CRICKET:AN 11-RUN defeat in the end for Ireland but for 20 glorious minutes late yesterday afternoon the sell-out crowd at Castle Avenue were whisked back to Bangalore as Kevin O'Brien clobbered England over the ropes and hope, missing so long on a rain-splattered day, made an appearance.
Sadly it was to be as fleeting as the sunshine that greeted the arrival of the Irish World Cup hero, who launched leg-spinner Scott Borthwick for consecutive maximums to end his first over as an international cricketer.
It seemed the perfect scenario for Ireland, having been set a target of 87 runs in 10 overs with eight wickets left after the sides returned to the field at 5.20pm.
Paul Stirling and Ed Joyce had departed to leave the score on 42 for two after 13 overs when the rain arrived, with both wickets going to Middlesex’s Steven Finn, a present and past team-mate of Ireland’s opening pair.
Skipper William Porterfield was out off the second ball following the restart after a crazy stop-start attempt at a cheeky single ended with England wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter running him out for 15.
The expectant crowd cheered and clapped Kevin O’Brien to the middle, where he joined older brother Niall. And the decibel levels peaked when he went after Borthwick to raise expectations of another famous victory.
He had made it to 26 off just 15 balls with a very gettable 52 needed off 33 balls when Surrey paceman Jade Dernbach produced the ball of the day, an 89mph yorker that hit the target.
Dernbach had earlier accounted for Niall when he tried to lift one over the ropes after making 13 and ended all hope for Ireland when he had John Mooney caught on the boundary going for his second maximum as the home side closed on 117 for eight.
Disappointment then for Phil Simmons’s men but at least one Irishman ended up with a smile on his face as Eoin Morgan collected the RSA Challenge Trophy and the man of the match award for his earlier knock of 59 that added the spark of momentum his side needed following a pedestrian start as they eventually made 201 for 8 off their 42-over allotment.
Although greeted by a few comedy boos as he came out to bat, it quickly changed to warm applause, with the crowd appreciating his inventive shot-making, even if it was in an England shirt.
After going past his half-century he departed to a stunning caught and bowled from Paul Stirling, who held on to the catch two-handed diving to his right despite being unsighted by Jonathan Trott.
Morgan has been impressive this week both on and off the pitch, passing the first captaincy challenge set for the 24-year-old Dubliner by England coach Andy Flower.
“It was a good day for us, a challenging day with the weather that was around, but the guys held their nerve at the end and did well,” said Morgan.
For his part, Porterfield wasn’t looking around for any excuses, especially when it was put to him that his side got the raw deal from the weather.
“It’s swings and roundabouts. It probably worked for us a bit, worked for them a bit throughout the day. We thought maybe 87 was a bit much slightly at the end there off the 10 overs but that’s the way it goes.”
