Talk of the town

What they said about Ireland's historic three-wicket win over England in Bangalore

“I am virtually in tears, I can hardly speak. I just never thought this would happen. This has been the most incredible day in Irish cricket history. The fashion of the victory, the way we went about it, the team spirit; the calmness and assurance at the end. It is just truly remarkable. We just did it in such a calm fashion.”

– Former Ireland international cricketer and current rugby referee Alan Lewis

“This is one of the great one-day international innings. If you leprechauns can’t get over the line now, I don’t know . . . My mum could win it from here; you’ve done the hard work.”

– England cricketing great Geoffrey Boycott

“It’s a brilliant performance. I’m thrilled for Irish cricket. Irish cricket has been excellently organised over the last few years and this performance is their reward for all the good work on and off the pitch.”

– John Treacy, CEO, Irish Sports Council.

“On behalf of Irish Rugby, I would like to congratulate the Ireland Cricket Team on their magnificent victory over England. We would like to wish them the best in their remaining games in the tournament and hope that today’s game can act as a springboard to further success.”

– IRFU president Caleb Powell

“It was an outstanding innings – the gall he (Kevin O’Brien) showed to take the game to us in that situation. O’Brien struck the ball beautifully. He rescued them from a pretty perilous position to one where they were up with the rate and just needed to keep their heads in the end. It was a bit of a shock to us, and I’m bitterly disappointed.”

– England captain Andrew Strauss.

“You have to give credit to Kevin O’Brien and the whole Ireland side for the way they chased that down. They have a pretty experienced side and have done it before in World Cups – and they will continue to run the major nations pretty close in this competition.”

– Strauss again

“We just took a chance. You cannot write yourself off in any one-day cricket. That’s a long way the best innings I’ve ever played. It even eclipses playing in the back garden with Niall, where hitting it out of the garden was out. I think anyone is going to struggle to beat that innings. It doesn’t get any better.”

– Kevin O’Brien

“It’s brilliant for Irish cricket. I started following cricket when I was managed by Chubby Chandler, who looks after quite a few cricketers. It is not really a game I grew up with but I think it’s great to get a win over England and I’m sure Ireland has gone into overdrive because of it. I think most European countries go into overdrive when they beat England.

“It’s great for Irish sport at times like these. It is great that sport can give everyone a boost. It’s always good for productivity the next day, isn’t it?

“I started to pay attention to Irish cricket around the time of the RTÉ Sports Awards when I saw that little clip about Eoin Morgan, who went to play for England. It’s great that people are starting to pay attention to Irish cricket a little bit and great for Irish sport in general.”

– Graeme McDowell

“Beating England in cricket is huge for Ireland. I think we beat Pakistan in the last World Cup so they are obviously getting a lot better, which is good. I played a tiny bit of cricket at school but it was never for me. I like it. Obviously Ireland’s one-day side is a lot better than their Test side. Every time the Ashes are on, I will support England. But it is great for Irish cricket and Irish sport in general. Hopefully it is a good omen with the Ireland-England match coming up on the 19th of March in the Six Nations.”

– Rory McIlroy