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.”

The Trinidadian duo – top-order batsman Jason Mohammed and unconventional spinner Sunil Narine – were the new faces in West Indies’ 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series in India

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2011The Trinidadian duo – top-order batsman Jason Mohammed and unconventional spinner Sunil Narine – were the new faces in West Indies’ 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series in India. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo and fast bowler Fidel Edwards were the notable omissions from the side.Both Mohammed and Narine did well in the recent Regional Super50 limited-overs competition, paving the way for their inclusion. Mohammed was Player of the Tournament in addition to getting the Richie Richardson Trophy after topping the run-charts with 227 runs in five outings. Narine rose to prominence during the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India where his mystery variations earned him 10 wickets at the impeccable economy-rate of 4.37 runs per over. He then claimed the Curtly Ambrose Trophy for being the top wicket-taker in the Super50, and was picked for the A-team unofficial Tests against Bangladesh.”In the Super50 Jason showed maturity, guts and fight in the way he batted on some difficult pitches,” WICB selector Robert Haynes said. “He scored vital runs to pull his team out of difficult situations, scored the most runs in the tournament and as selectors we also thought that with the pitches in Guyana not being very different to the pitches in India and Jason having done so well on those types of surface, it augured well for his selection to the ODI squad.”Haynes also said that Narine’s steady progress over the past year earned him a spot. “Sunil bowled well in the Indian conditions in Champions League for Trinidad and Tobago and then in the Super50 he was exceptional,” Haynes said. “Batsmen have difficulty reading him and we thought that he is deserving of his selection to show his worth against international batsmen.”He is also a capable lower-order batsman who can give the team 30 to 40 runs and overall we are impressed with the way he approaches batting both for Trinidad and Tobago and in the recent West Indies A match in St Lucia.”Darren Sammy will lead West Indies in the series, which kicks off on November 30 in Cuttack. Chris Gayle continued to miss out on selection, while Dwayne Bravo, who was dropped on form for the Bangladesh tour, was also left out.Squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons

A round-up of the latest round of matches of the SuperSport Series 2011-12

Firdose Moonda08-Jan-2012Cape Cobras held on to their spot at the top of the table with an innings and 54-run win over the Knights in Kimberley.The feat of the match came from the wicketkeeper-batsman Dane Vilas, who became the first to score more than 150 and make 10 dismissals, all catches, in a first-class match. Vilas was the star of the show as the Knights were skittled out for 218 and 160 in each of their innings.Between them, the Knights’ top three managed two ducks and a score of eight in their first innings, before Boeta Dippenaar’s 69 restored some pride. Rory Kleinveldt, who is part of South Africa’s one-day squad to play Sri Lanka, led the charge with 5 for 26.The Cobras fared little better and teetered on 106 for 6 before Vilas arrived at the crease. He combined with Robin Peterson for an eight wicket stand of 257. Peterson was out for 97 but Vilas went on to score the eighth first-class fifty of his career, a pacy 187 off 198 balls, including 23 fours and six sixes.Stunned by that effort, the Knights fell victim to Justin Kemp, who took 5 for 31, and fell apart. The massive loss was not their only casualty. Batsman Dean Elgar, who received his maiden call-up to the national side for the five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka, suffered a knee injury and was ruled out of the match and the international series. The Knights sit mid-table, in third position, a mere 2.66 points behind the Cobras.Even closer to the Cobras than that, are the Titans, who beat the Warriors by 202 runs in Benoni and are just 0.3 points off the lead. The national selectors would have watched that match with interest as a number of fringe players put their hands up for higher honours.Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who was playing in his first competitive match since October, took 4 for 90 as the Titans amassed 393 in their first innings. Faf du Plessis scored 112 and Albie Morkel an unbeaten 127. Wayne Parnell did not have anything pleasing to report as he finished with figures of 0-53 in seven overs and suffered a pinched nerve which kept him out of bowling in the second innings.Michael Price and JJ Smuts put on 113 for the third-wicket but the Warriors did not have too much other significant resistance and were bowled out for 264. Morkel took 3 for 33 while du Plessis’ legspin earned him 4 for 65.The Titans piled on the runs in the second innings, with Tumelo Bodice scoring 51, du Plessis 57 and Henry Davids 105. They declared on 326 for 6, setting the Warriors an improbable 456 for victory. An already tough task became impossible when the Warriors slumped to 10 for 3 in the fourth over, with Marchant de Lange doing the early damage.Jon-Jon Smuts defied the Titans for a while, with his 143, but had little support. Morkel picked up another two wickets and du Plessis 4 for 47 to end with eight in the match and give the Titans a comfortable win before lunch on the fourth day.

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.

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

Alexei Kervezee and Vikram Solanki both hit excellent half-centuries asWorcestershire beat Kent by six wickets in an entertaining Clydesdale Bank 40game at Canterbury

01-May-2011
Scorecard
Alexei Kervezee and Vikram Solanki both hit excellent half-centuries asWorcestershire beat Kent by six wickets in an entertaining Clydesdale Bank 40game at Canterbury.Solanki smashed a classy 59 from just 49 balls, striking 10 fours, and Kervezee69 from 84 balls as Worcestershire reached their victory target with three ballsto spare.They were at the heart of a superbly-paced chase after Kent, who won the toss,posted 232 for 8 from their 40 overs – a total which was less than theywould have hoped for when Martin van Jaarsveld and Darren Stevens were blazingaway in a third-wicket stand of 70 in just 12 overs.But Van Jaarsveld was caught at deep mid-wicket for a run-a-ball 81 soon afterStevens had fallen in similar fashion for a quickfire 41 which included sixfours and an effortless six launched over long on against off-spinner ShaaiqChoudhry. Van Jaarsveld hit nine fours in his innings.After that, however, no Kent batsman could increase the scoring ratesignificantly as Worcestershire’s bowling attack did well to restrict the lowermiddle order. Seamers Jack Shantry, Gareth Andrew and Damien Wright allimpressed as they shared six wickets.From 87 for 1, with Rob Key hitting 29 in a partnership worth 79 in 12 overswith Van Jaarsveld, Kent would have been aiming for a total above 250 -especially after Stevens arrived to maintain the early momentum.In reply, Worcestershire were given a perfect start by Solanki and Moeen Ali,who added 79 inside 11 overs before Moeen was trapped leg before wicket by JamesTredwell for 31 off 34 balls, with six fours.And Kent’s predominantly youthful and inexperienced attack could not containtheir opponents, even after Solanki hit 19-year-old off spinner Adam Rileystraight to Tredwell at short extra cover in the 17th over.Neil Pinner, a 20-year-old batsman, played a sensible supporting role as he andKervezee put the game almost beyond doubt with a third-wicket stand of 78 in 15overs. Pinner hit only one four in his 37 from 44 balls, but kept rotating thestrike perfectly.When Pinner was stumped by Geraint Jones, to give Riley a second wicket in apromising debut performance of two for 37 from eight overs, James Cameronarrived to help Kervezee add a further 46 in seven overs.On the verge of victory, Dutch star Kervezee holed out to mid-off whenattempting a big hit against Azhar Mahmood, but he had by then played thematch-winning innings.Riley and Ashley Shaw were making their competition debuts for Kent while18-year-old all-rounder Adam Ball had only one previous appearance, at the endof last season.They were included as Kent are currently suffering from an injury list whichincludes Robbie Joseph (leg), Dewald Nel (back), Simon Cook (finger), Matt Coles(knee) and Joe Denly (broken thumb).

ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI between England and South Africa at The Oval

The Preview by David Hopps30-Aug-2012Match factsAugust 31, The Oval
Start time 1300 (1200 GMT)AB de Villiers: captain, wicketkeeper and key batsman in the world’s No. 1 ODI side•PA PhotosBig PictureSouth Africa are tempted to smirk at England’s captaincy predicament, with Andrew Strauss’ resignation after the defeat in the Test series still fresh in the mind, and gossip sounding about how much damage Kevin Pietersen’s stand-off with the powers-that-be is causing English cricket. The England dressing room was a sad place in Southampton when Strauss stood down and if the opposition are not at their best it all helps South Africa implant their status as the best side in world cricket.Delve too deeply, however, and before too long they will have issues of their own. Nobody is sure quite how long Graeme Smith will want to continue as Test captain and whether South Africa’s rise to No. 1 in the Test rankings has silenced for the time being his occasional musings that he would like to finish his international career as a respected senior player with no leadership responsibilities.The odds are that Smith is a leader in Test cricket until the day he retires, but that all puts the spotlight on his replacement in the one-day side, AB de Villiers. He has recently taken on the triple role of batsman, wicketkeeper and captain in one-day cricket, but surely to do that at Test level, after Mark Boucher’s tragic accident, would be unthinkable. Comparisons with MS Dhoni, who fulfils all three roles but bats at No. 7, are not entirely valid.This is de Villiers’ third series in charge and in Southampton it all went swimmingly. Already he seems to be confirmed to keep wicket in the Test series in Australia before the New Year. Ranked No. 1 in all three formats or not, those youthful looks could soon be coming under pressure.Form guide (Most recent first, completed matches)
South Africa WWWWL
England LWWWW
Players to watch …Ravi Bopara’s place seems assured in England’s top six because of his ability to share a bowling spot with Samit Patel so that makes it hard to include the new kid on the block, Jonny Bairstow. One way to balance things up would be for England to play five specialist bowlers. The lack of Graeme Swann at No. 9 – he is rested for the last three ODIs – as a dangerous tail-ender makes this less likely, if not out of the question.Robin Peterson, once forced into a stock bowler’s role, now regards himself as South Africa’s attack dog in one-day cricket. When he conceded runs, captains and coaches used to question his ability. Then two years ago, he was given more licence to attack, finished the World Cup as South Africa’s leading wicket-taker and is now established in the side.Pitch and conditionsIt has rained in England seemingly since time began. It is not going to be quick.Team newsSwann’s withdrawal from the rest of the series means a probable return for James Tredwell, while Chris Woakes could oust Tim Bresnan after the latter’s expensive showing at West End.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 James Tredwell, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steve Finn.South Africa have not taken their media commitments very seriously since the end of their victorious Test series. They were an hour late for the media conference for The Oval by which time pretty much everyone had lost interest so it is hard to know what they will do. Albie Morkel is ruled out, though Dale Steyn could be closer to a return.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 JP Duminy, 4 Dean Elgar, 5 AB de Villiers (capt, wk), 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Ryan McLaren, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.Stats and triviaEngland’s appointment of Alastair Cook as Test captain in succession to Andrew Strauss ends their unique reliance on different captains for all three formats of the game.Paul Collingwood first suspected that Strauss was planning to retire when he told him he had bought a dog.South Africa last won an ODI at The Oval against England in 1999.Quotes “I jagged one down to him, he ducked under it and fell over. I remember the coach shouting from the back of the net, ‘You just got put on your arse by a 14-year-old!'”
“I like to take wickets instead of containing people. It’s probably the way one-day cricket has gone these days: the only way to control the run rate is by taking wickets all the time.”

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