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It was a big day for Irish cricket. Cricket West Indies.
irish pride

'It’s not every day we go on away trips and turn over a side like the West Indies'

Ireland’s cricketers clinched a massive series win on a ‘sad day’ for the West Indies.

IRELAND’S CRICKETERS ARE celebrating a massive scalp against the West Indies — their first away One-Day International series win against a fellow Test nation.

Andy McBrine starred with four wickets and a half-century as Ireland edged the Windies by two wickets to win the series 2-1 at Sabina Park on Sunday.

“It means a lot to the team – the last 3 to 4 weeks hasn’t been easy on us, but there’s a fighting spirit left in us and we showed that today,” McBrine said afterwards, having played a central role alongside the in-form Harry Tector.

“There was a nice bit of spin in the pitch today – I just had to change up my lengths and keep it as simple as possible and force them to make mistakes – and that has happened in the last three games.

“I struggled a bit to get my timing with the bat, I just ground it out and waited for my ball as much as I could. Harry and I kept things simple, we were always up above the required rate, so didn’t need to lapse into anything we didn’t need to.

“Player of the Series means a lot personally, but I’m firstly just trying to contribute what I can to the team.”

Stand-in captain Paul Stirling echoed his team-mates words in summing up the monumental win:

We’re delighted, it’s not every day we go on away trips and turn over a side like the West Indies. Really proud of the lads that we can go 1-nil down in the series and come back to win the next two games and take the series. We may have been fortunate to win the toss three times, but we still had to go out and perform, so we’re delighted. We’re a pretty tight unit, we always have been, it’s one of our strengths.

“Harry Tector has been amazing – his consistency over his last 10 knocks has been outstanding, we hope he can continue that, but it’s not a time to put pressure on him. He has so much potential, it’ll come down to how much he wants it, and I think he does want it.

“Andy McBrine epitomises what an Irish cricketer should be – the heart he shows. It’s not easy to come back from being hit on the head, but he showed commitment and passion to help win us the game today – that partnership was key with Harry today, and all off the back of his bowling which has been magnificent.”

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard meanwhile, described the defeat as “a sad day” for his struggling team.

“It’s a sad day for us and West Indies cricket,” admitted Pollard, as quoted by AFP.

“We take responsibility and me too for the performance on the field. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.”

He added: “We just haven’t been up to standard. Now we need a holistic approach to go forward, not just on the field.

“It won’t happen tonight. We have to get together and decide where we want to take West Indies cricket.”

MATCH SUMMARY  

West Indies Men v Ireland Men, 3rd ODISabina Park, Jamaica, 16 January 2022 

West Indies 212 (44.4 overs: S Hope 53, J Holder 44; A McBrine 4-28, C Young 3-43)

Ireland 214-8 (44.5 overs: A McBrine 59, H Tector 52, P Stirling 44; A Hosein 3-59)

Ireland Men won by 2 wickets

- with quotes provided by Cricket Ireland.

BTL 5

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