-26-0