by Editor
Larry Cooney reflects on 2007, an unforgettable year for Irish cricket.
IRELAND completed their longest ever year with an emphatic victory over fellow World Cup cricket minnows – Bermuda in August 2007. Their margin of victory of an innings and 146 runs was achieved with four sessions to spare but more importantly summed up the kind of progress that Ireland have made in one unforgettable year.
After such a year of unprecedented success culminating in their historic St Patrick’s Day victory over Pakistan in the World Cup at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, it is hard to believe now that the year actually began with disappointment in Nairobi in a tournament Ireland were expected to win. However under the leadership of Adrian Birrell in what was then his penultimate tournament with the team, Ireland re-grouped effectively in preparation for their World Cup debut.
Not even some good World Cup warm-up performances seemed to capture the imagination of the Irish media in what generally was a low-key build-up to the start of the tournament on March 15th in Sabina Park against Zimbawbe. The opening match was expected to be the easier of the opening three ties involving Ireland but was still far from easy to achieve a good result.
Losing the toss as well as four early wickets, Ireland’s debut in the World Cup was already turning into a nightmare with just over an hour’s play. However a fine unbeaten performance from opening batsman Jeremy Bray meant Ireland managed to put on in excess of 220 runs which gave their attack a realistic target to defend.
With five overs remaining it still looked as if Ireland were facing defeat until a late surge of wickets brought about an amazing conclusion to one of the most dramatic matches in World Cup history. As Andrew White stepped up to bowl the last over Zimbawbe required nine to tie the scores. With one ball remaining the scores were tied until wicket keeper Niall O’Brien claimed Zimbawbe’s remaining wicket with a superb stumping to earn Ireland a share of the spoils.
Until that dramatic ending to the opening game the main talking point from the match had been the colourful and vocal Irish support which remained behind well after the match celebrations to salute their new-found sporting heroes. Little did any of the Blarney Army think what was in store two later on St. Patrick’s Day at the same venue!
Ireland captain Trent Johnston promised his team would perform much better against Pakistan than their opening game at the press conference following their tied match with Zimbabwe. He said he hoped that Ireland would win the toss because he felt that was the fourth ranked team in the world would not relish batting on the kind of wicket they faced that morning.
St Patrick’s Day arrived as many supporters, including yours truly set off from Ocho Rios, fifty miles over a mountain road, at six o’clock that morning, for Kingston. The weather was dry but cloudy as the Irish fans flocked into Sabina Park. Many had never even been to a cricket match in their lives before but there was just something in the air that morning that felt like it was going to be a very special Irish sporting occasion. I certainly had not felt so good about supporting an Ireland team who were such rank outsiders since the Republic of Ireland’s soccer match against England in Stuttgart in June 1988.
Like so similar sporting occasions when one supports the underdog, you just hope that things will go well and with so many Irish supporters in such high spirits in the Party Stand so early in the morning it was bound to lift the players as they came out to field at the start of play at 9.30. Within the first hour of play everything was going quite nicely with a couple of early wickets as the news of Ireland’s rugby team’s narrow failure in Rome began to filter through.
Two days earlier in the press box I had met one of the local cricket correspondents whom I said that we would need to bowl out Pakistan if we stood any chance of winning. After shaking my hand for the fifth time during the Pakistan innings he looked at me and said: “You know your cricket!” That was even before Andre Botha’s important contribution and despite bowling almost thirty wides, Ireland’s attack had Pakistan on the ropes and facing an inevitable bowl out for an amazing 130 runs.
Ireland’s bowlers had done their job but the runs still had to be scored against a respectable Pakistan attack. I decided to leave the press box and join the supporters in the Party Stand where for the first time in my life I witnessed so many supporters carrying Tricolours and Union Jacks supporting an Irish team. Many of the same supporters were also wearing their native county GAA jerseys.
I spent most of that memorable Irish innings in the company of a Yorkshire man from Leeds who was hired to support the groundsmen in the stadium between games. He was a man who knew his cricket and was in no doubt that Ireland would win if they survived those important opening ten overs of the power-play when the Pakistan bowlers and spinners would put the Ireland openers under pressure.
It was an uncomfortable opening ten overs but Ireland were still well on course for their historic victory until rain held up the celebrations at 4.15 for half an hour. When play resumed the target had been reduced but the light was also fading badly as Ireland led by a superb individual batting performance from Niall O’Brien anxiously drew nearer to their required total. After O’Brien’s unlucky dismissal captain Trent Johnston played out those remaining unforgettable overs by finishing with a six to complete what was surely the most outstanding Irish sporting moment of 2007 in a three-wicket victory.
The Irish team celebrated their historic achievement in the Jamaica Sunset Grande Hotel in Ocho Rios that evening at a St Patrick’s Night Banquet that will never be forgotten by all those Irish people who were privileged to be present. Although Ireland enjoyed another impressive victory over Bangladesh in Barbados, the memory of St Patrick’s Day in Sabina Park in 2007 will live long in the memories of all those who were present in Kingston that day.
Despite disappointing performances in many of the Friend’s Providence one-day matches Ireland still reproduced top form against Canada in the ICC Trophy final at Leicester. Similar to their match against Bermuda, Ireland have fully justified their tenth ranking in world cricket. However perhaps the most disappointing occasion of the year was in July when poor weather gave West Indies the perfect excuse not play in Clontarf. It was such a pity for all those new fans to sport who were denied a rare opportunity to watch a top class side in Dublin.
I also thought there would have been a better attendance in Clontarf for the Bob Kerr Cup Final between north Dublin rivals North County and The Hills. It was a great occasion but many of the other Leinster clubs should have supported the match if only to signify that Irish cricket is now enjoying the kind of lease of life that it has been hoping for sometime. As in Sabina Park, Andre Botha proved what an outstanding performer he really is and was surely one of Ireland’s players of 2007.
Copyright: Cover Point
