Ireland in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Marks out of 10
Ireland in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Marks out of 10
Ireland were phenomenal throughout the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. They again gave the world a reminder that there is plenty of cricketing talent outside the world of full members that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has failed to recognize and acknowledge. They beat two Test teams — West Indies and Zimbabwe —and ultimately missed a quarter-final berth only on the basis of the Net Run Rate (NRR). Rishad D’Souza reviews the players that made it possible.
1. William Porterfield (6/10): Skipper William Porterfield led his boys very well and even scored an amazing hundred against the viscous Pakistan bowling. But he loses marks for his inexplicable decision to bat first against teams like India and Pakistan, despite not having threatening enough bowling attack. An extra point for him for trolling the ICC on Twitter. ICC World Cup 2015: Porterfield lashes out at ICC for reducing teams in 2019 World Cup
2. Paul Stirling (5/10): Paul Stirling or ‘Stirlo’ suffered from the too-many-shots-too-soon syndrome. After that crucial match-defining 92 against West Indies his act fell apart. He got plenty of starts and played beautiful shots but invariably threw his wicket away after getting Ireland off to a flier. His bowling was a disappointment too. Whenever Porterfield brought him on to try and choke the run flow, he would only concede plenty and make it worse.
3. Ed Joyce (8/10): Ed Joyce was the man who made amends for Ireland after the invariable early loss of wicket. He came one down and used all his experience in some glorious cover drives. He scored match-defining innings against West Indies as well as Zimbabwe. He gets extra points for having the guts to dare the ICC dismal decision to shun minnows from the ICC World Cup 2019.
https://twitter.com/edjoyce24/status/577149676035559424
4. Niall O’Brien (7/10): The younger O’Brien, who eight years ago made his name known to the world by scoring a match-winning fifty against Pakistan, showed that he lost nothing by way of class over the years, despite often being a surprise exclusion from Ireland XI’s in the recent years. Against India he scored a run-a-ball 75 despite wickets tumbling all around him. READ: Ireland can capitalise on the momentum of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with planned preparation for the longer format
5. Andy Balbirnie (6/10): Andy Balbirnie was another Irish batsman who looked quite assured throughout the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. His highlight would certainly be the 97 he got against Zimbabwe which helped Ireland to a victory. Balbirnie will also cherish the fighting half-century he scored against South Africa even though it came in a losing cause. Ireland can leave ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with their heads held high
6. Kevin O’Brien (2/10): The Kevin O’Brien of the 2011 World Cup fame was a pale, ineffective version of himself this time round. Not only was he unequipped to rescue his team from dire positions, but was also unable to play a good finisher with the bat. In the bowling department he had a nightmare in the middle. He leaked runs everywhere and his sluggish pace coupled with inaccuracy made it easy for the batsmen to feast on him.
7. Gary Wilson (5/10): Gary Wilson had a topsy-turvy World Cup campaign. He looked very composed against the lesser bowling attack like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and scored a match-winning 80 against them but otherwise looked rusty. He got a duck against South Africa. Besides that he scored a few 20+ scores. His work behind the stumps didn’t leave anything to complain about.
8. John Mooney (3/10): Going by his rugged looks, Mooney came across as someone who was going to devour the batsmen. And he mostly did well to keep up those expectations with the new ball. But once the shine wore off he was abysmal, not as abysmal as Kevin, but bad enough to leak runs. Bowling at speeds of the early 130s at best, he ought to have kept the line as tight as possible but failed in doing so.
9. George Dockrell (3.5/10): George Dockrell bowled better than the other Mooney, Thompson and Sorensen but a lot more was expected from him coming into the tournament. He bowled very well against West Indies and picked three crucial wickets. But not too many wickets came for him otherwise. He was particularly ineffective against India and Pakistan leaking runs at more than seven an over.
10. Alex Cusack (7/10): Alex Cusack was undoubtedly the best bowler for Ireland in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Not only was he their most economical bowler, but was also the leading wicket-taker for them despite playing in only four innings. His 4/32 against Zimbabwe in 9.3 overs ultimately helped Ireland seal the thriller. He proved that lack of pace wasn’t necessarily a problem if you knew how to bowl accurately.
11. Stuart Thompson (4/10): Stuart Thompson was brought in to replace a misfiring Max Sorensen and he did a decent job out of it. He picked the only two Indian wickets that fell in that match and also picked a wicket against Pakistan, but overall his effort was far from threatening.
12. Max Sorensen (1/10): Max Sorensen performed worst in arguably the least threatening bowling attack of the tournament. The South African batsmen feasted on the dollies he offered them. He also played against UAE and West Indies but was quite ineffective even against them. Sorensen’s three wickets mostly came by rash shots from batsmen rather than his lacklustre bowling.
Note: Ireland’s bowling was evidently quite despicable. The bowlers simply didn’t have the pace to trouble the more established batsmen. In light of that, it seems to be an absolutely horrendous decision to not have given Craig Young a single game. He has had a short but promising career so far with 16 wickets from six matches at an astounding average of 14.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RishadDsouza on Twitter)