Tag: Ireland

Former South Africa all-rounder and current batting coach Jean-Paul Duminy turned back the clock as he took the field for his side during the third ODI against Ireland in Abu Dhabi.

Duminy, who retired from all forms of cricket in July 2019, came in as a substitute fielder in the final overs of the Ireland innings due to hot and humid conditions, which forced some South African players to go out.

It’s worth noting that according to rules coaches or members of team management can take the field as substitutes in case of a shortage of players due to injury or any other reason.

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The 40-year-old coach not only took the field but made a stellar attempt to save the boundary with a dive at short third man, earning praise from commentators for his athleticism despite retiring five years ago.

Ireland, while batting first, managed to post 284-9, courtesy of captain Paul Stirling’s dashing 88 and Harry Trector’s quick-fire 60 off 48.

In response, South Africa were bundled out for 215 in 46.1 overs with only Jason Smith top-scoring with a brilliant 91-run knock from 93 balls.

Despite the loss, South Africa took the ODI series 2-1 with the two sides sharing the preceding T20 series 1-1.

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Ireland captain Paul Stirling led from the front with a dashing 88 as his side completed their ODI series against South Africa with a convincing 69-run win in the final match in Abu Dhabi on Monday. 

Chasing 285 to win, South Africa slipped to 126-6 with only a fine 91 from Jason Smith keeping them in the game.

But Smith was unable to prevent the Irish from claiming only their second ODI win over the Proteas.

“It’s a relief to get past it,” said Stirling. “We talked about just winning the game and getting the job done.”

“We let ourselves down in the first two games. We knew if we applied ourselves and kept our wickets in hand we’ll get the runs.”

Graham Hume, who was born in Johannesburg and played for South Africa Under 19s, was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 3-29 while Ulster-born Craig Young finished with 3-40.

South Africa took the ODI series 2-1 with the two sides sharing the preceding T20 series 1-1.

Stirling set the tone for Ireland’s 284-9 after he won the toss and decided to bat. That was in contrast to the first two matches when Ireland chased, failing to survive past 32 overs as they made 132 and 169 in reply to big South African scores.

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On Monday, Stirling and Andy Balbirnie put on 101 for the first wicket before Balbirnie fell to Lizaad Williams for a steady 45 from 73 balls.

Curtis Campher accelerated with 34 off 36 balls before he fell to Ottneil Baartman who then bowled Stirling in his next over. The captain had hit three sixes and eight fours in his innings.

Harry Tector kept Ireland moving with a 48-ball 60 while Williams, the only South African bowler to get through his full 10 overs, finished with 4-56.

South Africa’s reply was soon in disarray at 10-3 as Mark Adair removed Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen, standing in for injured captain Temba Bavuma. Reeza Hendricks edged Graham Hume to Balbirnie at second slip.

Kyle Verreynne (38) and Tristan Stubbs (20) steadied the innings with a 49-run partnership but once Verreynne was leg before to Young the wheels came off again.

At 126-6, South Africa looked out of it but Smith made sure the Irish would have to wait.

The 29-year-old from Western Province, who made nought in his only other ODI against Afghanistan last month, made the most of his chance after being drafted in following Wiaan Mulder return home for personal reasons.

Smith hammered his 91 from 93 balls with nine fours and four sixes before slicing Hume to Adair at third man.

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Andy McBrine starred with both bat and ball as Ireland beat Zimbabwe by four wickets in a one-off Test in Belfast on Sunday after recovering from a dramatic top-order collapse.

Set just 158 to win in the shadow of Stormont Castle, Ireland had slumped to 33-5 at the close of Saturday’s third day, with Zimbabwe left-arm quick Richard Ngarava doing the bulk of the damage in a sensational burst of 4-12 in four overs.

But in the first Test to be played in Northern Ireland, the home side lost just one more wicket on Sunday.

Lorcan Tucker (56) and Andy McBrine, who completed a fine all-round match to be 55 not out, turned the tide after coming together when Ireland had collapsed to 21-5.

They added 96 for the sixth wicket before Tucker chopped on from Blessing Muzarabani with Ireland still 41 runs short of victory.

Mark Adair, however, who was born in nearby Holywood, settled quickly making 24 not out and hitting the winning boundary as Ireland finished on 158-6 to triumph with more than a day to spare.

Off-spinner McBrine was named player of the match after the 31-year-old took a combined 7-75 across Zimbabwe’s two innings.

“McBrine is the guy you want to put in your cricket bag and take everywhere. Exceptionally skilful and deserved the award today,” said Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie.

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The victory gave Ireland, who lost their opening seven Tests, a first home win in the format and back-to-back successes after they had beaten Afghanistan for their Test first win in March.

Stormont became the second Test venue in Ireland after Malahide and the 123rd in the history of Test cricket.

“Probably didn’t think growing up that there’d be a Test here,” said McBrine, who comes from the Northern Ireland village of Donemana.

McBrine said he had been “working hard behind the scenes” on his bowling before paying tribute to Ireland’s quicks.

“It was not an easy wicket to bowl on but the way they rotated allowed me to take wickets as well.”

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine was left thinking of what might have been had they been able to continue on Saturday night when Ireland were on the ropes at 33-5.

“We’d have liked five, six more overs last night,” he said. “Our games against have Ireland have always been competitive.”

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Richard Ngarava took four of Ireland top-order wickets as Zimbabwe hit back in dramatic style to take charge of a one-off Test in Belfast on Saturday.

Zimbabwe started the third day on 12-0 but were dismissed for 197 in their second innings, with Ireland off-spinner Andy McBrine taking 4-38.

That left Ireland with a victory target of 158 but their leading batsmen proved powerless to resist 26-year-old left-arm paceman Ngarava, who had the superb stumps figures of 4-12 from four overs, with the hosts 33-5 at the close and still needing a further 125 runs to win.

Zimbabwe had almost erased a first-innings deficit of 40 runs when Joylord Gumbie was caught in the slips off Craig Young.

Three balls later, Barry McCarthy had Prince Masvaure, the other Zimbabwe opener, caught behind before Craig Ervine was lbw to Mark Adair.

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But a stand of 68 between Sean Williams and Dion Myers, who top-scored in the innings with 57, helped turn the tide before Williams was out for 40.

McBrine cleaned up the tail to leave Ireland with a seemingly modest target and more than two days in which to get the runs.

Ngarava had other ideas, however, as he took two wickets in two balls to dismiss Peter Moor and Curtis Campher.

New-ball partner Blessing Muzarabani then got in on the act by removing Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie.

Ngarava continued the collapse, with Harry Tector (nought) and Paul Stirling (10) both caught behind by wicketkeeper Clive Madande before rain cut short the day’s play.

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Barry McCarthy took three wickets as Ireland recovered to dismiss Zimbabwe for 210 on the opening day of a historic one-off Test in Belfast on Thursday.

As soon as a toss at the Stormont ground won by home captain Andy Balbirnie was complete, the match was assured of a place in the record books as the first Test staged in Northern Ireland.

But Zimbabwe, after openers Prince Masvaure (74) and Joylord Gumbie (49) had shared an opening stand of 97, were well-placed at 143-2 only to lose their last eight wickets for 57 runs courtesy of Ireland bowlers’ dominant display.

Barry McCarthy took 3-42 and off-spinner Andy McBrine followed up with 3-37.

“I think the two openers batted quite nicely,” said McCarthy, who was glad to see Ireland eventually take advantage of favourable conditions for pace bowling.

“The bounce and shape was nice, something you love as a bowler. We knew if we get one or two, the wickets would follow.”

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Masvaure, a 35-year-old left-hander, said he was happy “to come into the side and put in a solid performance”, adding: “I would’ve loved to go all the way (to a hundred). It was nice that Gumbie was positive and gave us that start we needed…we’ll take that score.”

Gumbie fell one short of a fifty on Test debut when he chipped seamer McCarthy to Curtis Campher at square leg.

But Masvaure completed a fourth fifty in his ninth Test as Zimbabwe ended a rain-marred second session on 153-3.

Masvaure had surpassed his previous highest Test score of 65 when he was well caught down the legside by wicketkeeper Locran Tucker off Campher to end a 152-ball innings including eight fours.

McBrine then struck twice in two balls, with Clive Madande out for a golden duck before McCarthy returned to end the innings in the 72nd over when Tendai Chatara was caught behind.

Ireland were then spared what could have been an awkward start to their reply when a fresh downpour cut short the first day’s play.

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FLORIDA: A combined bowling effort, followed by Babar Azam’s unbeaten knock led Pakistan to beat Ireland by three wickets in the 36th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Central Broward Regional Park on Sunday.

Set to chase 107, Pakistan amassed 111/7 with seven balls to spare.

Pakistan had a shaky start to the pursuit as Saim Ayub and Mohammad Rizwan could add 23 runs amid the first wicket partnership as Mark Adair got rid of the former in the fifth over.

Ayub scored a run-a-ball 17 with the help of two fours and a six.

Rizwan was quick to follow Ayub as he perished in the next over after scoring 17 off 16 deliveries.

Following the back-to-back blows, Fakhar Zaman (5) joined skipper Babar Azam briefly and the two added 13 runs for the third wicket until the left-hander fell prey to Curtis Campher in the ninth over.

Pakistan then lost three more wickets in quick succession and thus slipped to 62/6 in 11 overs.

Babar Azam was then joined by Abbas Afridi when Pakistan needed 45 off 54.

Abbas and Babar batted cautiously and brought Pakistan in touching distance with a crucial 33-run stand that lasted with the former’s dismissal in the 18th over. Abbas scored a gutsy 17 off 21 balls.

Shaheen Shah Afridi then took the game away from a blistering cameo and sealed Pakistan’s consolation with a six. He made an unbeaten 13 off just five balls.

Babar Azam remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a 34-ball 32 with the help of two boundaries.

Barry McCarthy was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland with three wickets, followed by Curtis Campher, who took two. Whereas, Ben White and Mark Adair made one scalp each.

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Sent into bat first, Ireland managed to utilize full 20 overs and registered a decent total on the board, which seemed out of reach after the batting powerplay.

Ireland had a disastrous start to their innings as Pakistan’s new-ball bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Amir ran through their top order with successive strikes, leaving them reeling at 32/5 in six overs.

Right-arm pacer Haris Rauf continued the momentum as he picked up a wicket in his first over to add further to Ireland’s misery.

Ireland were in heaps of trouble being 32/6 in 6.3 overs.

However, Gareth Delany, who came out to bat at No.7, launched an astounding recovery for the European side with a gutsy knock.

He put together a one-sided partnership with Mark Adair. The seventh-wicket stand yielded 44 runs in just five overs before Imad Wasim provided Pakistan a much-needed breakthrough with Delany’s demise.

Delany remained the top-scorer for Ireland with 19-ball 31, which featured one four and three sixes.

Ireland lost two more quick wickets and were consequently slipped to 80/9 in 14 overs.

But their batting tail retaliated against a strong Pakistan bowling attack and batted through the allotted overs.

Josh Little added valuable runs for Ireland at the backend with an unbeaten 22 off 18 deliveries while Ben White scored a 20-ball five.

Imad Wasim and Shaheen Shah Afridi bagged three wickets each for Pakistan, followed by Mohammad Amir with two while Haris Rauf picked one.

It is pertinent to mention that both Pakistan and Ireland are out of the Super 8s race of the T20 World Cup 2024 after the crucial Group A fixture between Ireland and the USA was abandoned without a ball bowled at the same venue on Thursday.

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FLORIDA: Former champions Pakistan are scheduled to play their last match in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 against Ireland but the wet outfield at Central Broward Regional Park may lead to a delayed start of the match.

According to the details, it rained cats and dogs in Lauderhill on Sunday night and the weather remained overcast till the morning.

As a result, the outfield of the Central Broward Regional Park is damped and has many wet patches which may lead to a delayed start or may be abandoned.

For the unversed, Florida’s weather has been far from ideal for the cricket action as the previous two Group A fixtures between India and Canada and Ireland and USA were abandoned without a ball bowled.

The abandonment of the USA-Ireland match marked the end of Pakistan’s journey in the T20 World Cup 2024.

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Besides Pakistan, Ireland and Canada were also eliminated from the Super 8s race.

The USA finished the group stage with five points in four matches. Whereas, Pakistan could attain a maximum of four points if they manage to beat Ireland in their last group fixture, scheduled on June 16.

Pakistan had a disastrous start to their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign as they suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of the USA in the Super Over.

The Green Shirts then succumbed to a frustrating six-run defeat against arch-rivals India in a blockbuster clash, that took place at a jam-packed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 9.

The former champions then finally got on the winning track when they registered a hard-fought seven-wicket victory over Canada.

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The Pakistan men’s cricket team on Wednesday reached Florida from New York to play their final group match against Ireland in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The team will take a break and rest in their hotel today, meanwhile training schedule will be announced in due course.

Pakistan are scheduled to face Ireland on June 16 at Central Broward Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida. However, there is a 47% chance of rain on that day.

For the unversed, Pakistan registered their first victory in the T20 World Cup 2024 yesterday against Canada.

Set to chase 107, Pakistan amassed the total for the loss of three wickets and 15 balls to spare, courtesy of an anchoring second-wicket partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.

The seven-wicket victory propelled Pakistan to third in Group A standings of the T20 World Cup 2024 with two points in three matches while Canada slipped to fourth due to an inferior net run rate.

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Pakistan’s new opening pair of Saim Ayub (6) and Rizwan failed to give them a decent start as the left-handed batter perished in the fifth over with just 20 runs on the board.

Babar then joined Rizwan in the middle and the duo anchored the run chase with a gutsy partnership.

They added 63 runs for the second wicket before Babar fell prey to Dilon Heyliger in the 15th over. He scored a run-a-ball 33 with the help of one boundary and a six.

Rizwan partnered briefly with Fakhar Zaman, who scored just four and perished on the second delivery of the 18th over with just three more required.

Usman Khan then hit the winning runs for Pakistan when he guided one towards the midwicket region for a couple.

Mohammad Rizwan remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with an unbeaten 53 off as many deliveries, hitting three boundaries and a six.

Dilon Heyliger led the bowling charge for Canada with 2/18 while Jeremy Gordon made one scalp.

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Ireland captain Paul Stirling on Friday, asserted that his team can beat Pakistan and the United States of America (USA) in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 fixtures.

Ireland are on the verge of an early exit from the 20-team tournament after losing back-to-back matches against India and Canada.

Meanwhile, the Irish captain Stirling, while speaking at the post-match press conference after his side’s 12-run defeat against Canada, claimed that his side can win its remaining group-stage fixtures.

“We’ve got two huge games,” he said. “Still massive every time you put on the shirt you want to go and win, but no reason why we can’t go and beat USA and Pakistan. We need to play a hell of a lot better if we’re going to want to do that. But different conditions, we know them slightly better and will certainly be given it as best a crack as we can.

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Stirling also acknowledged that Ireland did not play to their full potential in their first two matches of the T20 World Cup, stating if they do not play their best, they are bound to lose.

“I think we just want to play as good cricket as we possibly can. I’ve sort of hammered for at least the last year that if we don’t play our best cricket, we will not win games of cricket. So, we need to get back to our best for next week,” said Stirling.

Paul Stirling then went on to laud the inexperienced Canada for playing better while commenting on his side’s shock loss.

“They played better cricket than us for three hours and they won the game, simple as that. That doesn’t really, for me, matter what their tagline is, associate or full member or what, they just played smarter cricket, better cricket all day than us and they won,” Stirling concluded.

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NEW YORK: A ferocious display of pace bowling, followed by captain Rohit Sharma’s half-century helped India register a dominant victory over Ireland in the eighth match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here on Wednesday.

Chasing a small total of 97 runs, India achieved the target in 12.2 overs after losing two wickets, at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.

They had a shaky start to the chase as Virat Kohli (1) fell in the third over with 22 runs on the board. However, captain Rohit Sharma, along with Rishabh Pant, dominated Ireland bowlers with a steady 54-run stand in 44 balls.

Sharma scored the bulk of runs, completing his half-century in the process before getting retired hurt. He scored 52 off 37 with the help of four boundaries and three sixes.

Suryakumar Yadav (2) replaced Sharma on the crease but soon fell prey to Ben White with India needing six runs to win. Pant then finished the game in style with a six off Barry McCarthy in the 13th over.

The left-hander scored an unbeaten 36 off 26, featuring five boundaries that included two sixes.

Meanwhile, Mark Adair and White claimed one wicket each for Ireland.

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Earlier, India invited Ireland to bat after winning the toss and Arshdeep Singh struck twice in the third over with only nine runs on the board.

Lorcan Tucker (10) and Harry Tector (4) showed some resistance with a 19-run partnership from 23 balls before Indian bowlers rattled through the Irish batting line-up.

Ireland lost six wickets in quick succession, slipping from 27-2 to 50-8, losing six wickets.

Gareth Delany and Josh Little (14) then raised a partnership of 27 off 18 to delay the eventual disaster.

Jasprit Bumrah removed Little to break the Irish momentum before Delany added another 19-run partnership for the last wicket with Ben White (2*).

Delany got run out after scoring 26 runs from 14 balls, featuring two sixes and two fours, as Ireland’s innings wrapped up in 16 overs.

For India, Hardik Pandya claimed 3-27, while Bumrah and Singh bagged two wickets each.

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