IRE vs WI, 2025, 1st ODI Review: Andrew Balbirnie, Barry McCarthy star as Ireland beat West Indies by 124 runs

Ireland outplayed West Indies in all three departments of the game in the first ODI at The Village cricket ground in Dublin on Wednesday, May 21, to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Shai Hope won the toss and elected to field first on what looked like an excellent batting surface. Andrew Balbirnie and Irish captain Paul Stirling capitalised, adding a 109-run stand for the first wicket in 22 overs. The latter was dismissed by Roston Chase after scoring a 64-ball 54. Cade Carmichael, making his international debut, could only manage 16 runs off 21 deliveries.

Harry Tector walked out to bat at No. 4 and batted with a lot of intent. He added a 98 runs off 81 balls with Balbirnie as Ireland got themselves a solid base. Balbirnie departed after scoring 112 off 138 balls, hitting nine fours and four sixes.

Tector scored 56 off 51 deliveries, and Lorcan Tucker's 30 off 18 balls also proved to be important towards the back end of the innings. Ireland could only manage 47 runs off the last six overs in their innings, even when they had seven wickets in hand at the beginning of this phase. The hosts had to settle for 303/6 after threatening to get past a 320-plus total easily at one stage. Matthew Forde was expensive for the Caribbean side as he conceded 68 runs in his 10 overs but picked up three wickets.

In reply, the West Indies batters struggled against the lateral movement produced by Ireland's new-ball bowlers. The tourists lost half their side with just 31 runs on the board inside 10 overs. Justin Greaves hit a flurry of boundaries, scoring 35 off 17 balls, as he gave the West Indies fans something to cheer for.

Roston Chase and Matthew Forde joined forces after Greaves' dismissal and stitched a 98-run stand off 109 balls to give West Indies hopes of an improbable win. However, George Dockrell dismissed Chase for a 76-ball 55 to wrestle the momentum back in the hosts' favour. The spin-bowling all-rounder also sent Alzarri Joseph and Gudakesh Motie packing as Ireland were on the brink of a memorable win.

Barry McCarthy, who had taken three wickets with the new ball, added one more to his tally to end the proceedings. Forde was the latter batter to be dismissed as he scored 38 off 48 balls. West Indies folded for 179 in 34.1 overs as Ireland won by 124 runs

Who Said What?

Losing captain Shai Hope said:

We've got to make sure we get wickets with the new ball, and then the batters need to set the tone in the powerplay. Hopefully, we can correct these things in the next game. (On Ireland) They play well, we needed to show a bit more intent. Let them settle a bit and the guys hit the right lengths, got into a rhythm and the rest is history. (On the plans for next ODI) We just need to set the tone from the start, we know the firepower we have with quality players coming in at the backend. This series isn't over yet, we'll take this blow since they outplayed us today. But we'll come back strong.

Winning captain Paul Stirling said:

Don't think we put a foot wrong. Everything went as we spoke, absolutely delighted. (On the debutants) They've come in and not looked out of place, a great thing for Irish cricket to see the depth of the talent out here. (On reaching 10,000 runs) I had no idea, delighted to get there. It was something I dreamt of as a kid but as a professional cricketer you can't dwell too much about it. Just going to enjoy with a pint of Guinness tonight and get back to practice tomorrow. He played a typical Balbirnie innings, saw off the new ball and batted through the innings. The way Lorcan and Harry came in was pretty special as well. I think the opening spell from McCarthy and Mayes started brilliantly. Mayes put the pressure on very well. (On plan for next game) Absolutely the same process for the next game, hope we can do well for Irish cricket," Stirling said after the comprehensive performance from his side.

Player of the match Andrew Balbirnie said:

We were itching to go, had a tough few weeks with injuries but guys have stepped up. Quick word on Paul - 10,000 runs is an amazing achievement. None of us knew about that achievement (10,000 runs), but he has been an incredible player for Ireland. He's still got a few years left for Ireland. Hope he can keep contributing this way for the team. That's the role I have been given - to bat deep. Some days it will come off, some days it won't. Lucky it came off today. (On winning the series) That'll be the challenge, historically we have been slow to get into a series with our better performances coming later on. But this sets up nicely for us. We know the conditions, they know the conditions, really need to pat ourselves down tomorrow and go again on Friday.