It was a poor start to a challenging Caribbean tour and nobody knows that better than the players themselves although in fairness to the squad they have been out of competitive action for nearly two months and arriving three days before their first match was asking a lot. This was not Ireland's original game plan so the organizers must share some of the blame for a jet-lagged performance. There was an additional setback just before the start of play when explosive opener Paul Stirling pulled up with a hamstring injury and was quickly dispatched to hospital for an MRI scan. It remains to be seen whether the damage will rule him out of the next games.
Ireland won the toss and elected to field and although Chanderpaul (79) and Griffith (62) gave the Guyanese a tremendous start the Irish bowlers did well to restrict the batting team in the middle of the innings. Andy McBrine (0-34) was particularly impressive, but he was fortunate to bowl his 10 overs before "Ronnie" Sarwan (89no) launched a ferocious onslaught in the final overs. The last pair at the crease added 76 in 5.3 overs and that was the telling statistic in this match. It wasn't all about Sarwan as the bowlers wilted and served up a liberal supply of full tosses and half pitches to make life easier for the batsmen. Coach Phil Simmons must have cringed to see all the good work in the middle of the innings disintegrate with some tired and haphazard bowling at the finish. Nobody likes to bowl at the death and although Kev O'Brien picked up three wickets in a tight opening spell he was another bowler who was put to the sword in the final overs. Guyana reached a mighty 301 for 3, which was probably 30 more than they deserved.
Ireland needed a good start but it all went wrong from the outset as two controversial LBW decisions sent openers Nial O'Brien and skipper William Porterfield back to the changing rooms before the total has reached double figures. McBrien claimed he got a nick while Porterfield was given a raw deal to a ball that was clearly going over the stumps. Worse was to follow as seam bowlers Wintz and Beaton tore through the Irish batting to reduce the reply to 27-4. However, Andrew Poynter (54) and Kev O'Brien (39) bravely salvaged a lost cause and some lofty strikes from Sorensen (29) late in the day took the final score to a respectable 187 with the benefit of a couple of dropped catches, but this was a performance the popular Irish squad will not be pleased with and who will have to bounce
back quickly against Jamaica on Monday. Hopefully by then they will have adjusted to local conditions and show their mettle against another of the big names in island cricket.
The good news is that Chris Gayle is absent due to injury, but Jamaica still packs a lot of punch in his absence. There will be no easy matches in this tournament.
Despite the poor result Ireland had some positives with the bowlers doing an excellent job prior to the last 15 overs. However, the batting was fragile and only Kevin McBrien and Poynter showed their worth so problems exist on both fronts for the Irish Coach. These matches are important, but the real test comes later with matches against West Indies and Bangladesh on the horizon.
And just a footnote on why Shivnarine Chanderpaul goes from strength to strength at the ripe old age of 39. The morning after his epic batting display he spent an hour in the gym doing a punishing fitness programme before joining the rest of the squad for some exercises in the huge Hilton Hotel swimming pool. That's dedication and one reason why he's priceless in West Indies cricket these days.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
