Cricket On The Emerald Isle

[KingCostly]

Cricket On The Emerald Isle

When I heard you could manage Ireland in the newest Cricket Captain, I just had to get it! Despite being English, I have been a keen follower of the Irish team since the likes of Jeremy Bray, Trent Johnston and Andre Botha led them to some incredible victories.

Of course, now they are a Test nation and that brings a myriad of new challenges! I originally started this series as a focus on the young players only but I felt that took away from the journey itself so this version will see me play every game and feed back on it.

I will be playing on the Android version of the game on Normal difficulty. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Long-Term Goals:
- Win a Test Match
- Try and get into the top 10 rankings in ODIs to qualify for the World Cup
- Climb into the top 10 of the T20I rankings
- Try and get a player into the top 10 batsman/bowler rankings
- Develop exciting new Irish cricketers
- Be competitive against the big boys in all formats

[KingCostly]

Series 1 - Pakistan in Ireland

Only Test Match

Team: W Porterfield (C), E Joyce, P Stirling,
J Shannon, K O'Brien, A McBrine, N O'Brien (K),
S Thompson, G Dockrell, B McCarthy, B Rankin.
Unused: G Wilson (K), T Murtagh.

As expected, a very tough start to Test cricket for us. I felt we bowled quite well but a good partnership between Ahmed and Aslam saved Pakistan from a below par score.

The big problem for us was our batting. When your top scorer gets 38, you know you're in trouble. You can't score 166 in your first innings and expect to be competitive in Test cricket.

The second innings were more of the same. We bowled well in patches but another solid partnership put the game beyond us and then we were skittled for just 127.

It was disappointing to see as I went with a very experienced squad but it just shows the amount of work that's ahead for us at Test level. Maybe a couple of changes will be made for the next Test...

[KingCostly]

Series 2 - T20 Tournament in the Netherlands

Squad: W Porterfield (C), J Tector, P Stirling,
J Shannon, A Balbirnie, K O'Brien, W McClintock,
N O'Brien (K), S Poynter (K), A McBrine, S Singh,
G Dockrell, C Young, B Rankin, T Kane.

This was a good test for us and a good barometer of where we are as a limited overs side. As there were no ranking points at stake, everybody in the squad was given at least one game.

Wicket keeper Stuart Poynter saved us in the first game with a rapid 55. Opening bowlers Boyd Rankin and Kevin O'Brien did enough damage to give us a comfortable win.

The Netherlands are a good T20 side, however, and they thrashed us in the second game. Ben Cooper and Ryan ten Doeschate sent us around the park.

We ended up winning the tournament with two wins over Scotland. The Scots should have won the first game after we made just 116. Our spinners ripped through them, though, with George Dockrell, Simi Singh, Andy McBrine and even part-time bowler Paul Stirling combining for seven wickets.

The batting was much better in the final game with Andrew Balbirnie and Will McClintock both scoring big to set 169. Boyd Rankin tore the Scots apart, taking an Irish best 6-25. A good end to a pretty decent tournament ahead of a tricky T20I series against India.

[KingCostly]

Series 3 - India in Ireland

1st T20I (Of 2)

Team: P Stirling, J Tector, W Porterfield (C), W McClintock, A Balbirnie, S Poynter (K), K O'Brien, S Singh,
A McBrine, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: N O'Brien, B McCarthy, C Young, T Kane.

We batted really well in the first game with Balbirnie and McClintock both scoring half centuries but it just wasn't enough. When Kohli gets his eye in, you're in trouble! It was a very positive game from my point of view though.

2nd T20I (Of 2)

Team: P Stirling, J Tector, W McClintock, A Balbirnie, S Poynter (K), N O'Brien, K O'Brien (C), S Singh, A McBrine, C Young, B Rankin.
Unused: W Porterfield, B McCarthy, G Dockrell, T Kane.

I made a couple of changes with skipper Will Porterfield dropping to the bench. Unfortunately, his defensive batting style kills him a bit in T20. Spinner George Dockrell also came out of the side after some expensive bowling in the first game. Niall O'Brien and seamer Craig Young replaced them.

If the first game was a positive then this was even more so! We hit another competitive score - mainly down to the openers Stirling and Tector - and although we failed to take wickets like in the first game, our middle-order bowling was much more economical and we just about squeezed home for a fantastic series draw!

[KingCostly]

Series 4 - Afghanistan in Ireland

Team: P Stirling, J Tector, W McClintock, A Balbirnie,
S Poynter (K), K O'Brien (C), S Singh, A McBrine,
G Dockrell, B McCarthy, B Rankin.
Unused: W Porterfield, N O'Brien, S Thompson, C Young.

1st T20I (Of 3)

We started the series off poorly with a batting collapse in the first game courtesy of some really strong bowling. It took until the final over for Afghanistan to get home but I think they were always in control.

2nd T20I (Of 3)

A much better batting performance from us with wicket keeper Stuart Poynter once again shining. He can really turn a game in our favour in this format and his half century helped our spinners lead us to victory with the ball.

3rd T20I (Of 3)

Unfortunately we lost the series in the final game. We batted first again (I'm sensing a pattern here!) and scored a competitive 152. We lost too many wickets early on and that held us back - Rashid Khan doing most of the damage.

Again, the game went down to the wire but Afghanistan had enough firepower to win it. It's a shame we couldn't win the series but we ran a very, very good team close and that bodes well for the future. We used the same team for all three matches so I'm starting to work out my best team in all formats which is half the battle!

[KingCostly]

Series 4 - Afghanistan in Ireland (Continued)

1st ODI (Of 3)

Team: E Joyce, W Porterfield (C), P Stirling,
J Shannon, A Balbirnie, K O'Brien, G Wilson (K),
A McBrine, G Dockrell, B McCarthy, B Rankin.
Unused: J McCollum, N O'Brien, S Singh, C Young.

I was happy that we managed to restrict Afghanistan to 245 - a pretty modest total in 50 overs. The outfield was slow, however, and we could never quite keep up with the rate without losing wickets. A disappointing defeat.

2nd ODI (Of 3)

Team: E Joyce, P Stirling, J Shannon,
A Balbirnie, J McCollum, K O'Brien (C), G Wilson (K),
A McBrine, G Dockrell, B McCarthy, B Rankin.
Unused: W Porterfield, N O'Brien, S Singh, C Young.

Porterfield, underperforming again, was dropped but we practically lost this game in the first innings. Afghanistan batted really well and set us 304 to win - a total we were never going to chase down. We gave it a decent shot but their spinners turned the screw to put them 2-0 up.

3rd ODI (Of 3)

Team: E Joyce, P Stirling, J Shannon,
A Balbirnie, J McCollum, K O'Brien (C), G Wilson (K),
A McBrine, S Singh, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: W Porterfield, N O'Brien, B McCarthy, C Young.

We went with three spinners in the final game but the Afghans posted another good total of 293 - Boyd Rankin getting a five-for. Our innings was really well paced and it helped that the openers Joyce and Stirling both scored big. A six-wicket win at least saw us end the series on a high as we prepared for our first trip to Asia.

[KingCostly]

Series 5 - Ireland in Afghanistan

Only Test Match

Team: W Porterfield (C), J Tector, J Shannon,
P Stirling, G Wilson (K), K O'Brien, A McBrine,
S Getkate, G Dockrell, B McCarthy, B Rankin.
Unused: A Balbirnie, J McCollum.

Ed Joyce's retirement makes our batting lineup look a bit weaker. James Tector came in to open with Porterfield whilst wicket-keeper Gary Wilson and all-rounder Shane Getkate made their Test debuts.

Unfortunately it was a similar story to our first Test against Pakistan. We just couldn't score enough runs to make it a competitive match despite bowling pretty well again. We seem to really struggle against spin and Afghanistan exploited that.

At least Porterfield hit some decent runs and Getkate bowled well on debut. And we managed to avoid an innings defeat by one run so there's that... It's going to be a long journey to our first Test win!

[KingCostly]

Series 5 - Ireland in Afghanistan (Continued)

1st ODI (Of 5)

Team: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon, A Balbirnie,
J McCollum, K O'Brien, G Wilson (K), A McBrine,
S Getkate, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: J Tector, S Singh, B McCarthy, C Young.

We went with a fairly familiar squad - I was hoping the deep batting lineup (everybody bar Rankin is at least respectable) would favour us. It didn't make much difference in the first game though. A decent bowling effort gave us 272 to chase. Unfortunately we lost too many wickets early on and despite Balbirnie and O'Brien batting well, we came up short.

2nd ODI (Of 5)

Team: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon, A Balbirnie,
J McCollum, K O'Brien, G Wilson (K), A McBrine,
S Singh, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: J Tector, S Getkate, B McCarthy, C Young.

We opted for the extra spinner in game two, swapping Getkate for Simi Singh. It was another spinning all-rounder, Andy McBrine, that grabbed the headlines with a five-for to win us the match. James McCollum and James Shannon both score 50s to set a total just out of Afghanistan's reach.

3rd ODI (Of 5)

Team: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon, A Balbirnie,
J McCollum, K O'Brien, G Wilson (K), A McBrine,
S Singh, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: J Tector, S Getkate, B McCarthy, C Young.

Forgive me for not taking a screenshot of the scorecard from our best performance of the save! We batted first and scored a mammoth 300 - our highest total yet. James Shannon continued his great series with 105 and all the bowlers chipped in with wickets to bowl Afghanistan out for 200 and put us 2-1 up with two to play!

[KingCostly]

Series 5 - Ireland in Afghanistan (Continued)

4th ODI (Of 5)

Team: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon,
A Balbirnie, J McCollum, K O'Brien, G Wilson (K),
A McBrine, S Singh, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: J Tector, S Getkate, B McCarthy, C Young.

We lost the toss but thankfully Afghanistan put us in to bat. Despite the decent looking pitch, we struggled early on and just about posted a competitive score, Shannon and O'Brien getting vital 50s. Simi Singh bowled brilliantly, taking his first career five-for as he and George Dockrell bowled us to victory and a massive series win!

5th ODI (Of 5)

Team: P Stirling, J Tector, J Shannon,
A Balbirnie, J McCollum, K O'Brien (C), S Singh,
A McBrine, G Wilson (K), S Getkate, C Young.
Unused: W Porterfield, G Dockrell, B Rankin, B McCarthy.

With the series already won, I decided to change things around a little. Jack Tector, Shane Getkate and Craig Young all came into the side but they couldn't stop us from being comfortably beaten. We couldn't get any kind of rhythm going with the bat and Afghanistan chased our total pretty easily. Still, an ODI series victory on foreign soil - a big plus!

[KingCostly]

Series 5 - Ireland in Afghanistan (Continued)

1st T20I (Of 3)

Team: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon, A Balbirnie, W McClintock, S Poynter (K), K O'Brien (C), S Singh, A McBrine, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: J Tector, S Thompson, J Mulder, T Kane.

It was the same old story really against Afghanistan - their spinners make things extremely difficulty, especially in T20. We scrapped our way to 141 and despite a lack of wickets, we kept things tight until a poor last over from Boyd Rankin killed our hopes of winning.

2nd T20I (Of 3)

Team: P Stirling, J Tector, J Shannon, A Balbirnie, W McClintock, S Poynter (K), K O'Brien (C), S Singh, A McBrine, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: W Porterfield, S Thompson, J Mulder, T Kane.

And more of the same! Some good bowling restricted us to just 119 and that would have been under 100 if not for Andrew Balbirnie. We bowled well ourselves but Afghanistan were always in control.

3rd T20I (Of 3)

Team: P Stirling, J Shannon, J Tector, A Balbirnie, W McClintock, S Poynter (K), K O'Brien (C), S Singh, A McBrine, J Mulder, T Kane.
Unused: W Porterfield, S Thompson, G Dockrell, B Rankin.

A few changes were made with the series already decided. Young spinner Jacob Mulder came in for his debut and did OK. We set a much more competitive target of 155 in the final game, Balbirnie starring again. Some good death bowling from Kevin O'Brien saw us just about squeeze home and avoid a series whitewash to end our first season on a positive note.

[KingCostly]

2018/19 Review

World Rankings

Test :- 12th (0 pts)
ODI :- 12th (3 pts)
T20I :- 12th (2 pts)

On the positive side, we didn't lose any points! We're still yet to get off the mark in Test cricket but we picked up two more points in ODIs thanks to our series win in Afghanistan. We also added another T20I point with our drawn series against India.

Test Averages

A pretty poor return with the bat all round and that's what has really cost us in our first two Test matches, hopefully that will improve with a bit more experience. We've been better with the ball, Boyd Rankin leading the way with seven wickets.

ODI Averages

James Shannon, Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling have undoubtedly been the pick of our ODI batsmen and Kevin O'Brien is always capable of a big knock. Our seamers need to do better but our spinners, Andy McBrine especially, have looked good.

T20I Averages

Balbirnie and Stirling have also been the main contributors in T20 although young opener Jack Tector has impressed. Rankin has been our main T20 threat with McBrine and O'Brien also doing well with the ball this season.

Player of the Season

Andy McBrine (25 - LHB/OS)

There are a few names who could have won this but I feel McBrine has been probably the most consistent player across all three formats. He's contributed a lot with the ball and chips in with the bat too. His form this year has earned a move into county cricket with Glamorgan which should only help him improve further.

[KingCostly]

(2019-20) Series 1 - Bangladesh in Ireland

1st ODI (Of 3)

Team: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon, A Balbirnie,
J Tector, K O'Brien, A McBrine, S Poynter (K),
S Singh, J Kendall, B Rankin.
Unused: J McCollum, S Getkate, G Dockrell, B McCarthy.

I always prefer batting first in one dayers as I feel a decent total can really put pressure on the other team. Unfortunately, we couldn't quite reach a defendable target. Will Porterfield scored a fantastic century but he didn't get much support. Chasing 231, Bangladesh were never in much trouble. Young seamer Jimmy Kendall made his debut and did OK but was a tad expensive.

2nd ODI (Of 3)

Team: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon, A Balbirnie,
J Tector, K O'Brien, A McBrine, S Poynter (K),
S Singh, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: J McCollum, S Getkate, J Kendall, B McCarthy.

How we reached 259 in this game is a minor miracle. We were 2-3 in the second over and 84-6 at one point! Thankfully, Stuart Poynter and Andy McBrine saved the day and pushed us to a decent score. We built early pressure with some economical bowling and the wickets then tumbled.

3rd ODI (Of 3)

Team: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon, A Balbirnie,
J Tector, K O'Brien, A McBrine, S Poynter (K),
S Singh, G Dockrell, B Rankin.
Unused: J McCollum, S Getkate, J Kendall, B McCarthy.

Too many wickets lost early on again in our innings. Paul Stirling scored four runs in three games! It meant we couldn't accelerate too much towards the end of our innings. Then the bowlers just couldn't pick up wickets to exert any pressure on Bangladesh - it was an easy chase for them and gave them the series win.

[KingCostly]

(2019-20)Series 1 - Bangladesh & Afghanistan in Ireland

ODI Tournament

Squad: W Porterfield (C), P Stirling, J Shannon,
A Balbirnie, J Tector, J McCollum, K O'Brien,
A McBrine, S Getkate, S Poynter (K), S Singh,
G Dockrell, J Kendall, B McCarthy, B Rankin.

We started the tournament with a really disappointing result against Bangladesh. Andy McBrine picked up a five-for but we couldn't chase down 238 to win, falling five runs short. We then chased 277, however, to beat Afghanistan - Andrew Balbirnie hitting an unbeaten 98.

We got our own back on Bangladesh with a big win in game three. James Shannon and Kevin O'Brien both scored half centuries as we posted 290. George Dockrell picked up four wickets on our way to a 107 run victory. We secured top spot in the group by chasing down Afghanistan's 270, Will Porterfield scoring a majestic century.

We faced Afghanistan in the final and played really well. Dockrell bowled promisingly again as we restricted them to 251 - an average score. Skipper Porterfield came up with a captain's knock of 110 that helped us build a really strong foundation and we won quite comfortably in the end.

I didn't realise these tournaments included ranking points! Due to our 3-0 record against Afghanistan, it has counted as a series win in the rankings whilst our 1-1 record against Bangladesh gives us another point. Happy days!

[KingCostly]

(2019-20)Series 2 - England in Ireland

Only Test Match

Team: W Porterfield (C), A Dennison, J Shannon,
A Balbirnie, T Ruttles, K O'Brien, G Wilson (K),
A McBrine, G Dockrell, S Getkate, B McCarthy.
Unused: J Mulder, B Rankin.

I was really proud of our performance in this game. The toss was crucial and unfortunately England won it and batted on a glorious first day. We struggled with the ball and any chances of winning were gone.

Our first innings was an improvement on our past Test matches but 244 wasn't quite enough to avoid the follow on. Our second innings was much better. Debutants Tom Ruttles and Adam Dennison both looked promising and we killed a lot of time with some patient batting.

However, England just about reached their target with just two overs to go at the end of day five. It was a shame to get so close to a draw but the improvement we showed was very pleasing.

[KingCostly]

(2019-20) Series 2 - England in Ireland

Only ODI

Team: W Porterfield (C), J Shannon, M Gilmour,
A Balbirnie, T Ruttles, S Poynter (K), K O'Brien,
A McBrine, G Dockrell, J Kendall, B Rankin.
Unused: J Tector, S Singh.

Relatively close but no cigar. We batted first and lost too many early wickets which I fear is starting to become an unwelcome theme. Michael Gilmour came in for his debut. He's 29 but is always at the top of the domestic run scoring charts - he rewarded me with a score of 1!

James Shannon and Tom Ruttles got us back on track but once they went, it was a tough slog. All in all, 257 was a decent effort but England were always in control.

We dropped a couple of catches that could have made things interesting and Joe Root handled our bowling with ease as England won fairly comfortably.