Ireland Tri-Series Match 4, Ireland vs West Indies: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

The first time these two teams met in the series opener, Ireland were handed a mauling. There was a record opening partnership of 365 as West Indies secured a 196-run victory, sending Ireland’s net run-rate into the pits.

However, West Indies were then at the receiving end of a something similar, as Bangladesh eased to an eight-wicket victory against them. With the washout on Thursday between Ireland and Bangladesh, all teams still have a chance to make it to the finals, given the double-round robin format of the tri-series.

West Indies will want to be threatened. They have a World Cup to tune-up for, and the objective in this series will not be to dominate, but to ensure all chinks in the armour are fixed. The middle order seems to be one of those chinks – the efforts of John Campbell and Shai Hope proved enough in the opener, but despite another solid start against Bangladesh, the West Indies middle order failed to power on. That will need to be addressed.

For Ireland, there are no such immediate concerns, given they are not part of the World Cup. However, tournaments against higher-ranked teams don’t come around too often, and they will want to make the most of it, especially given the ODI league set to begin later this year.

Happily, the forecast is for sunny weather on Saturday, albeit with some unthreatening clouds around. The game looks set to go ahead.

Head to head

So far, this has been hugely one-sided rivalry. The two teams have clashed eight times, and West Indies have won six of those matches. There was one abandoned match, in Belfast in 2017, meaning Ireland have beaten West Indies just once in ODIs – impressively, that was in the 2015 World Cup, in Nelson.

Key players

Kevin O’Brien (Ireland): If there is one Ireland player who can match West Indies’ big-hitting abilities, it is O’Brien. He already has one half-century against them from the tournament opener, and given his skills with his right-arm medium pace, he will be Ireland’s big hope.  

Shai Hope (West Indies): He has scored back-to-back centuries in the series, including a career-best ODI score, and has been lauded by his captain as a possible great. Hope has everything going for him ahead of the World Cup, and he’ll hope to keep it going.

Likely XI

Ireland: William Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker, Kevin O’Brien, Gary Wilson (wk), George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Josh Little

West Indies: Shai Hope (wk), Sunil Ambris, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Jonathan Carter, Jason Holder (c), Shane Dowrich, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel

Prediction

If the rain stays away, West Indies.