U19 Player Ratings vs Australia

Player ratings for Ireland's second Group B game at the 2010 ICC Under-19 World Cup against Australia.

Andrew Balbirnie
Another below-expectations performance from the Ireland captain. Improved slightly with the bat, but will need to be scoring much more than 7 runs to make any sort of impact. Bowled ten overs, but took no wickets and allowed 52 runs. Disappointing.
Rating: 4

Stuart Thompson
Scored 19 runs off 55 balls, which was the highest score with the bat against Australia, but was still not enough. His strike rate should be significantly higher. Decent with the ball, only allowing 22 runs in 5 overs.
Rating: 6

Paul Stirling
A match to forget for the senior international, was bowled on his first ball and allowed 46 runs in 8 overs. Hopefully keeps his place against America, so can show his true ability.
Rating: 2

Ben Ackland
Ireland's best batsman of the tournament so far, scored only 11 against Australia, but that still proved to be the second highest score of any man in a green shirt.
Rating: 6

Lee Nelson
After his excellent performance against South Africa, Nelson suffered a horrendous lapse in concentration and was bowled on a single after just seven balls. Must do better.
Rating: 3

Graham McDonnell
A horrid innings from McDonnell, lasting three balls and scoring no runs. He ran out Floros, which was the only highlight of a terrible match for the batsman.
Rating: 2

Adrian D'Arcy
Scored 5 runs from 16 balls in his first game of the tournament. Thus, it's hard to tell if it was a good decision to have D'Arcy replace the injured James Shannon, who looks set to miss the final game on Tuesday.
Rating: 4

Stuart Poynter
After his splendid outing with the bat against South Africa, Poynter was under a lot of pressure having been put into bat with more than half the match remaining. had a high strike rate again, scoring 4 runs in 6 balls. His wicketkeeping was strong again, stumping Beaton.
Rating: 5

George Dockrell
Ireland's joint third highest scorer yesterday with 7 runs. Was stubborn at bat, lasting nearly half an hour, but it was too much to ask him to try and win the match single-handedly. Our best bowler by far, taking 2 wickets in 9 overs, and giving up just 38 runs.
Rating: 7

Jordan Coghlan
Replaced the poor Shane Getkate, and looked much better than his predecessor. Scored just two runs, but with the ball he took two superb wickets, allowing 62 runs in 10 overs. His run rate needs to be cut down, but the wicket-taking is very promising.
Rating: 6

Craig Young
The only Irish batsman not out against Australia, but did not get any time to make a name for himself. Scored no runs, but never had a chance to either. Had a poor time with the ball, giving up 54 runs in 8 overs, and must do better if he starts against America.
Rating: 3

Match Report: Ireland Under-19s vs Australia U-19s

Ireland sadly slumped to their second defeat at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. The result was a resounding 209 run defeat to Australia. Australia are one of the favourites for the tournament, and on this evidence, they are surely contenders to go all the way to the final.

Ireland won the toss and chose to field first. We made two changes to the team which lost to South Africa, with middle-order bastman Adrian D'Arcy and bowler Jordan Coghlan coming into the side. Coghlan was quite impressive with the ball, taking out opener Nic Maddinson after 9.4 overs. However, the partnership of Tom Beaton and Alex Keath put Australia in the driving seat. Beaton scored his second half-century in a row, and Keath took a wonderful 88 in 111 balls before being bowled by Coghlan.

George Dockrell also took two wickets, his first ball stumping Beaton, and taking captain Mitchell Marsh for a duck. Jason Floros was run out, but Tim Armstrong and Kane Richardson could not be beaten, scoring 73 and 24 respectively.

Ireland were always chasing the result, but with Kane Richardson and Nick Buchanan bowling out of their skin, we never stood a chance. Balbirnie was lbwed in the second over, and his replacement, Paul Stirling was bowled on his first ball by Richardson. Ben Ackland and Stuart Thompson began to forge a partnership but Buchanand ended this in the thirteenth over. After Thompson was bowled by Richardson, the match steamrolled to its inevitable conclusion - no other Irishman got into double figures.

We finished with a score of 65 all out after 24.2 overs, and slumped to our second defeat of the competition. There is no chance of us making the final 8, and the third group game against USA will be a mere consolation match.

U-19 Preview: Ireland vs Australia

Ireland play their second Group B game at the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2010 tonight against Australia. The match starts at 9:30 p.m. our time, or 10:30 tomorrow local time in New Zealand.

It's going to be a tough match for our underage side, as Australia are coming off the back of a barnstorming 108 run win over USA. Australia scored 262 all out in 49.3 overs, with a run rate of 5.29. So if Ireland are going to overcome Australia, the bowlers will need to be on form, particularly against the opening duo of Nic Maddinson and Tom Beaton. Beaton scored an excellent 73 last night, and both formed a wonderful partnership of 82 before Maddinson was stumped.

Although Ireland lost to USA last year, they should be a much better opposition for the Aussies than the Americans proved. USA suffered horribly with the bat, and were 7-28 after less than 10 overs. The Australian bowling was strong all-round, but Josh Hazelwood and Adam Zampa are our main threats.

Our openers Balbirnie and Thompson will need to perform much better with the bat if we want to stand any chance of winning. Hopefully we can also win the toss and field early in a cool New Zealand morning. This is a must-win match, as if we lose, the USA game will only be a consolation.