Preview: West Indies not taking Ireland lightly

By Jamie Alter

 

West Indies are coming off thrashings of Netherlands (by 231 runs) and Bangladesh (by ten wickets) and will hope to extend that run ahead of bigger matches against India and England. A loss to Ireland would severely threaten West Indies’ chances and they are fully aware of what the opposition is capable of.

West Indies team will look for a win against Ireland and book their place in QF

 

By Jamie Alter

 

Mohali: Mar 11, 2011

 

The euphoria of that win over England has died down, but Ireland have ensured that no team will ever take them lightly in the tournament. And thus a fixture on the World Cup itinerary which would once have been skimmed over, has now gathered much interest over it.

 

With two wins from three matches, West Indies are on the brink of a spot in the quarter-finals and victory tomorrow will all but secure them a place in the knock-out round. With four points, they are third in Group B behind India and England but ahead of South Africa on net run rate.

 

West Indies are coming off thrashings of Netherlands (by 231 runs) and Bangladesh (by ten wickets) and will hope to extend that run ahead of bigger matches against India and England. A loss to Ireland would severely threaten West Indies’ chances and they are fully aware of what the opposition is capable of.Ireland, after beating England, turned in a gritty performance in the field against India. They bowled and fielded with grit and dedication, and India were forced to scrap for victory while chasing a sub-par total.

 

From the depths of nine for two, the captain William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien defied India while reviving the innings, and later in the evening Trent Johnson’s two early wickets gave Ireland hope of another upset. Though they lost the match, Ireland didn’t lose any pride or admirers.

 

And so they must continue with that same enthusiasm and professionalism when they face West Indies, who play a different brand of cricket. Ireland’s biggest bet of an upset is in dislodging Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, and then to choke the likes of Darren Bravo, a free-stroking dasher, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a habitual crease-occupier. Kieron Pollard has only had one innings of note, and one that came after a platform had been laid.

 

West Indies, after No 6, don’t have any experience or class and that is an area Ireland will definitely hope to infiltrate. With the ball, West Indies rely on the pace of Kemar Roach and the spin of Suleiman Benn, an odd couple straight of the Neil Simon ilk. Darren Sammy will look to Roach, who took 3 for 19 against Bangladesh and 6 for 27 against Netherlands, including a hat-trick, to put pressure on Ireland’s inconsistent top order.

 

Apart from Roach, West Indies don’t have a quality pacer in their attack. This is a game Ireland have to win. They don’t have time to test out the bench or experiment. They aren’t out of the tournament, and if they beat West Indies and Netherlands, they will have three wins and will then look at their net run rate to see if they can squeeze into the quarter-finals. West Indies are the team they are best poised to defeat but given all the hunger of the win over Bangladesh and the unfortunate events that transpired afterwards, the opposition doesn’t look like backing down an inch. 

 

West Indies (Probable):  Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Darren Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kieron Pollard, Devon Thomas (wk), Darren Sammy (c), Nikita Miller, Suleimann Benn,  Kemar Roach.

 

Ireland (Probable):  William Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien (wk), Andrew White, Kevin O’Brien, Andre Botha, John Mooney, Trent Johnston, George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin.

 

Umpires: Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka) and Shahvir Tarapore (India)

 

Time: 09:30 local (04.00 GMT)

 

(Jamie Alter is a freelance cricket writer, having worked at ESPNcricinfo and All Sports Magazine. His first book, The History of World Cup Cricket, is out now)

 

Pictures © Getty Images

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