Ireland are beginning their preparations in earnest today.
Taking on Bermuda today in their first game in the ICC World Cricket League today.
Bermuda made 275/8 in their 50 overs. Ireland are 13/0 after 4 overs in reply.
There are group games all week with a final next week too. There’s an added incentive to do well also as the top 2 teams qualify for the inaugural 20/20 World Cup in September.
Who are the other teams taking part and what’s our expected outcome? I hope we do better now than we ever did with Judas Joyce in the team.
BORING!!! http://www.thefreekick.com/board/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif
It’s Ireland, Scotland, Bermuda, Canada, Netherlands and Scotland.
I thought it was starting today but I just double checked and we actually lost our first game to Scotland yesterday. They chased our 280/7 and won off the last ball which is a bit of a blow. We’d have definite expectations of reaching the final so we really need to win all the remaining games. Kenya would probably be regarded as favourites to win it. We still don’t have the quality of seam bowling to trouble the best nations though but our spinners, White and McCallan, seem to have bowled well in the 2 games.
Jeremy Bray made a century yesterday and we’re now 77/0 off 14 overs today which is a very good start.
Live updates here: http://www.cricketeurope4.net/LIVE/1/live.shtml
We’re 238/4 after 45 overs.
38 runs required from 30 balls.
Kev O’Brien just gone for a quickfire 54.
William Porterfield is unbeaten on 96 - still anchoring the innings.
The tension is almost unbearable.
244/5 after 45.4 overs. Botha gone for 9. We need 32 from 26 balls.
255 for 5 after 47. 21 needed from 18 balls. Porterfield on 105*.
This is incredibly nerve-wracking.
Reminds of the ICC Trophy game against Canada in 2005.
264 for 6 after 48.
McCallan gone for 4.
TJ came in and just hit a 6. Great stuff skipper!
12 needed from 12. I can barely watch this.
Another 6 by TJ!
12 not out from 3 balls. We’re going to win this.
Bermuda are a good side too. I wouldn’t fancy playing them in a trianglar series though.
We’ve done it 276/6 with 8 balls to spare.
A great 112* by Porterfield.
Our bowling will get murdered at the WC though.
Another tight one in progress today.
We made 284/4 with Porterfield anchoring the innings on 104* and Kev O’Brien making a swashbuckling 142 from 125 balls. He was run out off the last ball after making 10 4s and six 6s. Quality stuff.
The Kenyans are currently 170/4 after 35 overs. We need to keep taking wickets to check their scoring rate. The spinners are bowling well after TJ and Langford-Smith were expensive first up.
I have to go into town after Home and Away so if someone could text me with the result it’d be much appreciated.
You can follow it on BBC or on the link I already posted on this thread.
I can barely listen to the on-line commentary.
They’re 255/9 after 47 overs. 30 needed from 18 balls. All we need is one fooking wicket.
Fook sake. 265/9 after 48 now. We had them 231/9 and should have this finished by now.
What a joke. Dave Langford-Smith’s last over went for 21. We have somehow conspired to lose a game we really had wrapped up. Gutted.
Crickets takes too long and you lose interest.
Agreed, ridiculous sport.
Yeah, as I said earlier, BORING!!!
Ireland couldn’t defend 308 against Canada yesterday. That’s 3 shocking bowling performances and 3 losses out of 4 in a tournament they were tipped to win. With our bowling getting smacked around by Scotland, Kenya and Canada can you imagine what Gayle, Lara, Yousuf, Younis Khan and the likes will do to us in the World Cup?
Irelands cricketers make record start against UAE
10/02/2007 - 16:03:18
Ireland have made a record-breaking start to their Inter-Continental Cup match against the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi.
An Irish record partnership of 325 between Eoin Morgan and Andre Botha has seen Ireland reach 461 for 2 off 96 overs.
We beat UAE in the end. Bowled them out for 243, enforced the follow-on and then skittled them out for 118. That’s a bit of a boost after the dismal performance in Kenya at the ODI League but still our bowling could get savaged at the WC. Luckily, for us Shahid Afridi has been banned for threatening a spectator with his bat during the ODI series against South Africa - he made 70 from 35 balls the other day.