Well, well, well. It didn’t take long for the first World Cup 2015 upset did it? Granted the West Indies have had a generally poor run of form to date and Ireland are no slouches with the bat and ball, but just as Zimbabwe showed in its plucky fight with South Africa the bigger teams have to bring it lest they want to lose the cheerleading championship (Bring It On reference in case you’re lost).
The Windies managed to resurrect what could have been a woeful total. They slumped to 5 for 84 in the 24th over before Darren Sammy (89 runs off 67 balls) and Lendl Simmons (102 off 84) managed 154 runs in 21 overs. Andre Russell’s dashing little cameo at the end of the innings (27 off 13) helped the West Indies post a healthy 304.
Ireland never looked bothered by the West Indian bowling unit and strolled to the required runs with 4 overs to spare. Paul Stirling (92), Ed Joyce (84) and Niall O’Brien (79 not out) all made quality contributions with the bat.
From the confidence and drive coming out of the Irish camp at the moment this win is looking less like a World Cup anomaly and more like a statement of intent.
