On Friday Ireland threw away a chance of victory against Bangladesh, losing a game their bowlers had put them in a position to win. Chasing 205 on an oddly-paced pitch proved too much. And that’s often the way: anything much more than 4 an over is asking a lot. So when England reached 327 today it seemed pretty clear that even though they only scored 70 from their final ten overs the England total should have been more than enough to handle anything Ireland could throw at them.
Time to rethink that theory. Time too to rethink the pecking order of the greatest moments in Irish cricketing history. Victories over the West Indies and Pakistan were grand affairs but not half so sweet or astonishing as this magnificent performance against the English. Sure, it’s not Test cricket and sure the World Cup is something of a nonsense anyway but that matters not a jot tonight after an almost absurdly entertaining match.
Kevin O’Brien comes from a senior Irish cricketing family but none of his forbears have ever produced anything like his batting today.
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