April 18th
Ireland take on the mighty Sri Lanka today at beautiful St. Georges in Grenada in their final World Cup match amidst plenty of emotion.
Not only will their final Super Eight match bring the curtain down on a fairytale ride through ICC World Cup 2007, but it will be coach Adi Birrell’s final match in charge and that in itself ends an amazing chapter in Irish cricket.
Despite their fine performance against Bangladesh, Ireland should not pose too much of a threat for the talented Sri Lankans, a team that many neutrals feel has the ability to win the cup outright, but much depends on their form on the day. They caused a little controversy a few days ago when they left their three best players on the sidelines against Australia, and whether this was a mind game or a genuine injury crisis, Ireland will not complain if they adopt the same policy today.
When all’s said and done, an Irish victory would be a minor miracle but we’ve had a few of those in the past few weeks so why not another? It would certainly be the icing on the cake for the popular Birrell who has already guaranteed himself a place in Irish sporting history for the way he has transformed the national team, especially at this tournament.
What a wonderful send-off to do it with another giant-killing act.
But there again, we are back to fairytales!
