April 27
Australia face off against Sri Lanka in to-day's ICC World Cup final as overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy for the third time in succession. Love them or hate them, these guys are the ultimate cricket professionals and only the greatest performance of their lives will give Sri Lanka any hope of creating an upset. Unfortunately if they fail to rise to the occasion, then this match will go like most of the other Australian games and end up in a whitewash.
The Kensington Oval is a 27,000 capacity sell-out and years of preparation and hard work will finally come to fruition when both teams take the field for cricket's ultimate showpiece. The match will also mark the retirement of the great Glen McGrath who has been the most outstanding fast bowler of his era and the bowling star of this tournament to date. But the Sri Lankans have talent and flair and if it all comes together then what a stage to create an upset.
The final will be followed by the closing ceremony and no doubt weeks of recriminations and criticisms as the structure of this tournament has been widely attacked. Some people have argued that the tournament is too long, the minnows are too many, the distances between venues too far, the periods between matches too long, the price of tickets too high, the rigid rules on drinks and musical instruments too restrictive, the absence of local supporters denying matches a true Caribbean flavour, and finally, not enough bums on seats, irrespective of whether the seats were paid for or not.
Everyone will have their own soapbox but overall the tournament has been great for the West Indies irrespective of whether the financial rewards will ever materialize. It has shown the region can efficiently stage a major sporting event and that small nations can work together for a common goal.
Let's hope the final lives up to our expectations and does justice to the occasion.
April 26
Ireland weren't so bad after all!
Having watched Australia demolish South Africa at the beautiful Beausejour ground in St. Lucia, it brought some realization to Ireland's performance against the same opponents two weeks ago. Yes, we were soundly beaten, but going into this tournament South Africa was the number one rated team in the world and now they have been comprehensively beaten twice by the real number one team. Ireland didn't do so bad when all things are considered, as South Africa was just as easily beaten yesterday.
It's a small world.
While waiting to leave for Barbados I noticed four well-known Dublin businessmen board their private charter back to Barbados where they will also attend Saturday's final! Also, on radio commentary, former Eglinton and Leinster professional Hendy Wallace was excellent, and now ranks as one of the top performers in this role in the region, perhaps even becoming the next Tony Cozier.
Big Hendy will be back in action for Saturday's final when all the neutrals will support the underdogs as Sri Lanka attempt the impossible and topple the odds-on favourites who have looked invincible so far.
It's a tall order!
April 25
IRISH MEMORIES LINGER ON
The Ireland squad and their back-up team has now returned home but their memories linger on, especially in Jamaica the scene of their epic performances. While attending yesterday's semi-final at Sabina Park it was amazing how many people recalled the Ireland team and their supporters. Everyone remembered us for the way we played and our sportsmanship, and that's the real spirit of sport.
There were a few Irish people amongst the Black Caps and the Sri Lankans yesterday including ICU chairman Murray Power in the hierarchy box, so we are still represented 'on the ground.'
Sri Lanka destroyed New Zealand who had a rare off day and didn't perform anything like they are capable of and paid the price. Poor bowling, batting and fielding compounded their misery, and the talented Sri Lankans rose to the occasion with a great display. And they will need to repeat that performance on Saturday as today's other semi-final has been seen by many pundits as the real final. That's unfair of course, but it will take the South Africans to be at their best to stop the rampant Aussies, easily the most outstanding team of the tournament so far.
It promises to be an epic so let's hope the crowd is better than yesterday and the occasion is one to remember.
April 22
The Ireland party arrived back into Barbados on Sunday a bit jaded after the short trip from Grenada was delayed two hours. Everything is in anti-climax mode for the departing Super Eight teams as the attention now switches to Sabina Park and Beausejour for the semi-final battles of the Titans.
However, Brian Lara's farewell is still the big story on the island, not least because England spoiled his send-up party in a pulsating match yesterday. It was one of the best games of the tournament to date and unless you're Irish, it was probably the closest!
The mercurial 'Prince' deserved better on an emotional day for one of the game's genuine superstars, but his cruel run-out was only the forerunner to an even more cruel finish which saw Stuart Broad hit the winning runs off the penultimate ball. Over 600 runs were scored in front of the largest crowd to date at World Cup but on reflection, neither team was much better than the other and only Petersen, Gayle and Vaughan made the most of some poor bowling.
England and the West Indies have a lot of rebuilding to do in short time as they will face each other in the test series this summer, but life without Lara will make the Windies a lot weaker than some of his critics think. The immensely gifted batsman has been the darling and the devil of West Indies cricket for some time, and even those in high places hold him to blame for almost every conceivable ailment in Caribbean cricket. The wonder is that he has performed so brilliantly in a mediocre team with an even more mediocre management at board level! West Indies cricket is in a mess and it will take a lot of change to rectify the problems.
All that will mean nothing to the Ireland squad as they head back to a plethora of deserved fetes and celebrations. For Irish cricket it will be life without departed coach Adi Birrell and as one door closes another opens for big Phil Simmons. He has a tough act to follow and Ireland also have a lost of work to do to get another squad focused for a busy season, a season of much expectation on the back of World Cup 2007.
It's a great buzz for our sport.
April 20
At first sight the Cricket World Cup 2007 without Ireland was always going to be a dull affair but with the announcements yesterday of the resignations of Duncan Fletcher and Brian Lara, this competition has once again captured the headlines for events off the field rather than on it.
The West Indies easily defeated Bangladesh on Thursday and for the first time in this World Cup their pace bowlers really showed some appetite for the job in hand making full use of the bouncy Kensington Oval wicket. But Ireland's 243 total remains the best score to date on the new ground as the Windies batsmen failed to better it. Lara's cameo 33 runs innings was all too brief and his class shone like a beacon over everyone else. Fletcher's announcement came and went to largely disinterested local fans, but not so in the case of the enigmatic Lara, the darling and the devil of West Indies cricket for the past two decades. Many critics have been calling for his retirement for some time, but life without the Prince will be a tough time for an inconsistent and troubled team that lacks leadership, discipline, focus and motivation. If Sarwan gets the captain's job as expected, then he has a tough act to follow, and already the same critics are baying for coach Bennett King's resignation as well. If that happens then he will be the sixth coaching change at World Cup 2007 for a variety of reasons, not all to do with cricket. The saddest casualty was poor Bob Woolmer, and with the announcement yesterday that the Inquest has been postponed, further speculation has arisen as to what actually happened in Bob's room on that fateful St. Patrick's Night. Certainly the Caribbean region is awash with speculation and theory, and the police investigators have hardly covered themselves in glory with virtually nothing concrete to report in almost five weeks of meaningless press releases, publicity and media hype.Is another major announcement about to unfold? Meanwhile Super Eight is drawing to a close with bragging rights the only issues at stake prior to the semi-finals next week. Perhaps by then it will be cricket that is making the news.
April 19th
There was no fairytale ending to Ireland's World Cup campaign but let's not judge our team on yesterday's mauling by Sri Lanka.
It wasn't in the script to be shot out for 77 and go down by eight wickets, but then so much of what has happened in the past six weeks wasn't in the script either. Coach Adi Birrell 'retired' on a fleeting negative amidst so many positives and he has every right to look back on a magnificent contribution to the Irish game. He certainly doesn't deserve any further moaning and groaning from the Jason Molins Supporters Club who have done so much to undermine his position because he had the strength of character to stand by his own judgement. Well done Adi, and thanks for bringing our game up to this level, and above all, doing it with dignity and professionalism.
The final stages of the World Cup will now feature the best teams and while the Ireland players enjoy a few days break in Grenada before fling home to a busy season, there's a lot of work to be done behind the scenes to take the game to another level.
That means more sponsors, more top class games and inevitably player's contracts. The one thing that Ireland can't afford is a player drain and with the counties taking our best players it would be folly to think the World Cup standards can be maintained with a depleted squad. If Irish cricket wants to compete at this level then the players have to be employed on professional contracts and be available for Ireland 24/7. That's a mighty
challenge for the Irish Cricket Union with its limited resources but surely the team's performances in the past two month has fired the imagination of everyone to such an extent that it is possible.
That's maybe for another day but right now well done Adi Birrell, all the players and their back-up administrators, as this has been a wonderful advertisement for Irish cricket.
