HARARE – West Indies believe they have a score to settle when they clash with dangerous Ireland in their third match of the all-important ICC World Cup qualifiers today.
At the World Cup three years ago, the Irish stunned the Caribbean side by four wickets in Nelson, New Zealand, after producing a remarkable run chase to overhaul a competitive 304.
That preliminary round loss has remained with the Windies since then and captain Jason Holder said today’s contest at the Harare Sports Club would be a good a time as any to erase those bitter memories.
“It should be a really good clash. It will give us a gauge of where we are at and where we need to be going,” said Holder, who had been handed the captaincy just months ahead of the World Cup.
“Obviously, they beat us in 2015 in the World Cup and we haven’t played them since. [There was] a wash-out encounter last year in Belfast, unfortunately, so this is another opportunity for us to make wrong things right from the 2015 World Cup.
“It’s still in the back of our minds. Most of the players from 2015 may not be here but there are still a few faces around who had that experience in 2015, and I’m sure everyone will be pumped up and ready for this game.”
Like West Indies, Ireland are unbeaten in Group A, and will present the first real test of the tournament for their Caribbean opponents.
The Windies topped United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 60 runs in their opener last Tuesday and returned to trounce Papua New Guinea by six wickets two days later. Ireland, meanwhile, got the better of The Netherlands by 93 runs before beating Papua New Guinea by four wickets.
While the Windies’ batting flourished against UAE, with Shimron Hetmyer and Chris Gayle getting hundreds, it stuttered against Papua New Guinea and they needed Holder’s calm, unbeaten 99 to see them over the line.
Up against a strong, experienced Irish side, Holder said it was important that his batsmen played sensibly and maximised the innings.
“We’ve just got to give ourselves a chance. It’s important we soak up some pressure up front in our innings and try to bat as deep as possible,” he explained.
The top three teams from each group will progress to the Super Six stage, where they will play three matches against teams they did not meet in the preliminaries.
The top two sides will meet in the final and book their spots at next year’s World Cup in England.
But while the tournament has been branded as one of minnows, Holder warned that every team was a threat going forward. (CMC)
