T20 Player Ratings v West Indies

A hugely disappointing opening result for Ireland as they lost to West Indies by 70 runs in Group D.

William Porterfield
Porterfield started strongly with a boundary, but the Irish captain lasted just two balls last night. Much more is needed from our opening batsman.
Rating: 4

Paul Stirling
A lot is expected from the Irish youngster, but he failed to live up to expectations yesterday, scoring no runs from four balls. His bowling was also sub-par, as he gave 15 runs in just two overs.
Rating: 2

Niall O'Brien
The Irish wicket-keeper was very aggressive with the bat again, and as usual, this led to his early demise. He'll always guarantee a high strike rate, but can be inconsistent with regards to runs scored. Made two impressive catches behind also.
Rating: 4

Alex Cusack
One of many who were ousted by the partnership of Sammy and Rampaul, Cusack was very poor with the bat. His stint with the ball was better, taking 2 wickets for 19 in 3 overs. One of the better performers, but his batting needs to vastly improve.
Rating: 5

Gary Wilson
Ireland's best batsman yesterday, with a high score of 17. A good attempt, but in this format, a higher strikerate is needed. Made a momentous catch to take out Chanderpaul. Ireland's second best player yesterday.
Rating: 7

Kevin O'Brien
Incredibly poor with the ball, and thus allowed just one over. However, he was the second highest scorer with the bat. This was a game that neither O'Brien brother will want to remember.
Rating: 4

Trent Johnston
One to forget for the big man Johnston too. He scored 5 runs from 10 balls with the bat, which was decent considering the other performances yesterday, but was far from impressive bowling. Allowed 9 runs per over, a rate which needs to be dramatically reduced.
Rating: 3

John Mooney
LBWed after just three balls, Mooney made no impression whatsoever on the game. After this performance, I would not be surprised if he is dropped for the England match.
Rating: 2

Andre Botha
Ireland's only batsman who wasn't taken out by the fantastic West Indies bowlers, Botha scored just four runs from 11 balls. His bowling was very good, ending on 2-7 from two overs. Expect him to be given more time with the ball against England.
Rating: 7

Boyd Rankin
Took two wickets for an average economy, Rankin was decent yesterday. The expulsion of Chanderpaul was his highlight. Came up against Sammy, and was never a match, scoring just a single run.
Rating: 6

George Dockrell
Ireland's best player yesterday. The bowler was never expected to do anything with the bat, so his duck seems irrelevant. 3-16 is far from irrelevant, his four allotted overs were Ireland's finest moment yesterday. We need everyone to perform like this to get anything from our final group game.
Rating: 8

Ireland v West Indies World T20 Match Report

Ireland opened their 2010 ICC World Twenty20 campaign with a disappointing loss to cricket giants West Indies late last night. West Indies won by 70 runs with just under four overs remaining via a stellar performance from Darren Sammy.

West Indies won the toss and chose to bat. Irish captain William Porterfield had hoped that he would get the choice to bat first, but it was not to be. He had also said that his aim was to keep the home side to under 140 runs, a feat which was narrowly achieved.

Irish bowling was sluggish at times, Trent Johnston and Niall O'Brien gave away too many runs for little reward. However when Boyd Rankin bowled opener Chanderpaul in the third over, things were looking positive for Ireland. Rankin also took out wicketkeeper Ramdin, but the stars with the ball were Andre Botha and 17 year-old George Dockrell. Dockrell was wonderful yesterday, ending with a marvellous 4-16 from 24 balls.

139 was not a huge target to meet, requiring 7 runs per over, but Ireland's stint at bat yesterday was the worst of recent years, with only one player reaching double figures. The West Indies have Darren Sammy to thank for such an impressive performance. He was not only the highest scorer with the bat, but took 3 wickets for just 8 runs, as well as making four catches. Also impressive with the ball were Ravi Rampaul, and the legend Dwayne Bravo.

Gary Wilson was the best of the Irish batters with 19, and Niall O'Brien was very aggressive making 6 runs, but overall the performance was one to forget. Ireland ended with a score of 68, the second lowest total ever at the World Twenty20. We will need to be a million times better if we are to do anything against England on Tuesday.

2010 ICC World Twenty20 Group Draw

Not so much a draw, as they groups are ordered according to their ranking. Due to their loss against Afghanistan yesterday, Ireland are placed in Group D alongside England the West Indies. Afghanistan were put in Group C with South Africa and India, and thus may have a better chance of coming second and making the Super Eights. But as you all know, in Twenty20 anything can happen - even a win over England.

(Rankings in brackets.)

GROUP A
Pakistan (1)
Bangladesh (9)
Australia (10)

GROUP B
Sri Lanka (2)
New Zealand (5)
Zimbabwe (8)

GROUP C
South Africa (3)
India (7)
Afghanistan (Q)

GROUP D
West Indies (4)
England (6)
Ireland (Q)



GROUP D FIXTURES
30 April - West Indies v IRELAND
1 May - England v IRELAND
3 May - West Indies v England

Ireland v Afghanistan T20 Match Report

Afghanistan 139/8 defeated Ireland 126/10.

Ireland sadly slumped to defeat in their opening ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai. They played Afghanistan in Group A, and after winning the toss, chose to field. This was a costly decision, as Afghanistan posted an impressive 139 in the twenty over game.

Ireland started extremely well with Trent Johnston bowling opener Karim Sadiq in the second over. However, Sadiq's partner, Noor Ali proved a much more difficult foe, posting 42 runs off 45 balls. Afghanistan batted very aggressively, losing many wickets to single figures, but the middle order of Mohammad Shahzad, Nowroz Mangal and especially Mohammad Nabi set a high run rate for Ireland to follow. Nabi was man of the match, scoring 43 not out off just 25 balls.

Ireland used six separate bowlers trying to defeat Afghanistan. Trent Johnston and Andre Botha were the best of the Irish, both taking two wickets. Johnston's 2-18 was a very impressive score in his allotted four overs. Kevin O'Brien was expected to bowl four overs, but he gave up twenty runs off just twelve balls, allowing Alex Cusack to get another chance to prove himself. All the Irish bowlers (with the exception of Johnston) will have to raise their game against USA and Scotland if we wish to progress.

The Irish senior cricket team had a target of 140 in 20 overs, which was always a tough challenge. Captain William Porterfield and and young Paul Stirling combined well after Niall O'Brien was caught trying to play aggressively. They put up a partnership of 30, as well as scoring 35 and 21 respectively. Andre Botha lasted just two balls, but scored no runs in a disappointing stint with the bat.

Ireland looked strong even after the loss of Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling, but once Alex Cusack was run out chasing the score, Ireland faced a tough challenge - it was a lot to ask of the bowlers to try to win the match. Johnston was the best of the tail, scoring 18 from 17 balls, but the aggressive play led to many mistakes, and Ireland were all out for 126 in the final over.

In the other Group A tie, USA defeated Scotland by 6 wickets. At the moment, Ireland sit bottom of the table with a net run rate of -0.650. Our next game is on at 10.00 GMT tomorrow against USA. Hopefully we can turn it around.

Ireland World Twenty20 Qualifying Squad Announced

The squads for the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in Dubai and Abu Dubai from February 9th to 15th have been announced. Eight teams are battling for two places. The winner of the tournament will be placed in Group C, with the runner-up appearing in Group D alongside England. The World Twenty20 itself takes place in the West Indies from April 30th to May 16th this year.

Ireland's squad includes 13 members from last year's World Twenty20 which was held in England. There Ireland achieved a fantastic result beating Bangladesh in the group stage, and made it to the Super Eights. It's going to be a great summer of cricket if we make it.

Ireland Squad:
Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Peter Connell, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Gary Kidd, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Paul Striling, Andrew White, and Gary Wilson.