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Ireland v West Indies

Bad luck tonight against WI. I thought the guys stuck at it well. Fielding was excellent again and well bowled Kyle and DLS. Didn't get enough runs to put them under any pressure.

I really like watching Niall O'Brien behind the stumps. He's a real live wireand not frightened to give the lads a rocket if needed. A 'fiery' character behind the stumps keeps everyone on their toes.

Things didn't go so well for Boyd Rankin tonight as he struggled against the in form Chanderpaul. He is still finding his feet at this level yet he has huge potential. I reckon with hard work he could do worse than model himself on Glenn McGrath. Boyd has a nice simple action and with a bit of help technically he could be a real star.

Could someone explain to me the point of Andrew White running in to bowl? He more often than not, runs in, then stops then delivers it from a stationary position. I presume this is to upset the batsmans rhythm but the only one it seems to be affecting is Whitey. I hope bowling a waist high full toss on leg stump and watching it sail out of the ground is a sufficient deterrent and he knocks it on the head.

Everyone is very proud of what the guys have achieved and hope they keep believing in their own ability. If they can reach near the top of their form from now to the end of the super 8 they should have nothing to fear. Keep going fellas you have done Irish cricket proud. The majority of club professionals who come to Ireland are Indian and Pakistani and for once the bragging rights are ours for the entire summer.

Well done to Ireland. It's unbelievable.
Tremendous opportunity to test themselves against all the best teams in the world. Obviously from a financial point of view as well the more wins the better. I also believe I am right in saying if Ireland can pick up just one more win we will get an official one day ranking in the main list. We've officially arrived at the top table of world cricket and I for one will be delighted not to have to answer the question again...'Do you play cricket in Ireland?'.

A "wee birdie" has just informed me that prior to the South Africans appearing at Ormeau, probably a year or two before, Keith Miller and some of his "Aussie" colleagues played there. He was bowled out, first ball and at once re-set the wicket because he stated later "many had come to watch me bat" Can this be confirmed by anyone, because I do recall the incident ?

Staffy,
These guys will be the start of a line of Irish future county players who will profess their ambitions to play county cricket..with our progress they will soon be able to play in the shamrock over 5 days..and as long as we keep benefiting from overseas players in the short term.. this is a possibility!

I was daydreaming ! It was South Africa I watched in 1947 at Ormeau. Could have sworn it was Australia. I recall Ireland scored 32 and the visitors wore green caps and sweaters.

If anyone would be interested in a week in Barbados for the Super 8's (Potential Ire v Aus/SA & Ire v Bang/Ind/Sri L) then please email info@theulstercricketer.com for more info.

I see Niall O'Brien has talked about becoming an England test player and Adrian Birrell has said Eoin Morgan has the ability to follow Ed Joyce to an England cap. I supported Ed's decision to play test cricket but I now am beginning to see the possibilities for Irish cricket. Why not? Would love these guys to reach their ambitions with Ireland rather than lose them. What are the thoughts of other readers out there?

There seems confusion over Irelands locality if they should qualify for the Super 8's. Is it Guyana or Barbados?

Can anyone recall the Australians playing at Ormeau sometime between 1946-1949 or have I been day dreaming ?

Paul,
I agree on paper Instonians should push the big two. First two games are Waringstown and NorthDown both away. R.McCann, A.White,J.Shannon, R.West, J. Stevenson, S. Wells, E. Moleon-that's some top seven.Eight points from first two games and the belief will be there! Maybe a big 4 league don't forget the mighty Derriaghy!!
Billy Dale.

I don't think Downpatrick will struggle I just think they won't challenge unless they get some new blood. I think Instonians will push the big two, and not just because Whitey's back. I feel Regan was strangely off colour last year and they have a top man in John Stevenson as Captain. If their young players like Rory McCann and James Shannon keep improving and perhaps if Neil Carson plays more this year I honestly feel they could win the league.

staffy, i usually predict lurgan to go down because its either that or predict ourselves which i am never going to do. yeah if we dont get off to a good start we could struggle but somehow we always manage to do ok.

great performance by ireland keep it rolling tomorrow.

naming and shaming... did you see leni (paul lenihan) and his girl babs whelan at the end , she was shedding a few tears of joy , we are going to have to slag her a bit when they get back to downpatrick. Great to see so many familiar faces in the crowd. Just made me jealous i wasnt there

Fantastic effort by Ireland. Both sides can look back and feel they could have won it but what a match.

Realistically Ireland have to beat Pakistan to qualify now. West indies will beat Zimbabwe to qualify with 4 points and Pakistan will win against Zimbabwe too. That means that even if Ireland beat the Windies in the last game it will be too late.

The lads showed great character tonight and it's a great day for Irish cricket.

Should Ireland consider splitting up our left-handers at the top of the order, the Zim bowlers got the line and we struggled?

Does anybody want to name and shame any of the Irish supporters that were featured on Sky Sports today?!