West Indies and Ireland will contest in the first of the three-match ODI series in Jamaica, with the hosts aiming to climb up the CWCSL table while the visitors aim to maintain their high standing.
Overview
West Indies vs Ireland, first ODI
Sabina Park, Jamaica
January 8, 09:30 local
West Indies will have their mercurial skipper Kieron Pollard back for the series after he missed out on the tour of Pakistan with injury. They will also count upon other experienced campaigners like Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase and Shai Hope who will be expected to guide the younger members of the squad. The three-match ODI series will be of vital importance for West Indies with vital points at stake as the series constitutes a part of the Cricket World Cup Super League.
Ireland who are currently placed fourth on the table will also be quietly confident about their chances, having been in good form in the 50-over format. They will be without the services of Paul Stirling, one of the top performers in ODI cricket in 2021 after he tested positive for COVID-19. With experience galore in the squad though, the visitors will fancy their chances of giving a tough fight to the hosts in a venue where they have some fond memories from the 2007 World Cup, having upset Pakistan.
Remember the last time
The two teams last faced off in an ODI series in the Caribbean in 2020. The hosts were in commanding form in the three-match ODI series, completing a whitewash. They won the first ODI by 5 wickets in Bridgetown and won the subsequent contest at the same venue by 1 wicket in a thrilling contest. They completed the clean sweep in St. George's, winning by 5 wickets.
Who remembers this dramatic finish the last time Ireland was in the West Indies??😬 #WIvIRRE pic.twitter.com/F53Wm9kmfh
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) January 3, 2022
Evin Lewis ended up as the top-scorer in the series with 208 runs while Alzarri Joseph ended up being the leading wicket-taker with 8 scalps.
What they said
David Ripley (Interim Ireland Head Coach): "It’s certainly been a challenging trip from the outset, having a few staff and players down at the outset didn’t help our preparation. We managed to have a good net on the centre square just after we arrived – but it was only one session, and our squad was short of seam bowlers to help facilitate the batters. So it wasn’t as ideal as it could have been. With Paul [Stirling] out of the first ODI, we’ll have a bit of an internal debate now with Andrew [Balbirnie] about whether he moves up to open, or whether we pick someone maybe outside the box to go in at the top – we do have several options and I’m pretty confident we’ve got some decent Plan B’s now that Stirlo is out of game one. It hasn’t been a perfect trip to date, but what we’re focusing on now is looking ahead and getting some decent cricket under our belts.”
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