ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Class game.

Stand by my pre-tournament statement that England are an ordinary ODI side.

Shame we seem to be playing like one, too.
 
It was amazing. Started out in the library just me and another lad watching it on the computer. O'Brien went on the rampage and more people started trickling over. Someone brought cans. A library person came over to shut us up. We gave him a can and he started watching. A more senior library person kicked us all out, and severely admonished the other library guy. We charged over to the pub across the road. We made them turn over from Downpatrick racing. Got the beers in, and proceeded to go fecking bananas. Cricket.

EDIT: Damn you noodle, stole my finisher.
 
I am not a fan of cricket, but that match was absolutely outstanding. I could never get into that test cricket shite, but the ODIs can obviously be great.

If I had of known Ireland were 399 to 1 to win at one stage, I probably would have put a couple of quid on them. Balls.
 
Feeky_Magee said:
It was amazing. Started out in the library just me and another lad watching it on the computer. O'Brien went on the rampage and more people started trickling over. Someone brought cans. A library person came over to shut us up. We gave him a can and he started watching. A more senior library person kicked us all out, and severely admonished the other library guy. We charged over to the pub across the road. We made them turn over from Downpatrick racing. Got the beers in, and proceeded to go fecking bananas. Cricket.

EDIT: Damn you noodle, stole my finisher.
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How is Beanotown these days?
 
zing said:
The coverage's top class, but Sidhu's single handedly bringing it down to the level of Neo Sports, etc. What an annoying twat.
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Simon Doull should get an award for being the only person to like him, ever. He was actually jotting down his Sidhuisms.
 
Ironically, it seems its 20Twenty which has actually saved the one day 50 overs version of the game. Now that we are nearly a decade into 20Twenty, players have fundamentally changed their approach to limited overs cricket and in doing so, created a new genre of shots and bowling (the slow bouncer I mean WTF?!).

And so in time for CWC2011, it seems that players are able to transfer all these new skills into the 50 over game and it has all of a sudden become very entertaining again. And whether its gripping low score games like Bangladesh vs Ireland or the run feasts that have been served up by India, England and ..... Ireland (WTF?!), it seems now that 50 over cricket is just a longer version of 20Twenty. And for those of us who enjoy real test cricket and so happily commit to watching a full day (indeed 5 days in a row) its fantastic.

Its abundantly clear now that scoring 300 is no guarantee of winning like it once was and that on their day, any team can beat another. This tournament is starting to come alive .... there will be more seismic shocks like Ireland beating England (WTF?!) and so what looked like meaningless group stage games suddenly take on paramount importance and intensity.

Still cant get my head around what we saw this evening. If I were an Irish fan, I guess I'd be feeling as close to what we all felt like in the moments after the final whistle on 26th May 1999.

Just utterly utterly bonkers.
 
Frosty said:
Probably quite good - English cricket players become world class when they are injured and not playing in defeats!
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So he's a world class Irish English cricketer who's probably delighted at the result and delighted he wadnt playing !
 
I just posted in the cricket forum. I never thought I would do that.

David Cameron, Prince Harry, Ian Botham, Gary Lineker, Noel Edmonds, Fabio Capello

Your boys took a hell of a beating!!!!
 
AM not in England right now. Whats the reaction on the streets and on the radio's? Are the Irish expats taking the piss??? Are the English ashamed and belittled?
 
sammsky1 said:
If I were an Irish fan, I guess I'd be feeling as close to what we all felt like in the moments after the final whistle on 26th May 1999.
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I would say the people in that mood over here is very very small, and a large percentage of them will be related to the team.
 
sammsky1 said:
Still cant get my head around what we saw this evening. If I were an Irish fan, I guess I'd be feeling as close to what we all felt like in the moments after the final whistle on 26th May 1999.

.
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Not exactly no. 90% of the country will not know about until they read the morning papers.

I only heard about it on the train on the way home from work
 
Randall Flagg said:
Not exactly no. 90% of the country will not know about until they read the morning papers.

I only heard about it on the train on the way home from work
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so most wont have watched and so have missed the once in a lifetime emotional roller-coaster of bewilderment and astonishment. A shame. Im sure whichever young Irish boys were watching will be inspired to pick up a bat and ball over the next few days and start playing. If managed properly, this win should act as the defining catalyst for Irish cricket to take the quantum leap into the next stage of their cricketing development.

As for England team, erm, erm. ummmmm, Hmmmm. Not much to say really except stay under your pillows in the morning.
 
Just how do you begin to make sense of what happened under lights at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday? The cricket World Cup has seen upsets before. Zimbabwe beat Australia in 1983, and Ireland first came to prominence with that thrilling triumph over Pakistan four years ago. But Australia in '83 were a team in decline and the Pakistanis were a shambles. England, as they showed on Sunday night against India, are an upwardly mobile force.

You can look to other sports and still not find an answer. Argentina lost to Cameroon in the opening game of Italia '90, while the French slipped on a banana skin against Senegal 12 years later. But the French, with Zinedine Zidane injured, had played one tournament too many as a group, while the Argentines had always been mercurial and prone to implosion.

Comparisons with Ireland's Italia '90 adventure aren't accurate either. They may have been unfancied quarter-finalists but the man who scored against England, Kevin Sheedy, was a household name, a legend of the great Everton sides of the 1980s. Rugby comparisons fail too, because Brian O'Driscoll, who led them to a first Grand Slam in 61 years in 2010, has long been recognised as one of the game's greats.

So, where do we slot Kevin O'Brien and this innings for the ages? The only comparison that makes sense to me is with another team that played in green 42 years ago. The New York Jets were huge underdogs going into Super Bowl III against Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts, but Joe Namath played the game of his life to upset the odds.

The Jets were part of the much-derided American Football League, the new kids on the block. Against the might of the National Football League, they weren't given a chance. Their win paved the way for parity, for a level playing field.

The O'Brien family has some previous when it comes to such heroics. Let's not forget that it was Niall's classy 72 that provided the ballast for the tricky run-chase against Pakistan. A game earlier, Kevin's sturdy medium-pace produced a wicket-maiden when Zimbabwe needed just nine to win from 12 balls. They would only tie.

How wonderful it would be if this triumph could do for Irish cricket what the Jets did for the AFL. Ireland have proudly carried the associates' standard for two World Cups in succession. They're not asking for free lunches, just for a fair chance.

"The ICC have made the decision to reduce it [the next World Cup] to 10 teams and that's pretty disappointing," said William Porterfield afterwards, managing to look serious even with purple hair. "We will have to wait and see what happens in April when they decide if there will be a qualifying tournament. If we don't get in, it could be the death knell for associate teams."

As special as Ireland's three results in 2007 were, this easily eclipses them. Zimbabwe were there for the taking, while Pakistan scripted their demise with shots of staggering stupidity. Bangladesh just couldn't cope with a fast and bouncy pitch in Barbados

The elitists' argument has as many legs as Long John Silver did. A cosy clique works for those within, but it alienates everyone else, and destroys their chances of development. Sri Lanka won just two of their first 15 World Cup matches. Had the ICC lost patience after they lost every game in 1987, there would have been no Cinderella story in 1996.

Of course, Sri Lanka had a thriving school system to produce talent, and fine coaches. The likes of Ireland and Netherlands don't, yet, and they never will if young kids are denied the chance to dream of being the next O'Brien or ten Doeschate on the world stage.

This was my 25th World Cup game, and half a dozen of them have featured Ireland. No one who was there will ever forget St. Patrick's Day in 2007, Cotton Eye Joe blaring from the speakers and throats increasingly lubricated by Red Stripe singing The Fields of Athenry and Molly Malone. Those were I-was-there moments I'll treasure all my life, and the World Cup would be immeasurably poorer without them.

Having watched Ireland play and also in training, and talked to the likes of Trent Johnston and Boyd Rankin, it's not hard to guess why they so consistently punch above their weight. If you could bottle the spirit within the camp, it would sell as well as Guinness or Bushmills. They're a tight unit, and take such joy in each other's successes. Against a team of prima donnas or those that feel success is their entitlement, they will always have a chance.

As special as the three results in 2007 were, this easily eclipses them. Zimbabwe were there for the taking, while Pakistan scripted their demise with shots of staggering stupidity. Bangladesh just couldn't cope with a fast and bouncy pitch in Barbados.

Here, England made 327. Against Bangladesh in Mirpur, Ireland had needed just 55 from 81 balls with five wickets in hand when O'Brien Junior was dismissed. They feel apart. Here, Alex Cusack was run out when 55 were required with just 51 balls remaining. This time, there was no disintegration.

The previous highest World Cup score by a "minnow" batting second was Sri Lanka's 276 for 4 in the inaugural World Cup. That day at Lord's, Australia had made one more than England did at the Chinnaswamy. When the Powerplay was taken, Ireland needed 161 from 114 balls. Associate teams just don't do that against full-strength opposition. Neither do batsmen who play in the Leinster League after county contracts have been terminated make 50-ball centuries on the biggest stage.

Till now. This is the wake-up call that cricket needs. Embrace, don't alienate. Nurture, don't destroy. Take the Ghanas out of the football and the Irelands out of the cricket, and what we're left with would be a much poorer spectacle.
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Dileep Premachandran: A wake-up call for a cliquey sport | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo
 
sammsky1 said:
If managed properly, this win should act as the defining catalyst for Irish cricket to take the quantum leap into the next stage of their cricketing development.
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You don't half spout some shite on here.

Have you ever even been to Ireland ?

The vast majority of cnuts over here would have no interest whatsoever in what is deemed as 'an English sport'. They'll enjoy 'getting one over the English' absolutely but 'defining catalyst for Irish cricket to take the quantum leap into the next stage of their cricketing development' is hyperbolic twaddle that is symptomatic of so many of your posts.
 
Tumbling-Dice said:
You don't half spout some shite on here.

Have you ever even been to Ireland ?

The vast majority of cnuts over here would have no interest whatsoever in what is deemed as 'an English sport'. They'll enjoy 'getting one over the English' absolutely but 'defining catalyst for Irish cricket to take the quantum leap into the next stage of their cricketing development' is hyperbolic twaddle that is symptomatic of so many of your posts.
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Just who are you and whats your beef? There was nothing in my post even vaguely controversial or offensive. For the past few months, you have been obsessed into reading every single one of my posts in an attempt to find violent disagreements with them and use vulgar language to make weak and tenuous attacks on me which are mostly personal. Its sad. You dont know me, I will never ever give you that honour and yet I affect you so much that you pepper me with your bile. If you don't like my posts, don't answer them. Its simple. Or try and write in a civil manner.

Is life really that bad for you that you have to get your anger out on somebody you dont know! Its pathetic that some chap who posts views about sport on an Internet site has such an affect on you. You need to sort your self out instead of stalking me. Really, its not healthy.

On the internet, you cant hit me, or beat me up. All you have are the guile and power of your ideas and thoughts. Your 2 dimensional "I fink sammsky is a cnut so Im going to attack every post he ever writes" is frankly pathetic. It makes you look like an fool. Stop it.

Anyway, Im way bored of you, go find someone else in the playground who you think you can bully.
 
Oh my God! I just checked the scores for the England V Ireland and I can't believe my eyes. How in the world of holy crap did you guys lose to freaking Ireland? I mean they don't even play international cricket other than in the WC.

But I got to admit that it has been fun watching the real minnows of cricket this WC especially Netherlands in their first game and Ireland this last game. I just hope they don't give India a hard time.
 
Chapster said:
what's the point of the cricket worldcup
wouldn't it be better served with a 'cricket 8s' or something where they just get the competitive nations together?

having a team of 'canadians' (really Ausssie/english players with a tenuous tie to Canada who can't make their national squads) play in the world cup and getting trounced for 3 games does nothing for their development

Same for rugby
do we need to see NZ smash Japan 100+ - 0?
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I take that back. :lol::lol: well done ireland
 
Name Changed said:
I am not a fan of cricket, but that match was absolutely outstanding. I could never get into that test cricket shite, but the ODIs can obviously be great.

If I had of known Ireland were 399 to 1 to win at one stage, I probably would have put a couple of quid on them. Balls.
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Good stuff. Cricket's a great game. Particularly test cricket.

Congrats to you and your Irish brethren. Should you guys give a monkeys about it all, of course.
 
Tumbling-Dice said:
Don't flatter yourself, address the post.

You've never been to Ireland have you ? You have no idea of Irish culture have you ?

You are spouting shite and I'm pulling you up on it.

I couldn't give a toss who you are.
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Lets take each of your pathetic points one by one shall we?

Regarding Ireland, I have visited coast to coast north, south, east and west, and had Irish friends all my life including a brother in law. I have even advised the Irish tourist board on its marketing strategy which was subsequently implemented with much success ... so much so, I was invited to meet the Taoisigh and enjoyed a fantatsic dinner with him at the Farmleigh estate. I have even watched the Ireland cricket team play live. Does that qualify to me 'knowing" anything about Ireland?

As for "pulling me up on it" ... do you think you are an internet policeman or summat? The thing is you come across as pretty thick to me. You don't have the capability or display the intellectual prowess to pull up my trousers let alone get close to debating with me.

As for caring who I am, again your behaviours don't seem to back that up as you're constantly looking for my posts like some crazed stalker. The thing is, all my posts are pretty harmless and certainly have nothing against you and yet you consistently attack me personally for some bizarre reason that I would guess only you know.

After a prolonged period of forced upon interaction with you I have concluded that you are an uncouth, unpleasant nasty little man. I know the type: full to the brim with anger of bitterness. Life must be pretty sad for you if all you have time for is to 'pull up' random people on the internet. Is there really nothing more constructive for you to do?
 
sammsky1 said:
I was invited to meet the Taoisigh and enjoyed a fantatsic dinner with him at the Farmleigh estate.
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Of course you were. The word you are looking for is Taoiseach. Taoisigh is the plural.

Look, I really don't give a toss about you and I care even less what some stuck up ex public schoolboy on an internet forum thinks of me, but when you come out with shite like 'if managed properly, this win should act as the defining catalyst for Irish cricket to take the quantum leap into the next stage of their cricketing development' I'm going to have a little laugh at you. OK ?

There are two cricket pitches in Cork and they have extremely basic facilities. I've played on both of them. Cork is the second biggest city in the country. When I played cricket in England there were eight pitches within a three mile radius of my very small home town. Where I'm living now you'd have to travel 80 miles up to the city to find a pitch. This is GAA country boy. Cricket is a virtual non entity down here.
 
Sam.G said:
Good stuff. Cricket's a great game. Particularly test cricket.

Congrats to you and your Irish brethren. Should you guys give a monkeys about it all, of course.
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Ordinarily we wouldn't but there does seem to be a real buzz about this result. I was playing 5-a-side last night with a bunch of blokes who wouldn't know a cricket ball if it hit them on the head but they were all talking about the game.

Mind you, this is probably mainly because we're all so sick of constant bad news and a depressingly pointless general election.
 
Tumbling-Dice said:
Of course you were. The word you are looking for is Taoiseach. Taoisigh is the plural.

Look, I really don't give a toss about you and I care even less what some stuck up ex public schoolboy on an internet forum thinks of me, but when you come out with shite like 'if managed properly, this win should act as the defining catalyst for Irish cricket to take the quantum leap into the next stage of their cricketing development' I'm going to have a little laugh at you. OK ?
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Not sure what you're issue is here but you should wind your neck in a bit.

I'd say the the publicity around beating England could only be a good thing for any sport, particularly one which doesn't get much coverage.
 
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