Ireland provide the clincher
Barbados - The World Cup has been a lengthy journey for Ireland and I have been around for just a small part of it, witnessing their three Super 8 games in Guyana and two here at the Kensington Oval.
Their apart, they have earned extra respect for each game they have played and I鈥檒l be sorry to miss the final game of their Odyssey as they move to Grenada to face Sri Lanka.
Whereas critics have already put the group-stage victory over Pakistan down to luck at winning the toss on a Sabina Park pitch that was very helpful to their bowlers early on, there were no such advantages come the second round.
But committed, workmanlike performances against England and South Africa in particular put them in positions from which they could have pushed for victory.
They always knew this clash with Bangladesh would be their best opportunity of victory in the second round, even though the Tigers upset South Africa two weeks previously.
A revived performance from their top-order batting 鈥 William Porterfield the star with 85 鈥 and the usual lower-order biffing set them on their way, then captain Trent Johnston鈥檚 canny use of his bowlers and some cavalier Bangladeshi batting helped seal a 74-run win
It provided the clincher in justifying their place in the Super 8, also gaining recognition in the ICC鈥檚 official one-day rankings by virtue of having beaten two full members.
With the gates flung wide at 11am, the ground was around two-thirds full up by the time Bangladesh started their reply.
India and Pakistan fans making the best of their teams鈥 absence were joined by plenty of locals 鈥 at last 鈥 and lots of light green, with large furry hats and leprechaun beards almost obligatory.
A few of the Barmy Army infiltrated the Blarney version for the afternoon and the Barmy bugler belted out Fields of Athenry and Cockles n鈥 Mussels instead of his usual standards.
And by the time skipper Trent Johnston took his second wicket, and danced his second chicken dance, it did not matter that this match could have been a clash between India and Pakistan. All that counted was another famous win for the men in clover green.
The novelty value of an Ireland team made up of truck drivers, teachers, farmers and salesmen taking on the world鈥檚 best has faded as the tournament wore on.
But it has been fun to be working around the squad and their entourage for the last three weeks as the enjoyment of playing at this level has shone through.
There have been some impressive individual performances, like for five runs in his first three overs against England and Niall O'Brien's half century in Ireland's reply.
Had Jacques Kallis not been allowed two let-offs, on a slow pitch in Guyana. Six days later, before a crazy run out began a collapse, Niall and Kevin O鈥橞rien were beginning to .
The chicken dance has been a highlight on the pitch and on the odd dance floor along the way. 鈥淎ll I could see on the TV replay was a bald spot and elbows,鈥 Johnston complained.
Chastened by the , England鈥檚 players headed back to their Georgetown hotel after beating the Irish, whose own post-match singsong lasted so late their security guards and coach driver left them to make their own way home.
Johnston鈥檚 inspirational leadership, spinner Kyle McCallan鈥檚 unflappability, Niall O鈥橞rien鈥檚 cocky self-assuredness and Rankin鈥檚 determination have all stood out on the field.
Off it, radio commentator started out with a couple of guest spots on 成人快手 Test Match Special but has now been around so long he should be in line for a TMS tie, even though he has yet to gain official Test status.
John was just one of those leaping around in the press box as Bangladesh wickets fell through the afternoon. A few of the rest of us became a little less impartial than normal too.
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Any other candidates for top game of the Super Eights? Everybody loves the underdog, but how much more when the underdog is such an endearing pup, running around like a maniac with its tongue hanging out and a soppy grin on its face? (And that's just me...!)
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glorious performance on the part of Ireland. gaining official ODI recognition is a great achievement!!!. now one can hope that they will get more opportunities to play at the highest level more often. if they continue like this, the waite won't be long before they match it out with the big boys at the test level!.
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Heard on TMS radio that although Ireland will now be placed on the ICC ODI table, they will not receive any extra reources, nor will they be granted any new matches. What sort of stupidity is that from the ICC development team? Seems like the sort of dispiriting rubbish that has ruined Kenyan cricket. Surely someone should put themselves forward and make sure that Irish cricket receive the appropriate high level coaching, management advice, help in developing grounds and help in marketing the game in a country in which the sport is unfamiliar to most. Furthermore, each of the other 11 ODI sides should be required to play a 2 or 3 match ODI rubber against Ireland whenever they tour England. Could I also suggest some flexibility and common sense in the ICC approach to "nationality" for developing nations. What I would suggest is that players like Ed Joyce, who are good enough to play for England, should be allowed to play tests for England and ODI's for Ireland, for as long as their countries are not of test standard, Finally, could I suggest that Ireland aren't really any better than Scotland, the Netherlands or Canada and Ireland having made this great step forward, that these other 3 should also be awarded ODI status. Then really think about how to develop the sport in these countries and see where you are in 5 or 6 years time.
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I think the Sri Lanka vs England game is easily the best game of the super8s so far.
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Well done Ireland!!
As an Englishman I think it's wondeful that you are doing so well. Maybe a few touring sides to England in the future should include Ireland on the itinerary - for one test and an ODI. Then, after the test series of the tourists against England, Ireland should be in a tri-nation tournament against England and the tourists.
I think the emergence of the Ireland team should be built on, not just applauded...come on TCCB, MCC, IRCC (or is it ICB?) It's now or don't bother about 'minor nation' development!
What do other bloggers say?
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Martin, you may not be welcome in Guyana any more, but feel free to pop over the Irish sea at any time for a pint.
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Great stuff by Ireland, gotta love those boys.
In response to Helen, have to agree about Ireland being endearing - they've played their hearts out and given the tournament both entertainment and the classic little battler story.
I would however put the match between England and Sri Lanka up as the match of the super 8's so far.
But I put Ireland's tie with Zimbabwe at number one for the tournament!
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Despite the fact i'm a Scot still hurting at our shambolic World Cup campaign, Ireland fully deserve their place on the ICC ODI rankings list.
Well done to the Irish.
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Dave,
Martin is always welcome in Guyana. He is one of us now. We discovered him first. The first introduction was a bit awkward, but now things are very good.
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Fantastic performance and result for Ireland. All through the team today every man one of them rose to the occasion. Too tired and emotional for any reasoned analysis but I thought the supporters again played their part fantastically. Well done all. Special mention and thanks to 'Jimmy Saville' of Barmy Army fame who played a blinder among the Blarney Army. Good luck to England on Tuesday. Hope Ed gets a game.
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A year ago you would have been dismissed as mad if you suggested that many hundreds of thousands of Irish people would be glued to a cricket match on a Sunday evening in homes and pubs 9many people don't have Sky Sports at home) throughout the country.
Sports followers and others who knew nothing about cricket now understand the one-day set up.
We're all sooooo proud of these great guys who bring the Irish spirit onto the cricket field. What a great, clever, controlled, spirited and cool performance by the Irish team. Well done guys, we're all so proud of you.
Time now for the Crisket authorities and the Irish Sports Council and Government to reflect the enormity of their achievement by pumping the required resources into the game in Ireland. Time also for the Cricket people to give Ireland more exposure with more one-day matches and to help Ireland to hold onto its Ed Joyces. Maybe he can also be repatriated to help the effort.
Go Ireland!!
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Good win for the the Irish team and congratulations. I am just happy to see that they now don't have to finish the Super 8 stage with zero points.
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Although the irish are minnows but their attitude were like auatralians. They were even involved in some verbals. Specially when Langford-Smith threw the ball in anger towards the wkt keeper and was picked up by the slip fielder was reminicent of Shane Warne.
Well done. Ireland... At least they deserve the special award for showing fighting spirit and attitude.
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Great professional display by Ireland to come back after two tough matches. I think the team have proved to everyone that the Pakistan match was no fluke and the fully deserve their ranking ODI status.
Would love to see us getting some more ODI matches to keep the profile of the sport going here and maybe push towards us getting test status at some stage. Why aren't they getting more support re improving their status, what's everyone afraid of? Getting beaten by the so-called amateurs?? We need support and funding to push this forward and we need to keep players playing for Ireland rather than being forced to play elsewhere to get test match exposure. I agree with the good suggestions above that Ireland should now be on the travel itinerary of any side playing England.
Here's hoping for a good match against Sri Lanka
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congrats and kudos to the irish - they've far exceeded expectations and it's now up to the authorities and the test playing nations to ensure that this momentum is maintained - the treatment of the kenyans is disgraceful to say the least. best match of super 8's tigers beating the proteas - it showed that the proteas are overated and judging by the look on their faces they would rather be back home in sa - perhaps england can do them a favour eh????
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Great performance by the men in Green, and also great support from the Irish and English in the crowd yesterday, it was a great atmoshpere and I hope that on Tuesday we see many more Irish and English together supporting England against the South Africans, the support we would then get will be like an extra man and lets hope that extra man can open the batting and get some runs!!!
Well done Ireland...........
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Look at it this way - Ire beat Bangla, who beat SA, who beat SL, who beat Eng - so Ireland are better than England? Well, not really, but it does show how little there is between the big boys and the 'minnows' now.
In fairness, quite a few touring sides do play one-off fixtures against Ireland or Scotland; I agree that should become a regular feature. But how about a 'home nations' tournament, like the 6 Nations in rugby? Eng played and lost to Wales (who don't even have an official team) a few years back, and squeaked past Ireland last year; Scotland play domestic one-dayers already. Would make a more interesting start to the season than games between the counties and the universities...
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The display against Bangladesh was excellent, especially on the back of the Australia game. A lesser team would have been down and out but they showed incredible resilience.
Johnstone was very astute in batting first. It was an excellent gamble that paid dividends as it gave the Irish bowlers something to aim for and Bangladesh seemed unsure how to pace themselves.
Both teams could do with playing series of 3 or more games against the same opponents to give them a chance to vary their approaches - the talent is there, just short of experience.
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Is it just me or is the reason most of us back home have barely been paying any attention to the World Cup less down to England not being very good than the 成人快手's highlights presentation package being embarrassingly inept.
How many times do we need to see Manish ('I don't have a clue about cricket') Bhasin walking down a beach in his shorts and flip flops talking earnestly about the game with Jonathan Agnew, before popping into the nearest rum shack?
Someone put the poor fella out of his misery and give him a desk job...and appoint someone who actually gives a damn about cricket to present the thing. Less. Just put the cricket on, it's late and I for one would rather foresake kip for watching action rather than inane chat.
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Hooray for Ireland!
You know Aussies love the Irish.
We are kindred spirits methinks.
Sorry about the mauling the other day.
Well done and congratulations !
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Like most others, I only managed to catch the highlights of this match (grr... Sky) but did listen to TMS and I have to say, it was great fun!!! More so than the much touted SA/SL clash.
The Irish are just so spirited!!! And I'm surprised that Kyle McCallan has not yet been especially mentioned in the reports. He produced some absolute beauties yesterday!!
Looks like you've changed your mind about them, Martin.
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Now that Ireland have official ODI status, I hope that England, West Indies and India now arrange matches in Belfast or Dublin.
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Ireland are already scheduled to play a triangular with Netherlands and West Indies in Dublin this July, so in fairness, touring sides do come here.
Can anyone answer this for me? Does being granted official ODI status mean Ireland will automatically qualify for the next World Cup?
Yesterday's match was all about character. The Irish saw this as an opportunity of restoring pride and relished taking on their "must-beat" opponents.
Bangladesh seemed terrified at the prospect of losing the match, and were all at sea as a result.
Many congratulations to the whole Irish team - I have a Kerry GAA fan in the office who comes in every day to discuss our latest performances - if you're getting through to people like him, you know cricket is on the up and up here!
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It's "Fields of Athlone Rye", incidentally.
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Brian (23), They haven't been given official ODI status indefinitely, just until the 2009 World Cup qualifying tournament. If they don't qualify they lose the status.
What this result has given them is a place in the ICC ODI rankings. We asked an ICC spokesman what exactly that entailed, and he was a bit vague.
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@Tevildo
It is actually Athenry - 'tis a town in east county Galway and a few miles from the lonely harbour wall talked about in verse two of the song. Athlone Rye sounds more like a bottle of Midlands moonshine to me!
@everyone
Thanks all for the good wishes - this World Cup has opened my eyes to the spirit of cricket and it would be nice to think of the sport developing further in Ireland as a result of performances here. I'll know it's getting there when matches are played in Cork and Ballina as well as Clontarf and Belfast!
THC
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Well Done Ireland! Brilliant, a little country given no hope, yet beat 2 Test playing nations and that unforgwettable tie with Zimbabwe. Also gave NZ, England and SA scares. Only low point was the mauling by Australia, but we'll learn from the experience. Incidentally, does official ODI Status mean full ODI tours to Ireland by and away to the 10 test playing nations and Kenya?
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Well Done Ireland! Brilliant, a little country given no hope, yet beat 2 Test playing nations and that unforgwettable tie with Zimbabwe. Also gave NZ, England and SA scares. Only low point was the mauling by Australia, but we'll learn from the experience. Incidentally, does official ODI Status mean full ODI tours to Ireland by and away to the 10 test playing nations and Kenya?
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I'm so glad, being a gladiators fan, that Porterfield is coming to Nevil Road. He was brilliant against Bangladesh and deserved his runs. He can only improve playing for Gloucestershire this season and likewise for the Irish Team as a whole now they have ICC status. Other stand-outs amogst the Irish include Rankin and the wicki (O'Brien) and should be regulars for Derbyshire and Kent. Congratulations Ireland! However, the bangalis have played well this world cup, good victories versus India and South Africa. I centainly agree with helen Walker
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Why all the fuss about Sri Lanka not fielding their strongest side? England do this every time they select Vaughan!
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"At 05:16 PM on 16 Apr 2007, Tevildo wrote: It's "Fields of Athlone Rye", incidentally"
Erm, as someone who has sung the song for many years I can tell it is NOT!
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Why can all 成人快手 journalists not write like this. or alternatively why can not jounralists who write like this not get more time on the mainstream radio such a Five Live where the reporting is lack lustre.
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as a Bangladesh fan as our skipper said "we deserved to be beaten" dreadful performance on the part of the Tigers, jus when things were on the up
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