Awesome day for Irish

CRICKET One-day international: Whether it was the grey, chilly Belfast day or the residual jetlag from Tuesday's long trip from the West Indies, or simply some brilliant batting from Ireland, history was made in Stormont yesterday and for once, it had nothing to do with the Peace Process.

It is 35 years since Ireland last beat the West Indies. On that Sion Mills day in 1969, Ireland had only 26 runs to score for victory having bowled out Walcott, Lloyd, Camacho et al for next to nothing.

Ireland's batting task yesterday was considerably more demanding and they made the 292-run chase - Ireland's biggest to date in limited overs cricket - look easy in the face of genuinely quick bowlers who offered no quarter from start to finish.

Needless to say, captain Jason Molins was delighted with his team's performance. "This is an awesome result. We were disappointed after losing the first game and I think it shows some of the character and belief that is in this squad at the moment to come out and chase that total," he said.

"That said, while this is fantastic, our focus is still qualification for the World Cup and everything is aimed at next year's ICC Trophy where we can do that."

Requiring nearly six runs per over, Ireland got off to the perfect start with first Jeremy Bray and then Molins giving the West Indies opening bowlers a real seeing to. Ravi Rampaul was taken off after his first over cost 15 and Ireland raced past the 100 mark in just the 15th over.

Then, out of the blue, Rampaul, brought back from the opposite end, clean bowled Molins for 66. Up to then, it was as if the skipper was untouchable as he caressed the ball to the boundary with ridiculous ease, making these international bowlers look like village pie chuckers.

But he went for one big shot too many and found himself back in the pavilion with the score on 111 for 1. It was a disappointing end to an exhilarating innings but what a platform it set up for the men coming in after him.

Bray was joined by Andre Botha and they kept the momentum going until Botha gave Shivnarine Chanderpaul the simplest of catches at cover having scored 15. Bray followed shortly after for 71 smoothly hit runs, stumped by Ridley Jacobs off Chris Gayle.

Niall O'Brien and Peter Gillespie then took up the mantle, hitting the gaps beautifully, rotating the strike and then punishing the bad ball. There was a hiccup with 55 runs still needed when Gillespie was run out as O'Brien called him back for a risky second but such is the depth of the Irish batting, Andrew White was up to the task put in front of him.

O'Brien (58 not out) and White (32 not out) saw the game home to scenes of unrestrained jubilation by Irish players, officials and supporters.

After his century yesterday, the crowd had come to see Brian Lara make a mess of the Irish bowling figures but they had to wait a long time before the great man emerged from the dressing room, bat in hand.

To the disappointment of many, he dropped himself down the order to number eight and when, in the 47th over, he did walk to the middle, he lasted only three balls. Instead, it was lesser-known Trinidadian Dwayne Bravo who hit an impressive, unbeaten ton off just 65 balls.

Bravo, who is from Lara's home village of Santa Cruz, has certainly learned a lot from his mentor in how to thrill a crowd. Needing a six off the last ball of the innings to score his first century for the Windies, the 20-year-old lifted Andre Botha over the long-off boundary.

But this was to be Ireland's day and while Windies' coach Gus Logie contemplates a long summer ahead of him in England, Irish cricket has possibly never been so buoyant as the 2007 World Cup and a new chapter in the game on this island beckons.

WEST INDIES INNINGS

C Gayle c O'Brien b Johnston 31

S Chanderpaul c O'Brien b Johnston 2

D Smith c McCallan b Mooney 42

R Powell c sub b Botha 33

D Sammy c White b Mooney 3

R Jacobs c Bray b Mooney 40

D Bravo not out 100

B Lara c sub b Botha 1

I Bradshaw not out 7

Extras (6b, 2lb, 21w, 4nb) 33

Total (for 7, 50 overs) 292

Fall: 5, 46, 118, 133, 133, 264, 266

DNB: R Rampaul, JJC Lawson Bowling: Johnston. Bowling: 7-1-29-2, Eagleson 7-2-40-0, Botha 10-0-67-2, Mooney 10-0-67-3, McCallan 10-1-33-0, White 6-0-48-0

IRELAND INNINGS

J Molins b Rampaul 66

J Bray st Jacobs b Gayle 71

A Botha c Chanderpaul b Bradshaw 15

N O'Brien not out 58

P Gillespie run out 25

A White not out 32

Extras (3b, 8lb, 9w, 8nb) 28

Total (for 4, 46.5) 295

Fall: 111, 163, 183, 238. DNB: W McCallan, D Johnston, E Morgan, J Mooney, R Eagleson Bowling: Bradshaw 10-0-47-1, Rampaul 7-0-74-1, Powell 4-0-18-0, Lawson 10-0-53-0, Gayle 8.5-0-39-1, Sammy 2-0-19-0, Bravo 5-0-34-0. Ireland won by 6 wickets.