If Wednesday’s ICC World Cup win was Irish cricket’s Stadio Luigi Ferraris, then Sunday’s five-wicket defeat to India in Bangalore was definitely its' Stadio Olimpico.
The Irish football team’s 1990 World Cup penalty shoot-out win against Romania in Genoa united a nation and gave a tired country dreams and aspirations that would ultimately remain unfulfilled. Reality bit hard with defeat to the hosts Italy in Rome a few days later, in a game that the home side were always going to win, but were pushed all the way by the sheer will of its less talented opponents.
Wednesday’s win against England set forth a torrent of emotion, from radio presenter George Hook’s on-air tears to dancing in offices and bars across the 32 counties of Ireland. There were messages from the President and the Taoiseach, whilst commentators and politicians spoke of how the Irish cricketers’ performance could help galvanise a nation reeling from economic turmoil.
But as Kevin O’Brien so sagely noted amid all the attention after his record-breaking World Cup century, there would be no telephone calls on Sunday night if the team lost to India.
He was right. It is back to earth big-time, and there won’t be thousands of calls for Ireland’s cricketers to answer. But the very least we owe them is a text, or a well done on Twitter. For there is so much for the Irish team to take heart from this performance against a team representing a sixth of the world's population.
Sitting in the middle of the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, a number of the Indian supporters wanted to discuss with anyone in a green shirt the miracle of the Irish performance. There was incredulity that Kevin O’Brien and Trent Johnston can star in a World Cup yet not play in a professional league, and astonishment at the Ireland’s team’s refusal to die.
Only when Yusuf Pathan launched a four and two sixes off George Dockrell’s last over were the 40,000 crowd becalmed and confident of victory. Ireland had India at 24/2, and then 167/5, chasing 208, and the stadium for long periods in the Indian reply was silenced as Dockrell, Paul Stirling and Boyd Rankin dried up the runs.
Captain William Porterfield’s performance throughout the game was inspirational. By no means the most talented batsman on the field, he grafted and hung on for 37 overs before crashing a poor delivery from Yuvraj Singh straight to Harbajan at cover, out for 75 when his tenacity deserved a hundred. His field placings were spot-on and his improvisations with the bowling attack when Trent Johnston was forced to leave the field with a knee injury really caused disquiet amongst the stellar Indian batsmen. Moreover, his own magnificent fielding inspired team-mates to match him, with opposition captain MS Dhoni complimenting that “Ireland made 207 look like 240.”
Of course there are criticisms, too. Star batsman Ed Joyce looks horribly out of form and scratchy in his three innings so far, despite seeming in good nick in the warm-up games. Key partnerships are being broken by erratic running between the wickets. Niall O’Brien was run out for 46 on Sunday, ending a third-wicket partnership of 113 in wasteful fashion when he and Porterfield looked well set for big scores. Added to the run-outs of Kevin O’Brien and Alex Cusack against England, either of which could have lost the match for Ireland, and there is obviously a problem that needs to be discussed pretty darn quick.
They are not sneaking a run to an Associate nation fielder, blowing on frozen fingers on a cold Clontarf May morning. They are taking on some of the world’s most instinctive athletes, and they have to quell that tendency to burst for the improbable second run and remember the value of their wickets.
But let us look again at the positives, and remember the key difference from the 1990 football World Cup analogy. Ireland’s defeat to Italy ended the fun, with only the open-top bus rides back in Dublin to look forward to.
Yet Ireland’s cricketers are still in this tournament, despite Sunday’s defeat, and two more wins could take them though to the knock-out stages. The game against The West Indies in Mohali on Friday is, as it always was, a must-win. Darren Sammy’s men are ranked only two places above Ireland in the world rankings and have already lost their star player, Dwayne Bravo, to injury. Another disciplined display on Friday, and Ireland's cricketers may be putting off their own open-top bus ride for a week or two yet.