Ever since Ireland punched above their weight to usurp Pakistan, Bangladesh and England in the 2007 and 2011 50-over World Cups, there has been a sense of intrigue surrounding the European nation. But in the last few years, despite achieving full-member status, Ireland have kind of lost momentum. Yes, there was a defining win over the eventual world champions, England, in 2022, but that has been the only time they have progressed to the main round of the T20 mega event since the 2009 edition.
So, how will Ireland fare this time around in the upcoming T20 World Cup? Can they cause an upset? For starters, Ireland are placed in a tough group, which also has the Asian giants, Pakistan and India. In particular, India have an amazing record against supposedly weaker cricketing nations. So, logically, Ireland’s best hope could be a third-place finish, ahead of Canada and the United States of America.
What about the squad that they have picked? Who are the potential game-breakers, ahead of their all-important clash versus India? Ireland depends more on collective strength than individual brilliance, but in Paul Stirling they have a player who can disrupt the powerplay overs. He is a fine player against spin bowlers who take the ball away from the right-hander, especially in the first six overs.
The one issue with Stirling is that he is known to get cute 20s and 30s without converting them into big scores. It shouldn’t come as a major surprise that his last three scores in the shortest format have been 21, 36 and 32. Harry Tector, the middle-order bat, is a good-looking player and has a noteworthy record in the 50-over format. Having said that, his T20 numbers aren’t great – 1345 runs at an average of just over 23 and strike-rate of 121.06. Andy Balbirnie, the captain, and Lorcan Tucker too haven’t exactly scorched the T20 format with their willowy prowess.
George Dockrell, lower down the order, has turned into a fine striker of the ball. Just under two years ago, Dockrell and Curtis Campher had shared a game-changing stand versus Scotland in Hobart. The interesting part of that partnership was the taller Dockrell targeting the straight boundaries and Campher being adept at bisecting gaps square of the wicket on both sides.
The one positive sign for Ireland’s batting unit was that in the recently concluded three-match series versus Pakistan, they notched up totals in excess of 175 in all the games. And they even hunted down a target of 183 in one of those contests, with Balbirnie and Dockrell’s contributions proving to be the difference.
Incidentally, this is what Heinrich Malan, the current coach head, had told yours truly after Ireland’s decent showing in the 2022 World Cup. “I guess, the way the summer was set up for us, we knew that we had a lot of T20 cricket, obviously the focus was on creating some clarity around that space,” he said. “And if you look at where we are at now, we probably have done that nicely, we have got a real understanding how we want to operate. Process driven. How we develop consistency around these behaviours.
“The way we started off against India, it probably gave a lot of surprise in the way we struck the way we said we wanted to play. Then when we were playing against New Zealand, there was a little bit of disappointment in the way we played, so that second part of our learning was probably, the real disappointment.”
Bowling-wise, too, their performance is subject to a group of players putting up a good show. Josh Little, with his waspish pace and left-arm angle and swing, will have to provide heft to the seam attack, alongside Mark Adair. Craig Young extracts some bounce while Barry McCarthy is a disciplined bowler. Ben White, Dockrell and Gareth Delany complete the spin attack. The one small silver lining is that they will open their World Cup campaign against India at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
During the Sri Lanka-South Africa encounter, the track offered enough assistance for the pace bowlers and, to an extent, to the spinners as well. Yes, India clearly have the better pace and spin attacks of the two. However, India’s spin threat might be negated to some extent, and it also gives Ireland a window of opportunity to strike upfront versus India’s top order. Will Ireland progress to the next round? Unlikely. The European nation, though, would believe they can give a couple of established nations a run for their money.