Yes my point too rock, picked it up a bit after that, 131-5 after 35 overs, at least the run-rate hasn’t fallen any further. Anyway, players have broken for drinks & think I’ll take that as my cue to head off too.
Another slight improvement in the run rate towards the end - 212 for 8 after 48 overs. Bray on 119*
Zimbabwe are 50/1 from 9 overs. Another wicket is crucial to try and slow them down a bit.
Are they slowing down a bit now? Aertel has them at 69 after 15 overs.
Botha is keeping things tight to Sibanda at one end, while the other Zimbabwean, Chibabha, has started slowly with just 6 runs in 45 mins. Just as I say it they knock in 13 in 2 overs to move to 87-1 after 20 overs, but they’re still behind the required run rate. But if we don’t get a couple of wickets they’ll be able to knock it about in the last 10 overs. Chibhabha almost went there.
Got a wicket (Chibhabha) but the new man Williams is apparently class. Zimbabwe add another 13 runs for 2 overs to move to 100-2 after 22, back on target for the run-rate too. Not looking good for Ireland.
No, having only 1 wicket thus far is telling. No matter how well the bowling is going so far they’ve too many wickets in hand to assume the run rate can be controlled.
OK I successfully jinxed Williams, now 114-3 after 26 overs, but still too close on run-rate (currently 4.385, require 4.5) I fear
2 wickets in the 28th over, including Sibanda!! Still 146-5 after 33 overs, right on the run-rate. Depends what their lower order is like now.
What a fucking match that was.
Brilliant last couple of overs in terms of excitement. Very disappointing not to win and I’d be interested to know what the more intense cricket fans thought of the celebrations at the end - I thought it was as much a chance lost as a tie won. Couple of catching opportunities in the last over and plenty of misfields throughout the match.
Ultimately though it was a big day for cricket in Ireland. Without wanting to harp on about it, it’s a pity that we don’t have our best player for the tournament. If we’re competitive with a test nation why we can’t we have our test player(s)?
BBC Radio 4 used the word magnificent about 6 times in two minutes around the end of that game. What a finish. Possibly a mistake to put in the spin bowler to their one decent batsman for the last over? But the draw means that if we can turn over Pakistan tomorrow, they’re out, and unless Zimbabwe beat them too we’d be through, in which case the draw would be as good as a win. Also, the draw was really the best we could hope for once Bandage had put money on us to win. And given the situation with half-a-dozen overs - and indeed one ball - to go, it felt like a win, so momentum will be with us against Pakistan.
Looking forward to hearing Bandage’s account of the day.
Because the test nations won’t play tests against us, so the only way our top players can play the highest form of the game is by playing for another country.
And why are we so accepting of this subservient, secondary role in cricket? If we don’t campaign ruthlessly for test status, or dual player eligibility, we will only ever be a feeder team for England and Wales.
Absolutely.
The problem is that I’ve not met one person who either plays the game or follows it intensely who thinks we should bother doing that, they just don’t think there’s any point.
My thoughts on yesterday:
Batting:
- Good toss to win for Zimbabwe - conditions meant the ball was likely to move around.
- The first few overs were spot on and it was a blow to lose Porterfield who made a couple of centuries in the WCL last month.
- Bray and Morgan started to bat well then, though Morgan, rode his luck a couple of times. I saw the reference to the BBC saying Bray was also lucky with a couple of decisions but from my recollection they were a couple of ambitious lbw shouts.
- Just as Morgan started to look in great touch he had a waft at one and more or less tamely stabbed it to the slips. No foot movement and a poor shot.
- Niall O’Brien played a similar nothing shot and suddenly we were 44-3 after 10.
- Bray, all the time, was caning any ball that offered him width. Around 80% of his total runs came on the off side; huge cut shots and upper cuts for 6 down towards 3rd man too.
- Botha went for 1 after not offering a shot and then seeing the bail removed from his off stump.
- Kev O’Brien was doing well in the circumstances before he went for 10 to leave us on 90-5 after about 22/23 overs.
- At this stage we were in quite dire straits and my worry was that we’d be bowled out without using our full allocation of overs and possibly even be all out by the 35th or 40th over which would have been a disaster.
- In that sense I thought it was a superb idea to promote Andy White up to number 7. The goal was purely to consolidate and rebuild the innings so we could actually ‘tee off’ in the last 10 overs with our big hitters like TJ. White is all about nudging the ball around, getting 1s and 2s, and even though you guys were worried about the scoring rate at the time I was more than happy with their progress as at 90-5 I would have settled for anything above 200.
- White did exactly what was required including playing some really nice reverse sweeps before he went and TJ looked to be timing the ball really well before he was run out (Bray’s fault - he called and then sent TJ back).
- McCallan’s generally handy enough down the order and was unlucky to be stumped with his foot on the line but after a shaky start Langford-Smith did okay in the final few overs and there was great scenes when Bray reached 3 figures.
- Considering how things looked after 25 overs 221 was a more than respectable total.
Bowling:
- I always worry about the control of our new ball bowlers but I was encouraged by L-S’s performances against South Africa and Canada and Boyd Rankin had been bowling good in the last few months too so I did have hope.
- An early wicket was crucial and I was delighted for Rankin after he had the same guy dropped twice before getting him.
- I thought TJ’s captaincy was very good overall yesterday, though perhaps the only thing I would have done was change the new ball bowlers a little earlier when the Zimbabweans were progressing up towards 80/90 for 1. Think L-S bowled 7 overs on the bounce.
- Getting that 2nd wicket was crucial and TJ’s 10 over spell was excellent especially when he came back on at the end and bowled really tightly and took a maiden or two if I recall correctly.
- Considering they had wickets in hand the run rate never appeared to be a problem as you’re always going to go along at 6+ in the last 10 overs if you have the comfort of having guys to come in after you.
- In that sense the little spurt of wickets that reduced them to 133-5 was crucial in pegging them back somewhat. I thought McCallan was excellent and was surprised to see he went for 6+ an over at the end.
- We did have a stroke of fortune with the guy hitting the wicket himself from White’s bowling and then after the 60 odd partnership that looked to have taken the game away from us was ended by the most cruel of cricket dismissals; run out backing up at the non-striker’s end after the batsman’s shot has been deflected on to the stumps by the bowler.
- Our fielding was very enthusiastic, and there was some excellent pieces of work, but equally we were sloppy at times and some of the catching will definitely have to improve if we’re to shock Pakistan.
- At that stage they only need about 15 from 30 balls and still had 4 wickets in hand so they were still very strong favourites. That’s where the credit must go to TJ and Botha who bowled some really quality tight overs under pressure.
- When Botha got the guy leg before and then Kev O’Brien got their skipper after he bowled a rank full toss and your man just drilled it straight to Morgan I couldn’t believe it. Then when TJ ran the next guy out it was incredible scenes.
- Great to see the whole pub get into it, except farmer.
- 9 required from the last over and 1 wicket in hand and you’d have to say we were favourites, although a couple of lucky, lusty blows and we could have lost it either and they alsohad their number 5 still in who was playing a smashing innings.
- Choosing the spinner was a gamey call by TJ but I couldn’t disagree. He could have turned to L-S or Rankin but I think he was probably guided by what happened in the WCL last month. I don’t know if any of you were following that but we lost an awful lot of tight finishes when the quicks were hammered around in the last couple of overs. L-S and Rankin don’t appear to have a slower ball or any real variation on their respecitve lockers so there’s a risk with the pace they bowl all a guy needs to do is stick his bat out and it’ll disappear to the boundary. Instead TJ decided to take the pace off the ball and put the onus on the Zimbabweans to come after us for the runs.
- And it so nearly worked even though Andy White bowled a very nervous, edgy over. Early on in it when the guy mistimed a pull towards mid-wicket I couldn’t see if it just landed short of the fielder. Did it? Or could he have dived to catch it? Then I don’t blame TJ at all for that diving, over his shoulder, attempt. It was with his wrong hand too. It would have been fairytale stuff though.
- At that stage I was resigned to defeat but it was a dinger of a final ball in fairness to him and even though we could have won we can hold our heads high. They were crusing at 203-5 and only needed a run every 2 balls to win it so our belief and spirit was superb.
- I can understand the scenes at the end too because as law says, the tie means as much as the win if we can beat Pakistan (providing Zimbabwe don’t beat either of the top 2 of course).
- Overall, a quality day’s entertainment.
- Apologies for the long post but what a day.
hi5
Excellent post Bandage. Glad to hear we need have no regrets about the choice of bowler for the last over. That double wicket maiden in the 49th was unbelievable though. As for the catches missed in the last over, BBC Radio 4 thought Rankin could have had the first catch if he’d been ready for it, but was back on his heels, but for Johnston’s potential catch, the Beeb thought he’d done phenomenally well even to prevent the boundary, which would have won the game, and that he couldn’t possibly have been expected to hold it. Just chatting with a Pakistani guy working here with me who’s looking worried, probably unjustifiedly, but said that he’s getting ready not to come in next week if we win tomorrow.
- And it so nearly worked even though Andy White bowled a very nervous, edgy over. Early on in it when the guy mistimed a pull towards mid-wicket I couldn’t see if it just landed short of the fielder. Did it? Or could he have dived to catch it?
I spoke about this with a guy on here who plays cricket - he took a half day yesterday to watch the match so I guess he’s a proper fan. Anyway we both agreed that he couldn’t make up his mind what to do and ended up doing nothing. I think he was thinking of saving the run, then realised “I might get this if I dive. Will I dive? It might be too short. Oh Christ I could have got that.” It also appeared that the coaching staff (assistant coach on the balcony I think) felt he could have made a better effort.
TJ was unlucky and he was quick enough about it to nearly force a run-out at both ends. That’s the kind of sharpness in the field that we should be aiming for. I remember watching a Clontarf game before. The Bhoy had just scored some munter from Tullamore for the first time and I knew he’d a cricket game the next day so I wandered down to Clontarf to slag him from the boundary. He came over for a chat and TJ gave him a roasting for costing the team a run because he was on his heels on the boundary. A proper pro.
How many of the players on the Irish team are Irish?
What is the rule for playing for other countries? Is it the Granny type rule?
It’s a residency rule, 3 years I think.
Three born in Australia and one in South Africa out of 15 I think Pagey. Not quite at the levels reached by our soccer team.