Ireland Tri-Nation Series 2019, Match 4, Ireland vs Windies, Preview: Caribbeans keen on continuing their domination on the hosts

If William Porterfield and his troops can churn out a win in this game, the Tri-series will go down the wire of the group stages to see who goes through

Published - 11 May 2019, 11:33 IST | Updated - 11 May 2019, 11:33 IST

3 Min Read

Windies can confirm their status in the finals with a win at the Village on Saturday as they take on the hosts for the second time this series. The world knows what happened the last time they met, some records were shattered and confidence of the Irish got battered. The venue for this weekend is 11 km away from the previous one and this track has been playing very slow.

There has been a lot of rain in the Irish capital on Friday and having wiped out the contest between Bangladesh and Ireland on Thursday, the host nation will be very desperate to win this one. A defeat here will make the other two group contests irrelevant as Windies and Bangladesh will confirm their place in the final.

But if William Porterfield and his troops can churn out a win in this game, the Tri-series will go down the wire of the group stages to see who goes through. A plethora of possibilities await these teams on another cloudy Saturday morning with the Caribbean men firmly the favourites to emerge victorious.

Playing Combinations

Ireland

Probable XI

There aren’t many options for the Irish to tinker with and might continue with the same XI. Joshua Little has been struggling with his lines after such a good contest against England. The experienced Boyd Rankin and Tim Murtagh will have to guide the teenager. The only possible chance could be Loran Tucker going out to make way for James McCollom.

William Porterfield (C), Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker/James McCollum, Kevin O’Brien, Gary Wilson (wk), George Dockrell, Barry McCarthy, Boyd Rankin, Tim Murtagh, Joshua Little

Windies

John Campbell missed out the last match due to a sore back and after some days of recuperation, he should be back. Their middle-order didn’t look in great touch after getting tamed at the hands of the Tigers. The likes of Darren Bravo, Roston Chase and Jonathan Carter need some runs to gain confidence. Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel will continue to lead the bowling attack with the assistance of Sheldon Cottrell, Ashley Nurse and Roston Chase.

Probable XI

Shai Hope (wk), Sunil Ambris/John Campbell, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Jonathan Carter, Jason Holder (C), Shane Dowrich, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel

Focus will be on

Andre Balbirnie (Ireland)

Andrew Balbirnie looks the most compact player in terms of technique in the Irish line-up at the moment. He looked in great touch in India while playing against Afghanistan and batting at number three, he should take up more responsibility. With the skipper Porterfield and Paul Stirling not giving the greatest of starts to the team of late, the onus falls on Balbirnie to make amends. A lot will depend on how he bats if Ireland are save themselves from getting knocked out.

Shai Hope (Windies)

Shai Hope has had a terrific outing with the bat, registering two brilliant centuries in the first two games. After a whirlwind of an innings in the first game against Ireland in the first game, he piled up a well-composed 109 in a losing cause against the Tigers. With Campbell’s fitness still in doubt, they need another explosive knock from young Barbados cricketer.