TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Ireland clinch historic victory over Windies

NELSON: Ireland caused the first upset of the World Cup when an audacious 92 by paved the way for a four- win over the West Indies at Nelson’s Saxton Oval yester- day. Stirling stood in a match-defining 106-run stand with for the second wicket as Ireland chased down a 305-run target with 25 balls to spare. Stirling cracked his 92 off 84 balls, Joyce scored 84 off 67 and Niall O’Brien chimed in with an unbeaten 79 off 60 deliveries. It was Ireland’s SCOREBOARD first win over the West Indies in six official matches and the first victory at this World Cup NELSON, New Zealand: Complete scoreboard in the World Cup Pool B match between West Indies and achieved by a team second. Ireland at Saxton Oval, Nelson yesterday: The 12th-ranked Irish paid scant regard to the high-profile West Indians and enhanced their West Indies Ireland own reputation as giant-killers after beating oth- D. Smith c Mooney b K. O’Brien 18 W. Porterfield c Ramdin b Gayle 23 er top-tier nations England and Pakistan in the C. Gayle c K. O’Brien b Dockrell 36 P. Stirling c Ramdin b Samuels 92 D. Bravo run out (McBrine) 0 E. Joyce c Bravo b Taylor 84 previous two World Cups. The victorious finish M. Samuels lbw Dockrell 21 N. O’Brien 79 was a fitting reward for their spirited start to the D. Ramdin lbw Dockrell 1 A Balbirnie c Bravo b Taylor 9 match when they opted to bowl and rapidly L. Simmons c Dockrell b Sorensen 102 G. Wilson c Gayle b Taylor 1 reduced the West Indies to 87-5. D. Sammy c Dockrell b Mooney 89 K. O’Brien run out (Smith/Roach) 0 “It’s fantastic to win. This sets us up nicely for A. Russell not out 27 J. Mooney not out 6 the next few games,” said Ireland skipper William J. Holder not out 0 Extras (b4, w9) 13 Porterfield. “The belief has been growing within Extras (lb1, w9) 10 Total (6 wkts, 45.5 overs) 307 the squad for a long time and we know what we Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 304 Did not bat: M Sorensen, G Dockrell, A McBrine are capable of, not just in this game but the oth- Did not bat: K Roach, J Taylor Fall of 1-71 (Porterfield), 2-177 (Stirling), Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Smith), 2-31 (Bravo), 3-78 3-273 (Joyce), 4-285 (Balbirnie), 5-290 (Wilson), 6- er games in the competition as well.” (Gayle), 4-78 (Samuels), 5-87 (Ramdin), 6-241 291 (K O’Brien) West Indies skipper Jason Holder admitted (Sammy), 7-302 (Simmons) Bowling: Holder 9-1-44-0 (2w); Roach 6-0-52-0 that his team’s total of 304 should have been Bowling: Mooney 7-1-59-1 (3w); Sorensen 8-0-64- (1w); Taylor 8.5-0-71-3 (1w); Russell 6-0-33-0 (1w); enough. “It was a tough loss and obviously put- 1 (1w); McBrine 10-1-26-0; K. O’Brien 9-0-71-1 Gayle 8-0-41-1; Sammy 3-0-25-0; Samuels 4-0-25- ting up 300 should have been enough, but it (3w); Dockrell 10-0-50-3 (1w); Stirling 6-0-33-0 1; Simmons 1-0-12-0. wasn’t today,” said the 23-year-old. “I think we (1w) Result: Ireland won by four wickets. just need to be a bit more precise when we set fields. We are just giving away too many bound- aries during the middle overs.” The victory will have boosted Ireland’s hopes World Cup results and standings of being one of the four teams to make the quar- ter-finals from a group that also contains Pool B defending champions India, South Africa and At Nelson Pakistan. West Indies star Chris Gayle again failed West Indies 304-7 (Lendl Simmons 102, Darren Sammy 89) v Ireland 307-6 (Paul Stirling 92, Ed Joyce 84, Niall O’Brien 79 not out). to fire as spinner carved Ireland won by four wickets through the upper order before a dashing cen- tury by Lendl Simmons and a personal-best 89 Played won lost tied N/R points run rate from Darren Sammy put some backbone into Pool A the Caribbean side’s . Australia 1 1 0 0 0 2 +2.220 Their power batting lifted the West Indies to New Zealand 1 1 0 0 0 2 +1.960 what should have been a respectable 304 but 1 0 1 0 0 0 -1.960 they lacked the discipline in their bowling to England 1 0 1 0 0 0 -2.220 defend the total. Afghanistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Holder opened with a first ball that raced Bangladesh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scotland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 wide of slips to the boundary to give Ireland an immediate five runs from extras which started Pool B Stirling and Porterfield on their way to a 71-run India 1 1 0 0 0 2 +1.52 first wicket stand. South Africa 1 1 0 0 0 2 +1.24 With Porterfield’s dismissal for 23, the left- Ireland 1 1 0 0 0 2 +0.62 handed Joyce joined right-hander Stirling to NEW ZEALAND: Ireland’s batsman Ed Joyce plays a shot during the Pool B 2015 World West Indies 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.62 continue piling on the pressure. Stirling’s dis- Cup match between Ireland and the West Indies at Saxton Park Oval. —AFP Zimbabwe 1 0 1 0 0 0 -1.24 missal, caught behind off a Marlon Samuels Pakistan 1 0 1 0 0 0 -1.52 , saw O’Brien arrive to up the tempo fur- and O’Brien was on 38 when he skied a Jerome It was another disappointment for Gayle who UAE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ther with the textbook formula of looking for an Taylor delivery and Holder dropped what should has not passed 50 since playing Bangladesh in Already played early boundary each over and accumulating have been a regulation catch. Taylor was the August and the last of his 21 centuries was Pool A what runs were on offer afterwards. most successful West Indies bowler with three against Sri Lanka in June 2013. Simmons and At Christchurch The West Indies were powerless to contain for 71. Ireland started the day in the best possi- Sammy gave the innings respectability with a New Zealand 331-6 (Corey Anderson 75, Brendon McCullum 65, Kane Williamson 57) v Sri Lanka 233 all the onslaught, going through eight bowlers, as ble fashion, winning the toss and ripping out the West Indies sixth-wicket record stand of 154. out (Lahiru Thirimanne 65) the Irish batsmen clobbered six sixes and 34 West Indies premier batsmen. Dockrell, who fin- Simmons-whose uncle Phil, the former West New Zealand won by 98 runs fours. ished with three for 50, claimed the prized wick- Indies batsman, is Ireland’s coach-was eventually Joyce, on 42, was dropped by Darren Bravo ets of Gayle (36), Samuels (21) and Ramdin (one) dismissed in the last over for 104, his second At Melbourne when he belted Holder towards the boundary, in the space of just eight deliveries. one-day international . —AFP Australia 342-9 (Aaron Finch 135, Glenn Maxwell 66, George Bailey 55; 5-71) v England 231 all out (James Taylor 98 not out; 5-53) Australia won by 111 runs Preview Pool B Why can’t Pakistan At Hamilton South Africa 339-4 (David Miller 138 not out, JP Duminy 115 not out) v Zimbabwe 277 all out (Hamilton Masakadza 80, Chamu Chibhabha 64) beat India South Africa won by 62 runs in World Cup? At Adelaide India 300-7 (Virat Kohli 107, Suresh Raina 74, Shikhar Dhawan 73; Sohail Khan 5-55) v Pakistan 224 all out ADELAIDE: If Pakistan were looking for answers for its (Misbah-ul-Haq 76) wretched losing streak against arch-rivals India in the India won by 76 runs World Cup, they need to cut to the chase and begin with the ’s luck with the toss. Still to play: When Misbah-ul Haq called incorrectly before Feb 17 New Zealand v Scotland, Dunedin (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, Feb 16) Feb 18 Bangladesh v Afghanistan, Canberra (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) Sunday’s 76-run defeat at the Adelaide Oval, it was the Feb 19 Zimbabwe v UAE, Nelson (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, Feb 18) fifth time in six World Cup outings that Pakistan had lost Feb 20 England v New Zealand, Wellington (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) the toss to India. Feb 21 Pakistan v West Indies, Christchurch (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, Feb 20) In all those five games, Pakistan failed to chase down Feb 21 Australia v Bangladesh, Brisbane (13:30 local/03:30 GMT) the target. The only time India batted second, at the Feb 22 Sri Lanka v Afghanistan, Dunedin (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, Feb 21) Centurion in 2003, the genius of Sachin Tendulkar took Feb 22 South Africa v India, Melbourne (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) Feb 23 England v Scotland, Christchurch (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, Feb 22) the game away from Pakistan. Feb 24 West Indies v Zimbabwe, Canberra (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq is con- Feb 25 Ireland v UAE, Brisbane (13:30 local/03:30 GMT) vinced India’s luck with the toss has played a major role Feb 26 Afghanistan v Scotland, Dunedin (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, Feb 25) in its 6-0 scoreline against the old foes in the sport’s pre- Feb 26 Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Melbourne (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) mier 50-over showpiece. Feb 27 South Africa v West Indies, Sydney (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) Feb 28 India v UAE, Perth (14:30 local/06:30 GMT) “I believe batting first is always an advantage as bats- men tend to get under pressure while chasing in big New Zealand wary Feb 28 Australia v New Zealand, Auckland (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) Mar 01 England v Sri Lanka, Wellington (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, Feb 28) games,” Inzamam wrote in a guest column for the tour- Mar 01 Pakistan v Zimbabwe, Brisbane (13:30 local/03:30 GMT) nament’s official website. Mar 03 South Africa v Ireland, Canberra (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) “I can’t find a suitable word to describe what goes of Scotland Mar 04 Pakistan v UAE, Napier (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) wrong when we chase against India, but it’s more like a Mar 04 Australia v Afghanistan, Perth (14:30 local/06:30 GMT) DUNEDIN: Co-hosts New Zealand face a ly focused, as they were against Sri Lanka, Mar 05 Bangladesh v Scotland, Nelson (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, March 04) mental blockage of players.” On Sunday, after Virat Kohli’s 107 had set up a 301-run target, Pakistan folded potential World Cup “banana skin” against to make sure they do not slip up,” he said. Mar 06 India v West Indies, Perth (14:30 local/06:30 GMT) minnows Scotland in Dunedin today, for- Scotland have displayed impressive Mar 07 South Africa v Pakistan, Auckland (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) up for 224 with only skipper Misbah contributing a mer Black Caps skipper Stephen Fleming form this month in the lead-up to the tour- Mar 07 Zimbabwe v Ireland, Hobart (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) valiant 76 off 84 balls. Mar 08 New Zealand v Afghanistan, Napier (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, March 07) has warned. nament, scoring 310 against the West In previous World Cup games against India, Pakistan New Zealand justified their tag as one Indies and cruising to a 179-run win over Mar 08 Australia v Sri Lanka, Sydney (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) failed to chase down totals of 216 in Sydney (1992), 287 Mar 09 England v Bangladesh, Adelaide (14:00 local/03:30 GMT) of the pre-tournament favorites with a fellow associates Ireland. Mar 10 India v Ireland, Hamilton (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) in Bangalore (1996), 227 in Manchester (1999) and 260 comprehensive 98-run win over Sri Lanka Captain Preston Mommsen said the Mar 11 Sri Lanka v Scotland, Hobart (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) in Mohali four years ago. in their opening match and will be keen to Scots were taking inspiration from Ireland’s Mar 12 South Africa v UAE, Wellington (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) India’s latest win came without the reassuring pres- maintain momentum against Scotland. giant-killing exploits at previous World Mar 13 Bangladesh v New Zealand, Hamilton (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) ence of retired batting superstar Tendulkar, who had The Scots have not won a match in two Cups, when they claimed the scalps of Mar 13 England v Afghanistan, Sydney (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) proved a stumbling block for Pakistan in at least four of previous World Cup campaigns (1999 and Pakistan (2007) and England (2011). Mar 14 India v Zimbabwe, Auckland (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) the five previous encounters. 2007), with bookmakers rating them 12-1 “They’ve found a way to stand up to the Mar 14 Australia v Scotland, Hobart (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) outsiders to upset the in-form New big teams and we’ll be looking to do the Mar 15 West Indies v UAE, Napier (11:00 local/22:00 GMT, March 14) In 2003, Tendulkar tamed a star-studded pace bat- Mar 15 Pakistan v Ireland, Adelaide (14:00 local/03:30 GMT) tery of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar Zealanders. same thing,” he said. “We’re not here to fill to fashion India’s six-wicket win with a scintillating 98 But Fleming said the Pool A clash was “a in the numbers.” Quarter-finals off 75 balls after Pakistan had piled up 273-7. Misbah banana-skin type match where, if it was South African-born Mommsen said he Mar 18 Sydney (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) was at a loss to explain another failure on Sunday. allowed, complacency could be a danger”. was part of the best-prepared team to ever Mar 19 Melbourne (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) He pointed out that Scotland, an ICC leave Scottish shores. They are coached by “I don’t know what happened,” he said. “But it is Mar 20 Adelaide (14:00 local/03:30 GMT) associate nation, lost by just one run in former Black Cap Grant Bradburn, assisted Mar 21 Wellington (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) important to forget this loss and look to the future. The October to a New Zealand XI which includ- by gritty ex-England batsman Paul game is gone now, so we have to just concentrate on ed eight of the Black Caps’ World Cup Collingwood, who has helped toughen the Semi-finals the next one.” squad. mental aspects of their game. Mar 24 Auckland (14:00 local/01:00 GMT) Six straight losses will hurt more because Pakistan Only an inspired last-ball run out spared New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said Mar 26 Sydney (14:30 local/03:30 GMT) enjoy a superior overall one-day record over India, hav- New Zealand’s blushes on that occasion shock results were inevitable at the World ing won 72 games and lost 51. Indian captain Mahendra and Fleming said the Black Caps could not Cup and the Black Caps, more accustomed Singh Dhoni had some comforting words for Pakistan, treat their opposition lightly. to being labelled underdogs, were deter- saying the unbeaten run would not stay forever. — AFP “New Zealand will have to be complete- mined not to fall victim to one.—AFP