All posts by h716a5.icu

Andrew Flintoff, the man whose greatest years as a Test cricketer coincided with England’s last sustained run of excellence in five-day cricket, believes the team of 2011 is a better outfit than the 2005 side that won six series in a row

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2011Andrew Flintoff, the man whose greatest years as a Test cricketer coincided with England’s last sustained run of excellence in five-day cricket, believes the team of 2011 is a better outfit than the 2005 side that won six series in a row and regained the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.England’s current run of form has carried them to a 2-0 series lead against the current No. 1 Test team in the world, India, and if they maintain or improve that two-match margin in the remaining two Tests of the series at Edgbaston and The Oval, they will themselves climb to the top of the world rankings.In Flintoff’s estimation, however, that handover has already been achieved. “England are the best team in the world already,” he said. “Not just in ranking, but also in strength. They have got everything. I don’t see why they can’t dominate for a long time. They have strong enough players to do it. Australia and West Indies did it and England should be able to do it for the next few years.”The key difference between 2005 and 2011 is the breadth of the squad that England are able to call upon. Six years ago, England’s first XI was formidable, with players such as Flintoff and Simon Jones peaking at precisely the right moment in their careers. However, they lacked the reserves to maintain their rise towards the top. Jones went lame with one Ashes match remaining and never played again, while the subsequent losses of Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan and Flintoff himself for long periods led to a long slide back towards mediocrity.”This is a better side than the one we had in 2005,” said Flintoff. “The strength of it and the depth is incredible. In 2005 we had 11 players who had a memorable few weeks and played at their best for a period, but we never played together again.”In the past 12 months, England have demonstrated a formidable pack mentality, particularly when it comes to their fast bowlers. When Stuart Broad was injured during the Ashes, he was replaced superbly by Chris Tremlett, who had himself risen to become the leader of the attack by the end of the recent Sri Lanka series. Then, when he suffered a back spasm on the eve of the Trent Bridge Test, Tim Bresnan – another Ashes reserve – stepped in to seal the match with a career-best 5 for 48.”This side have a squad and they are so strong in and out of the side,” said Flintoff. “We’ve seen them replace players without blinking and it has made no difference to the performance and that has been happening for a while now.”There are no weak links. They are playing with a confidence and a swagger that goes with being the best. They’ve got every department covered and if someone gets injured then another one comes in and does a job.”

A round-up of the final day of the fourth round of Pentangular Cup matches

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2012Punjab and Sind reserved their berths in the final of the Pentangular Cup after finishing at the top in the points table, leaving Baluchistan, Federal Areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province out of contention. The final will be played from February 18 to 22 in Lahore.The pre-final dead rubber between Baluchistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province ended in a tame draw at Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. Baluchistan’s Ahmed Raza restricted KPP on 355 with his seven-wicket haul as KPP manged to add only 90 runs on the final day. Saeed Anwar Junior’s century and Rizwan Haider’s half-century helped Baluchistan to 252 for 5 when the match was called off.After three days ruined by wet conditions, Sind and Federal Areas kicked off the action on the final day at Rawalpindi Stadium. Federal opted to bat first and put on 221 for 3, with Afaq Raheem (72) and Umair Khan (49) capturing the eye. The umpires called off the day after 56 overs to declare a draw.

The IPL governing council has set August 31 as the deadline for the owners of Deccan Chargers franchise to clear player payments and sort out the financial problems with the banks to avoid any stringent action

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Aug-2012The IPL governing council has set August 31 as the deadline for the owners of Deccan Chargers franchise to clear player payments and sort out the financial problems with the banks to avoid any stringent action. In an emergency meeting called on Tuesday in New Delhi, the governing council confronted the owners of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, who hold the rights for the Hyderabad-based franchise, to explain in detail as to why the company had mortgaged the team ownership rights with two leading Indian banks.According to the BCCI officials, the board owns the ownership rights and that no franchise could mortgage the rights on its own.”The governing council asked the owners of Chargers to clear the players’ payments as by this time usually almost 60-70% of the contractual amount usually gets paid. But the franchise had defaulted on that. Secondly, they need to sort out the financial mess with the various banks to make sure the team remains unbothered. We need to protect both the IPL and the players,” a governing council official said.According to the official, the BCCI was concerned after the banks had directly sought the board’s involvement, asking to pay all the money set for the franchise, directly to them as Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited owned them big money. “What is more concerning is the Deccan Chargers owners have hypothecated the intangibles. They have told the banks that the team has a certain market value and based on that they had procured the loans,” the official said.T Venkatram Reddy, the owner of franchise, was present at the meeting, but was adamant that the issue was unnecessarily blown out of proportion. “He outrightly blocked all the allegations by the banks and was confident all issues would get sorted by August 31,” the official said. However, it is understood that the BCCI had already checked with the Registrar of Companies and found out that Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited had accumulated borrowing charges amounting to INR 3200 crore.According to the official, the banks were interested in knowing if they were in any position to sell the franchise on their own since the owners had defaulted to clear the dues. “We don’t know what exactly the amount is but the very fact that the banks have approached us means it is a serious issue,” the board official said.At the two-hour meeting, the Deccan Chargers were told that their immediate step should be to clear player dues over the next fortnight. The 15-day deadline has also given the Deccan Chargers owners the option of giving the presenting the details of the prospective buyers of their franchise to the Governing Council. Officials say that the prospect of the termination of the franchise had arisen “almost 15-20 days ago” however, the BCCI was “keen to be seen to aid the franchises to a limit.”

Crystal Palace look set to fend off interest in academy star David Obou by securing his services to a three-year professional deal, according to The Daily Mail.

The Lowdown: Obou profiled

Obou joined Palace’s academy in January 2021 and has seemingly caught the eye at international level, along with the attention of several clubs.

The 16-year-old, who can play on either flank or in a central attacking midfield role, is being tracked by France and has been invited to play for England at youth level.

He has already turned out for Palace’s under-18s, and it looks as if he will remain with the Eagles when he turns 17 in November.

The Latest: Obou set to sign new Palace deal

The Daily Mail’s David Kent shared a story on Monday evening, suggesting that Palace will fend off interest from Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven to secure Obou to a three-year professional contract.

They described it as a boost for Palace, with the club agreeing on terms for a professional deal to kick in when he turns 17 later this year.

The Verdict: Good news for Palace

Obou clearly has plenty of potential, judging by  the two European clubs being keen on his services, so Palace landing the teenager on a permanent professional deal can only be good news for Patrick Vieira.

The Eagles have a number of exciting attacking youngsters coming through, including Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and David Omilabu, who both penned professional deals last year, and Obou looks set to follow in their footsteps.

The next step for the 16-year-old could be to establish himself in the club’s under-23s over the coming years, with a view to eventually breaking through into Vieira’s first-team setup.

In other news: Journo says Palace are now ‘in talks’ with ‘effortless’ £19.8m-rated maestro. 

Sean Ervine will return to international duty with Zimbabwe at the World Cup after being included in the finalised squad of 15 for the tournament, which starts on February 19

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2011Sean Ervine will return to international duty with Zimbabwe at the World Cup after being included in the finalised squad of 15 for the tournament, which starts on February 19. Elton Chigumbura will captain an evenly-spread group that includes six batsmen, two of whom are part-time spinners, three seamers and three specialist slow bowlers.Ervine will join his young brother Craig in the squad on a three-year contract, signed over Christmas, but for the moment will also continue his association with Hampshire as an overseas player and remains part of their squad for the ongoing Caribbean Twenty20 competition. His return to Zimbabwe colours ends an international hiatus of nearly seven years, and his experience will help to shore up a brittle middle order, as well as providing a third all-round option along with Chigumbura and Greg Lamb.The squad also provides options in the wicketkeeping department. Tatenda Taibu is an obvious first choice for the role, but Regis Chakabva, Brendan Taylor and Charles Coventry could all provide competent back-up should he be injured.One area in which Zimbabwe may be a little light is their opening batsmen. With Hamilton Masakadza omitted from Zimbabwe’s World Cup plans despite helping to put together some useful opening stands last year, Chamu Chibhabha failing to make the cut and Terrence Duffin, Tino Mawoyo and Vusi Sibanda included only as non-travelling reserves it would appear either Chakabva or Taibu will be Taylor’s partner at the top.Chakabva has opened for Zimbabwe Under-19, Zimbabwe A and Zimbabwe Provinces in limited-overs cricket on occasion, while Taibu has taken first strike in three one-day internationals – most recently against Bangladesh at Mirpur in January 2009 – although his only success in that position has been in domestic cricket.Prosper Utseya, Ray Price and Graeme Cremer were always certainties in the World Cup squad with Zimbabwe building their bowling attack around spin in recent times, while Shingi Masakadza, Chris Mpofu and Ed Rainsford were the three most obvious choices for the seamers’ positions. There’s no space for Ryan Butterworth, whose all-round performances in the domestic Stanbic Bank 20 Series earned him a call-up for the trip to Bangladesh late last year, with Charles Coventry and Sean Williams taking the final two spots.Brian Lara, who signed a contract as batting consultant to the national side after his involvement in the local Twenty20 tournament with the Southern Rocks franchise, will join the touring party on a pre-World Cup trip to Dubai and India from February 1. Zimbabwe will play two warm-up matches in each country, and coach Alan Butcher has argued that they will be better or as well prepared for the World Cup as any of their 13 rivals.Zimbabwe World Cup squad: Elton Chigumbura (capt), Regis Chakabva, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Sean Ervine, Gregory Lamb, Shingirai Masakadza, Christopher Mpofu, Raymond Price, Edward Rainsford, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams
Non-travelling reserves: Terrence Duffin, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Njabulo Ncube, Tinashe Panyangara, Vusimuzi Sibanda

Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) president, faces a second no-confidence vote after the board tabled the motion at a special general meeting on September 8

Firdose Moonda09-Sep-2011Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) president, faces a second no-confidence vote after the board tabled the motion at a special general meeting on September 8. The meeting to vote on whether Nyoka will be removed as president will be held on October 15.CSA confirmed the notice had been sent to Nyoka’s office and to his lawyer, but Nyoka declined to comment when ESPNcricinfo inquired whether he had received the documentation.This is the second time in the space of eight months that CSA have attempted to oust their president. They first removed him in February but Nyoka challenged that decision in the South Gauteng High Court. It was found that the axing was unlawful and he was reinstated.The latest effort came after CSA’s annual conference, where Nyoka walked out of a board meeting, claiming there were issues on the agenda that he was not informed of. Nyoka’s lawyer, Bernard Matheson, said the items included a complaint against Nyoka for breaching media protocol, objections about the way he dealt with press releases, and an allegation that the national team was concerned that he had set a poor example.Nyoka informed the board he would lay criminal charges. “He did not say who those charges were against or what the charges were,” AJ Sooklal, head of CSA’s legal and governance committee, said.CSA hit back, claiming Nyoka had “brought the organisation into disrepute” and “treated the board in a contemptuous manner.” They also accused him of contravening the Companies Act by receiving his annual honorarium in advance without the consent of the board.The latest developments were part of the year-long spat between Nyoka and CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, which started when 4.7 million Rand ($671,428) were paid in bonuses after South Africa hosted the 2009 IPL and the Champions Trophy. The payments were not processed through CSA’s remunerations committee (Remco) – although they were taxed – and were picked up as irregularities by CSA’s auditors Deloitte. An external investigation was set up to look into the matter.Eight weeks later, CSA moved the inquiry in-house because board members felt they had not exhausted their own procedures. A committee of inquiry was appointed under vice-president AK Khan. In November, the Khan Commission cleared Majola of any wrongdoing save for making “an error of judgment” by not declaring the payments through Remco.The first attempt to remove Nyoka came three months later, but when Nyoka returned to office in May, the matter was reopened. As part of his court battle, Nyoka asked that CSA undergo a forensic audit and KPMG were tasked with conducting it.The audit results were presented to the board on July 30. KPMG found that Majola could have breached the Companies’ Act in four instances and had to pass the matter on to a lawyer in order for CSA to take a decision. With the help of the South African Sports Council and Olympic Committee, Azhra Bham was appointed as the legal advisor.Bham delivered his findings orally to CSA the day before their AGM on August 20. The board issued Majola with a severe reprimand for his role in the bonus payments and resolved to institute better corporate governance measures. Nyoka did not attend the AGM for personal reasons and tried to get a copy of Bham’s report, which has not been released.The matter may end up in court again, further denting CSA’s reputation, and it has had consequences that directly affect cricket. With less than a month to go before the 2011-12 season starts, CSA is yet to announce sponsors for two of the three domestic competitions, the international Twenty20 team and all three international formats – Tests, ODIs and T20s. CSA’s commercial manager, Richard Glover, said the scandal had taken its toll because “the new sponsors want us to draw a line under the bonus saga before we make any announcements.” CSA’s only confirmed international sponsor is Castle Lager, who renewed and expanded their contract to include the Test and ODI teams in August.

ESPNcricinfo’s Plays of the Day from the second day of the fourth Test between England and India at The Oval

Andrew Miller at The Oval19-Aug-2011Disdain of the day
Kevin Pietersen’s ego is still a key facet of his game, but it’s not the only thing that makes him tick these days. Ever since his double-hundred at Adelaide during the Ashes, he’s become more adept at laying his foundations before going bezerk, but that’s not to say he doesn’t still know how and when to go into overdrive. Today, he saved his most ostentatious shot for the over after he had reached his 150. After sweeping Amit Mishra to short fine leg for no run, KP decided it was time to raise the stakes and flipped in his stance to unfurl the switch hit. The ball soared over what had been extra cover for a one-bounce four, as fittingly he drew level with his ballistic 158 on this ground against Australia.Stat of the day
Take your pick from a smorgasbord. In their entire Test history, England had only ever managed 13 stands of 300 or more, and yet, today’s third-wicket alliance between Pietersen and Ian Bell was their third in the space of 12 months. When KP drove a return catch to Suresh Raina for 175, their final mark of 350 was their seventh-highest of all time, but only the third-best at The Oval. Len Hutton and Maurice Leyland added 382 against the Aussies in 1938, while David Gower and Graham Gooch made 351 against the same opponents in 1985.Shock of the day
It’s happened on 15 occasions in his last 11 Tests, so we really ought to be used to it by now, but somehow, every time Alastair Cook plays a false stroke and gets out, an air of incredulity takes hold of the punters in any given stadium. That is especially true if, as was the case on Friday morning, his departure comes under cloudless skies and without addition to his overnight score. Given how abject India’s bowlers had been on the first day, the assumption had been that Cook’s 34 not out would soon translate into his 20th Test century. Instead, Ishant Sharma – their one redeeming feature on Thursday – found some lift outside off stump, and an unestablished Cook poked loosely to first slip.Plod of the day
Andrew Strauss’s form at the top of the order doesn’t quite qualify as a concern, but he’s not been feeling the force in the past few months of action. His 87 at Edgbaston was a timely reminder of his quality, and when he went to bed on 38 not out overnight, he had the foundations of a promising innings. But what followed was a struggle, as India tightened their lines with RP Singh finding the edge with his first two balls of the day. Strauss retreated into his shell thereafter. England’s first run of the morning came after four complete overs, and he didn’t double his day’s tally until the 11th of the day. But then, with the mid-morning drinks break looming, he flashed ambitiously at a wide one from Sreesanth, and left the field swishing his bat in anger.Helpless moment of the day
Virender Sehwag at leg slip. Not the best pair of hands and definitely not the most athletic. Ishant Sharma had been bending his back all morning, putting in the hard yards and trying to get the better of the England batsmen. Mid-way into the second session, he angled a short-pitched delivery into the body of Kevin Pietersen. Moving across to off stump, Pietersen flicked the ball to the right of Sehwag, standing a couple of yards from the spot he should’ve actually been positioned at. Nevertheless, Sehwag just stood there, hands on knees, helplessly staring as the ball rushed to the fine-leg boundary for four. A panting Ishant stood aghast mid-pitch, gazing, wondering whatever happened to pro-activeness, agility and simple effort.Comedy of the day
Thank goodness RP Singh does not have a BCCI contract. Initially it was his selection that raised eyebrows, then it was his innocuous bowling at a docile pace. Adding to the complaints column today was his terrible fielding, which was exposed in two successive balls. Pietersen, inching towards the 90s, belted Mishra towards wide long-off, where a startled Singh took off abruptly but stopped just as suddenly, having lost track of the ball; embarrassingly he could not even gather the ball on the bounce. Pietersen swept the first ball of the next over, from Sachin Tendulkar, towards fine leg. Pietersen’s shot selection may have been determined by the fielder as Singh rushed nervously towards the ball, bent his knees to finish the job neatly but allowed a boundary to slip through his legs. The laughter from the Oval crowd was the most mocking of the day.

New Zealand are toying with the idea of opening the innings with Brendon McCullum in the upcoming series against India

Sriram Veera in Ahmedabad01-Nov-2010New Zealand are toying with the idea of opening the innings with Brendon McCullum in the upcoming series against India. McCullum announced his decision to quit wicketkeeping in Tests in June so that he could bat higher up the order, but said he would continue to keep in the limited-over formats. New Zealand’s top-order woes have been a persistent theme for a long time, and they are hoping that McCullum will provide the solution.Daniel Vettori said there would be a team meeting in the late evening on November 1, where they would decide whether to bat McCullum as an opener or at No.3. “I think he can set the tone opening or at number three,” Vettori said. “Much like (Virender) Sehwag does for India. He really sets the tone for the team and takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the batsmen. I think Brendon can do that role, whether it is opening or at number three.”Wouldn’t it have been better if the decision on the opening role was taken before coming to India? “I suppose it’s the nature of not having a warm-up game and also, it’s the nature of our cricket as well,” Vettori said. “Those top three positions have been unsettled for the history of our game. It is a continual problem and something that we are always searching for. We are really hoping Brendon, with his experience as an opener in one-day cricket and his good form in Test cricket last year, can be a real solution.”McCullum sees it as an “exciting” opportunity and said he has decided to play aggressively. “In the past, I have been caught between the two approaches – aggression and fiddling around – and there have been a few interesting innings. Now I have decided that my best course of action is to be aggressive. I can take heart from the success of attacking openers like [Chris] Gayle, [Virender] Sehwag, Tamim Iqbal, [Tillakaratne] Dilshan or [Matthew] Hayden over the years.Those players have remained true to their nature and have been a success. I want to bat aggressively at the top and do well for my team.”McCullum said his preparations for Tests have changed since he gave up the gloves. “It’s a lot different but I don’t want to get it too complicated. If you are just a batsman you can spend a lot of time grooving your technique. But I am a reactive and an instinctive batsman. I don’t want to change that. I have just the lead-up to this Test in this new role; I am sure I will learn how to prepare as I go along.”

Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson played a part in helping the Gers to win the Premiership title in the 2020/21 campaign.

The Ibrox chief helped to form the squad that ended up securing the trophy and has built a team that is currently in the semi-finals of the Europa League, final of the Scottish Cup and second in the league table.

This has been, in part, down to some shrewd work in the transfer market as he has been able to snap up the likes of Fashion Sakala, John Lundstram and Joe Aribo – among others – throughout his time in Glasgow.

However, not every transfer window can go perfectly and Rangers have suffered as a result of that in the past as they have failed to sign their top targets.

One player the Gers missed out on back in the day was legendary centre-forward Alan Shearer. Walter Smith reportedly wanted to bring him to Ibrox whilst he was playing for Southampton and was unable to convince him to make the switch to Scotland as he ended up signing for Blackburn Rovers in 1992.

It is fair to say that the late, great, Smith will have looked back on that with regret for the Gers as the Englishman went on to achieve incredible things over the years.

He received many plaudits throughout his career and Liverpool legend Kenny Daglish was one of the people who handed them out as he said: “Alan is a player in a class of his own. He lifts the whole team and turns draws into victories. In a word: priceless.”

Former Manchester United man Paul Ince also showered praise on the attacker, saying:

“When I think about a complete striker and what I’d want as a manager as my striker is Alan Shearer. It’s not just the goals he scored, he was a handful, he could run the channels, his retention of the ball was fantastic and he was a leader of men. I don’t think we’ll have a striker in that mould again.”

He ended his career on 353 goals as he scored 206 for Newcastle, 123 for Blackburn and 24 for Southampton before calling it a day. His 260 goals in the Premier League remain the highest of any player in the competition’s history and this illustrates just how big of a blow it was for Rangers to miss out on him at the start of his career.

Therefore, the club made a mistake over the former England international and fans may now look back and wonder what could have been if Shearer had lined up for the Gers in the 90’s.

AND in other news, Gvb can axe one of Wilson’s Rangers “let downs” with “unbelievable” 27 G/A phenomenon – opinion

West Indies opener Devon Smith made a maiden century but his effort was overshadowed by Kieron Pollard’s blitz as he bludgeoned a limited Ireland attack all around Mohali to muscle his side to a tall total

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran11-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kieron Pollard smashed 94 off 55 deliveries to transform the game•AFPWest Indies opener Devon Smith made a maiden century but his effort was overshadowed by Kieron Pollard, who bludgeoned a limited Ireland attack all around Mohali to muscle his side to a tall total. Pollard’s effort helped to quell the criticism over his lack of performances at the international level, and gave West Indies their third win in four matches, putting them in prime position for a quarter-final spot.A fluent Ed Joyce steered Ireland’s sprightly reply but they lacked the spark needed to chase down the substantial score, though for the fourth match in a row they showed they aren’t out of their depth against top teams. They kept fighting even when hopes of a victory were lost, reducing the margin of defeat to 44 runs and ensuring that their net run-rate didn’t take too big a hit.The decision to replace the injured Chris Gayle with bowling allrounder Andre Russell meant West Indies had a long tail, and no batsman of note below No. 5. That meant Ireland would have been the happier side when West Indies crawled to 142 for 3 by the 35th over. The batsmen gambled by taking the batting Powerplay then; a wicket at that stage could have scuppered the innings, but Ireland couldn’t make the vital breakthrough and were helpless as the power of Pollard helped ransack 55 runs in five overs to shift the balance of the game.Ireland had two opportunities to remove Pollard in the Powerplay: John Mooney narrowly missed a direct hit from square leg when Pollard had given up hope of making his ground in the 37th over, and Gary Wilson shelled a catch at long-on after hurtling across to get to a skier in the next over.Over the next 45 minutes Pollard made them regret those misses with his now familiar brand of hitting, mainly muscling boundaries in the arc between long-on and midwicket. Boyd Rankin, Ireland’s quickest, was brought in to handcuff Pollard, but his short ball was walloped to midwicket and an attempted yorker was pummeled down the ground. Rankin was rattled by the ferocity of the second hit, muttering to himself as his fractional mistake was punished.A drive to midwicket in the 42nd over brought up Pollard’s half-century off 35 balls – he celebrated by kissing an arm band bearing the injured allrounder Dwayne Bravo’s number – but he was just warming up. The wickets tumbled at the other end, but there was no stopping Pollard, who capped a frenzy of hitting with 20 runs of an O’Brien over, which included a monstrous one-handed six that easily sailed over deep midwicket.O’Brien had taken four wickets for the first time in his one-day career, but the Pollard assault ruined his figures. Pollard was also in line for the second quickest World Cup hundred -after O’Brien’s epic against England last month – but fell attempting a six over long-off.The pyrotechnics at the end made up for a dull start to the match in front of a nearly empty stadium when the West Indies openers treated the dibbly-dobbly attack with undue caution. There were only six fours in the first 15 overs on a track that, despite plenty of grass, afforded little movement for the seamers.West Indies were dawdling at 3.5 runs per over when O’Brien struck in the 25th, getting Chanderpaul first, and Darren Bravo for a duck three balls later. Smith persevered and he stepped up his strike-rate in the Powerplay with a series of fours, reaching his hundred in the 39th over. It didn’t thrill the watchers, but for a side which has only managed four centuries in their last 28 matches, it was an important innings.Soon after, Kevin O’Brien struck twice in an over for the second time, though that didn’t stop the runs. Puzzlingly, Ireland used their best bowler, left-arm spinner George Dockrell, for only three overs.Ireland’s chase got off to a terrible start as Paul Stirling’s poor World Cup continued, dismissed in the second over. Joyce walked in and caressed his first two deliveries for four and Ireland sprinted to 35 for 0 in five, before Darren Sammy reeled off three maidens in a row and, combining with the pacy and accurate debutant Russell, created the pressure that led to William Porterfield’s dismissal.Joyce and Niall O’Brien steadied Ireland, adding 44 trouble-free runs before Niall played down the wrong line to Sulieman Benn. Joyce and Wilson then forged the biggest partnership of the innings to keep Ireland afloat, but just as Wilson picked up the pace with a huge six and two reverse-swept fours, Joyce was dismissed. Kevin O’Brien fell to a spectacular diving catch from Pollard and with that Ireland’s hopes were washed away.A controversial lbw decision by umpire Asoka de Silva, which wasn’t reversed on referral, ended Wilson’s stay in the 42nd over, but by then Ireland were hurtling towards their third defeat, and now need two wins to qualify for the next stage.Match Timeline