Spirited Performances

The warm-up games have come to their business end and there were two games played today - West Indies v Scotland and Bangladesh v Ireland. On one hand Ireland's spirited efforts trounced Bangladesh and on the other Scotland's inexperience saved West Indies an embarrassment.

Ireland is the favorite among the associates and everyone expects them to cause at least one upset in this tournament. No one has forgotten their triumph against England in the last edition. But their defeat at the hands of fellow associate Scotland couple of days ago would have come as an upset to the cricket followers. But Ireland showed why they are special and are rated high. They did not allow that defeat to dampen their spirits, in stead they bounced back to come with a performance that was not just convincing but thumping. Bangladesh were bundled out for a modest score of 189 in under 50 overs and Ireland chased it down in the 47th over itself. The hero of the chase though was Andy Balbirnie but the stage was set up by the Irish bowlers, specifically Mooney and Sorensen. When we recall Ireland's victory against England, we just remember Kevin O'Brian's innings but we are never reminded of Mooney's contribution with bat and ball in that match. This defeat definitely comes as a blow for Bangladesh and they find themselves on a shaky ground even before the start of the tournament.

In the other match, West Indies' nightmare continued when they found out that it was a little difficult for them to defend a formidable score of 313 against the not so favorite Scotland. However they survived the scare and won the game by three runs largely due to the inexperience of Scotland to handle such pressure situation. Scotland was very much in control of the chase till the beginning of the 49th over when they needed only 14 runs off 12 balls with 4 wickets in hand. Opener Kyle Coetzer with 96 runs and Richie Berrington with 44-balls 66 were the chief architect of this spirited chase. The turning point of the match was Richie's run out on the third ball of 49th over when they needed 12 runs of the 9 balls. After that Scotland could manage only 8 runs losing 2 more wickets in the process. There were useful contributions from MacLeod, Coleman and keeper Cross. Scotland would be proud of their performance in the warm-up games. Coming so close to cause an upset today and thrashing Ireland by 179 runs couple of days ago must have given them the necessary confidence for the main draw.

The other team that would take confidence from Scotland's today's performance would be Ireland (in addition to their win today), who face the West Indies in their tournament opener. This edition of the tournament is an opportunity for both these teams and the other associates to make a statement that they should not be ignored. Even if their chances of making it to the next edition in 2019 may be very less, but that would not dampen their spirits in this edition and they are not going to take this tournament any lightly.

In spite of ICC chief executive's admission that it is hard to guarantee large numbers of games even for leading Associate teams, I sincerely hope that the associates get more number of opportunities to play against the test nations. This is essential for the health of cricket across the globe. It is their participation in the world cups really give meaning to the word 'world'.