Irish left in shock by unlikely defeat

CRICKET:As long as they live, the Irish players will never understand how they lost this game. Having done very well to put 284 runs on the board, batting first at Ruaraka Cricket Club, they then took nine Kenyan wickets for 231. As such, with just six overs remaining it was all over.

Or so you would have thought. But Thomas Odoyo had a different perspective. And he was the one with bat in hand. Put simply, the tail-ender hit 61 off 39 balls to win the game for his ado ring team-mates and as he was being carried off the pitch in triumph, Irish heads were gently shaking, incapable of taking in just what had unfolded.

The likelihood is Ireland's ICC World Cricket League campaign is now over. With Kenya and Scotland unbeaten, that those will almost assuredly compete in next Wednesday's final in Nairobi Gymkhana.

Two remarkably cruel and scarcely deserved defeats, to Kenya and Scotland, bookending an unconvincing victory over Bermuda are all they have to show and they will be devastated that with two games left they may have nothing meaningful left to play for.

Ireland lost the toss and were put into bat. Conditions were not easy early on as the ball darted around with early moisture in the pitch. Ireland soon found themselves 57 for 3, with Kenny Carroll, Eoin Morgan and Niall O'Brien back in the pavilion.

There then followed one of the great partnerships in Irish cricket history. Under pressure and in the face of some good Kenyan bowling, particularly from Peter Ongondo, Kevin O'Brien and William Porterfield dug in.

Some 227 runs later, O'Brien was run out off the last ball of the innings, having given Ireland a fighting chance by combining with Porterfield to post 284 for 4 off 50 overs. They broke a few records on the way. It was a record fourth-wicket partnership for Ireland, breaking the best by Alan Lewis and Garfield Harrison set in 1994, and the second-highest partnership for any wicket.

Having made his maiden half-century for his country the day before, O'Brien went one better and passed the magic three figures. It was a hugely impressive knock from the 22-year-old Dubliner. He ended up with 142 off just 125 balls, an innings that included 10 fours and six sixes. It was the all-time second-highest individual one-day score for Ireland, falling just one short of Jeremy Bray's 143 against Denmark in 2003.

Meanwhile, at the other end William Porterfield was playing another anchoring innings, just like he did the day before. And with the same result. He scored his second century in succession - his third for Ireland in total - giving the Irish contingent reason for optimism at the turn-around.

Coach Adrian Birrell had brought in a sports psychologist to help his pace bowlers get their heads right for this match but based on the opening few overs, it didn't work.

Trent Johnston went for 49 off his first six overs, while David Langford-Smith conceded 39, albeit picking up the wicket of Maurice Ouma early on.

But then Andre Botha, Kevin O'Brien and off-spinners Kyle McCallan and Andy White pegged Kenya back significantly, putting pressure on the batsmen as the run rate rose above six an over.

McCallan (4-36 off 10 overs) and Botha (4-42 off nine) bowled beautifully but Johnston and Langford-Smith continued to take punishment later in the innings as Odoyo carved out the most unlikely and exciting of victories for Kenya.

Elsewhere, the Netherlands lost by just two runs in another thriller against Scotland at Jaffery Sports Club, while Canada beat Bermuda by 64 runs at Gymkhana.