Ireland breeze past Windies in first ODI at Clontarf

An injury-hit Ireland beat the West Indies by 124 runs in the first of their One Day Internationals (ODI) at Clontarf.

Missing the likes of frontline bowler Mark Adair and all-rounder Curtis Campher, Ireland gave debuts to Cade Carmichael, Tom Hayes and Liam McCarthy against a West Indies side preparing for an upcoming series against England.

The West Indies won the toss and put Ireland into bat with the hosts making 303 for six off their 50 overs. In reply, Ireland bowled out the Windies for 179 to take a one-nil lead in the three-match series. The second game takes place in Clontarf on Friday.

Ireland opened with Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling, who looked a little uncomfortable as Amir Jargoo and Alzarri Joseph applied early pressure. Indeed, Stirling survived an appeal for a catch at backward point before he finally got off the mark with a square cut for four in the fifth over.

Stirling and Balbirnie moved the Irish score to 82 without loss after 17 overs.

There was a milestone moment when a single off the last ball of the 17th over took Stirling to 10,000 runs across all formats, test, ODI and T20.

In doing so he became the first Irish batter to reach five figures; doing so on home soil would have been all the sweeter for the 34-year-old Irish white ball captain.

Ireland's opening pair took them past 100 in the 21st over and Stirling then reached his half century the following over off 61 deliveries, his 32nd 50 in ODIs.

Stirling didn’t last long after that as he became the first wicket to fall caught at fine leg by a running Gudakesh Motie off the bowling of Roston Chase.

The Irish captain's dismissal with the score on 109 in the 23rd over brought 22-year-old Carmichael to the crease for his debut and he would have been relieved to gotten of the mark with a single off the first ball he faced in international cricket.

Balbirnie, who was quite circumspect in his innings, passed 50 in the 28th over, his half century coming off a pedestrian 88 deliveries as the West Indian attack slowed the Irish run rate.

Ireland reached 150 in the 30th over when Balbirnie pulled Mathew Forde for six to the fine leg boundary before Carmichael nicked a Forde delivery to wicketkeeper Shai Hope and departed for 16 with Ireland 151 for two, bringing Harry Tector into the fray.

Balbirnie was dropped on 66 on the 32nd over by Amir Jangoo at fine leg, a catch he should have taken, and he and Tector took Ireland past 200 in the 32nd over courtesy of a fine Tector punch along the ground for four.

Ireland bowler George Dockrell (C) celebrates after taking the wicket of Roston Chase

Balbirnie reached his ton off 113 deliveries, his first home century since the 2021 series against South Africa, punching the air with a whoop of delight as Ireland looked to press the accelerator in the last 10 overs.

He finally went for a fine 112 in the 44th over with Ireland on 249 for three, which included nine fours and four sixes. Balbirnie would later pick up the player of the match accolade

Wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker joined Tector in the middle after Balbirnie’s dismissal as Tector then reached his 50 with a single in the 47th over, before perishing on 56.

Tucker (30) was spectacularly caught on the boundary by Brandon King, but George Dockrell (1), Tom Mayes (eight not out) and Andy McBrine (three not out ) took Ireland past the 300 mark or at the end of their 50 overs

Ireland had immediate success when the West Indian reply began as Tector ran out opener Evin Lewis for two in the third over and the visitors lost a second when Kasey Carty clipped a Barry McCarthy delivery into the air which was swallowed by Josh Little at mid-on with the Windies on 20 for two in the seventh over.

McCarthy had Brandon King caught behind for 19 and Amir Jangoo was plumb LBW to the same bowler without troubling the scorers as the visitors stumbled to 29 for four at the end of the ninth over.

Captain Shai Hope was bowled for two by debutant Mayes with his side now in total disarray on 31 for five and he was followed back to the pavilion by Justin Greaves for a bright and breezy 35 off 17 deliveries

The West Indies were 71 for six at that stage in the 15th over as Ireland cut through their batting line-up.

Ireland's fielding then got sloppy with three dropped catches as Chase and Forde shared a seventh-wicket stand of 96 runs before all-rounder Dockrell got rid of Chase for 55 in the 32nd over, with West Indies on 167 for seven.

Alzari Joseph was then bowled by Dockrell without troubling the scores, leaving Dockrell with a hat-trick ball which Gudakesh Motie sent for four. However Motie lasted only four balls before Dockrell had him caught at long on by Mayes.

Barry McCarthy took the last wicket as Forde was out for 38 in the 35th over to give Ireland a famous win, McCarthy taking four of the West Indian wickets in total.

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