It shows how far Irish cricket has come in the last two decades that we can chase down 275 against a quality test team. And well done Paul Stirling for a superb century and to big Kevin O’Brien for another sizzling power-packed innings.
Long-serving cricket supporters have waited a long time to see a performance of this calibre on home soil. And it wasn’t just the fans in the ground, who benefitted because supporters all over the world, including Barbados, had the opportunity to see and follow the action on the Internet. Well done all round.
Ireland may have missed the ‘rub of the green’ when Duckworth-Lewis set them a higher target after early rain, but tight games see-saw on marginal calls and everyone at Clontarf was delighted to reach the last ball needing a four to tie and a six to win. We would have settled for that at the start so everyone got their money’s worth, including the Pakistan supporters.
Murtagh and Dockrell were the most economic bowlers, but statistics in limited overs cricket can be very misleading and take no cognizance of the state of the game when a bowler is used. Bowling at the death is not only a harrowing experience, it can distort an otherwise good performance. Kevin O’Brien will vouch for that, but the Railway Union all-rounder is a very experienced limited overs exponent and he certainly showed that when he came to the crease. However, Ireland will want to improve in this area as Mohammed Hafeez (122no) and Asad Shafig (84) gave the Irish attack a harrowing time in an entertaining stand of 188 earlier in the afternoon.
The platform for Kevin’s rousing performance was set by Stirling’s century and when the little man gets into his stride he’s up there with the best in the world. His richly deserved century capped another marvellous display in sharp time and there was good support from Porterfield and Joyce. Rarely does everyone click in the same innings, so it just needed one big knock from Wilson or either of the two O’Brien brothers to create history. Fortunately Kevin rose to the occasion and sent thousands of happy Ireland supports home with smiles on their faces.
Perhaps the tie it was not as incident-packed as that unforgettable win over Pakistan at Sabina Park on St. Patrick’s Day in 2007, but let’s hope the celebrations this time were a bit more subdued or coach Phil Simmons will be struggling to field a team on Sunday for the next match!
Clarence Hiles
Editor
