The Pluck of The Irish

Big Harvey said next report would be a shorter one.  However, with some off field nonsense and if you thought the last game was a classic this certainly outdid it. Another great read.

I turned up at the Kyazoonga ticket window the day before the game to find about 30 mainly English fans milling around, waiting for it to open at the appointed time. The appointed time passed, as did approximately another 15 minutes. Then someone appeared, promising it would be open in “five minutes.” Of course that meant five Indian minutes, which are not a standard measure of time. About ten or twelve minutes later, the window finally opened, and after about a further 15 minutes of queueing I had my ticket.

I spent the day walking around this pleasant and forward-looking city, taking in the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, and admiring the huge government buildings. The ongoing Metro works mean that things are still somewhat dusty and chaotic at the moment, but once the system is open, I would expect things to improve a lot. And Bangalore is already a big improvement on most Indian cities. The auto-rickshaw drivers will usually agree to use the meter (during the day at least), which is unheard of in most cities. Some busy road junctions actually have not only traffic lights, but pedestrian crossing lights, too!

I wasn't expecting a massive crowd , but still turned up two and a half hours early, just in case the authorities had any more unpleasant surprises lined up for us. There were not many people about and no queues, so I decided to go for a spot of lunch first. After lunch my entrance to the ground was uneventful, although I did have to climb over a small bamboo fence. It was either that or walk around it and have to step over (and possibly disturb) three dozing police officers in plastic chairs stationed at regular intervals. As you will have guessed by now, there was the ritual attempt to part me from my hand sanitizer, my insistence on taking it in, and their apparent unspoken grudging acceptance that I would get my way. I wonder what they'd have said if they'd have known I had a pen in my pocket, though?

Got away with it

England won the toss and elected to bat. The only change from the side that tied with India here a few days ago was the return of Stuart Broad, back after missing the India game with a stomach bug, and replacing Shahzad.

England got off to another rapid start, with 22 coming off the first 3 overs. This was already looking like another of the bowlers' graveyards that have been all too ubiquitous in this tournament. KP in particular was looking as if he meant business.

Off the final ball of the 5^th over, Strauss was surprised by the pace of Boyd Rankin, and his attempted pull shot only managed to get the top edge near the splice. However it had just enough on it to beat Dockrell on the fine leg boundary for 6.

In the 7^th over came what looked like an horrific injury, as Kevin O'Brien, making a sliding stop at cover had his knee go in completely the wrong direction. Those (like me) who were present at the Brisbane Test in 2002 were reminded of the injury sustained by Simon Jones, although somehow O'Brien was able to continue after treatment. How I don't know. It looked awful in slow motion on the big screen.

As in the previous game, spectators were urged on the big screen to switch on Bluetooth on their mobile phones to download free video. Even the tannoy was urging people to do this, once again seemingly oblivious to the fact that mobile phones were strictly banned from being taken into the ground.

The England 50 came off just 7.5 overs.

By the 10 over mark, England had progressed to 72/0. KP's 50 took just 40 deliveries, and England were really motoring.

On a pitch like this one, it was always looking as if it would take a batsman making a mistake rather than anything brilliant from the bowlers to create a wicket, and sure enough, Strauss pulled a short one from the slow left armer, Dockrell onto his own stumps for 34.

KP was still there though and looking in excellent form. The England 100 came up off just 14.2 overs.

At the drinks interval I needed to rehydrate, and went to check out what was on offer. After my experience in a different part of the ground at the India game where there was no safe drinking water, I was pleasantly surprised to find a set of water dispensers where thirsty fans could help themselves to free water. They were fed by large plastic bottles, and the unopened ones appeared to have intact seals. A pity that directly underneath them was a large plastic box filled with festering garbage, which was attracting swarms of buzzing flies. Nice!

Brings water to your eyes

As often happens to well-set batsmen, the drinks interval seemingly broke KP's concentration, as an attempted reverse half-sweep dollied off his glove to the keeper. It was a shocking waste, just when a big hundred looked there for the taking. He departed for 59 and Stirling – The Middlesex man in the Irish camp – had a wicket.

This resulted in the run rate falling and silly shots being played. There was a farcical piece of running too, but sadly for Ireland the ball was thrown to the wrong end. Ireland were keeping it tight though, the run rate was falling, and the pressure on the England batsmen was building. If England's last match here was anything to go by, a big score was likely to be necessary.

Trott's half century took 54 balls, Bell's 61. England needed at least one of these two to push on for a really big score, but their partnership of 167 was broken in the 43^rd over when Bell lobbed a Mooney full toss to Stirling at cover for 81, and Trott fell in Mooney's next over for 92 with a swing and a miss, which took his off-stump. The timing was excellent for Ireland, since neither batsman had really started to cut loose. (288/4 off 44.3).

Things got worse for England as Prior fell cheaply, castled by Trent Johnston. With England 299/5 off 46 overs, they needed quick runs. Collingwood's towering 6 over long appeared to signal the start of the onslaught, but he holed out to mid-on at the end of the over to give Mooney another wicket.

With Yardy and Bresnan at the crease, the 48^th over bowled by Rankin produced just 3 runs. Likewise the 49^th over by Johnston, which also produced the wicket of Yardy, who was bowled having a desperate mow, having been emasculated by the Irish field placings.

Swann and Bresnan added 10 more runs in the final over, with the latter holing out to mid wicket off the final ball to give Mooney his final wicket.

327/8 from 50 overs.

Although a big score, the game against India, played in similar conditions on a nearly identical pitch  produced higher scores. The Irish had done well to keep their shape, but surely anything over 300 was going to be too much for an associate country, particularly given the lacklustre showing of the associates so far in this tournament?

Ireland got off to the worst possible start in their innings, Porterfield chopping his first ball onto his stumps to give Anderson a much-needed confidence boost.

Stirling pulled a short one from Broad for 6, but Anderson's next over was a maiden, the first of the match, leaving Ireland 10/1 off 3 overs. Stirling and Joyce upped the pace though, with a steady flow of boundaries, and Ireland's 50 (and Stirling and Joyce's 50 partnership) came up off 9 overs.

Just when he was really looking dangerous, Stirling skied to KP at deep square leg off Bresnan. His 32 had come off 28 deliveries.

Much was now depending on Joyce, but Bresnan, the introduction of Swann, and a well-timed bowling Powerplay kept Ireland effectively tied down. Joyce skied two consecutive deliveries from Bresnan, the first dropping just short of Anderson at short mid-on, the second horribly spilled by Prior!

At the drinks break, Ireland had reached 90/2 off 17 overs, and were just starting to look dangerous again. They were behind on the run rate, and needed to up the pace, but there were wickets in hand, and the boundaries were coming again. More were needed though, and quickly.

The 100 came up off 19.2, but this was not fast enough. Niall O'Brien's wild swing of desperation off the excellent Swann brought his demise, clean bowled for 29.

A couple of overs later, Joyce charged suicidally down the pitch to Swann, to end an innings that had never looked convincing. His 32 had taken no fewer than 61 balls, which given the circumstances was far too slow. Game over? It certainly looked like it. 106/4 off 22.2.

This was underlined by the large numbers of spectators leaving the ground.

When Wilson fell LBW to Swann for a 14-ball 3, wasting a review in the process, and leaving Ireland 111/5 off 22.4, I wandered over to talk to a group of Ireland fans. I knew they were playing India at the same ground on Sunday, and I wanted to warn them about how early they would have to turn up if they wanted to get in. I hated the idea of them having travelled all that way only to be unable to get in, or be caught up in some kind of rioting provoked by the incompetence of the authorities. They looked shocked, but I assured them I wasn't exaggerating.

I was barely even concentrating on the game now, although Kevin O'Brien seemed to be giving it some tap, which refocussed my attention. One Swann over went for 15 runs, including 2 sixes over mid-wicket! The latter finished his 10 overs with excellent figures of 3-47 though. The other English bowlers though were to have their figures wrecked in the most ferocious exhibition of hitting ever witnessed in a World Cup match!

What started as a little bit of light relief turned to genuine concern. The 50 partnership between Kevin O'Brien and Cusack came off just 31 deliveries. At the 30 over point, Ireland had reached 166/5 with runs and especially boundaries flowing freely.

With the hitherto economical Anderson brought back into the attack, only a single came off his first over, which prompted the Irish to go for the batting Powerplay. What then followed can only be described as carnage.

16 runs came off the first Powerplay over!

In the next over, O'Brien passed 50 (off just 30 balls), hooking Anderson for 6.

By the drinks break at 34 overs, Ireland had reached 205/5! England at the same stage had been 205/2, and their innings had been rather one-paced. This was definitely game on, although I was still adamant that Ireland were chokers and would collapse.

After drinks though, O'Brien not only carried on where he left off, but increased the onslaught! A towering 6 off Anderson, the biggest 6 of the tournament so far apparently, ended an over which yielded 17 runs for Ireland.

Suddenly the scoreboard was flashing up the Duckworth Lewis score, and Ireland were 10 ahead of it.

The pressure was getting to England as Strauss grassed a skier from O'Brien off Collingwood.

With 10 overs left, Ireland required just 65 off 60.

O'Brien's 100 brought  the house down (or the 50% of it which hadn't left after about 25 overs of the Ireland innings). Coming from 50 balls it was the fastest ever World Cup century.

Cusack, who had been almost unnoticed at the other end during O'Brien's heroics was needlessly run out in the 42^nd over for 47, but it seemed to be England as much as Ireland who were feeling the tension. Despite O'Brien being starved of the strike for much of the time, runs kept coming, some courtesy of some rather ragged English fielding.

With two overs left, O'Brien was run-out going for a second that was never there. 317 for 7 with 11 needed off 11 balls! Still time for a late choke, I assured my fellow England fans. No chance with the cool head of Trent Johnston joining Mooney at the crease, and Ireland got home with a Mooney boundary off Anderson with 5 balls to spare to complete an amazing victory in a game where they had looked dead and buried.

Applause, handshakes with rival fans, and once again recognition that we had just seen one of the greatest World Cup matches of all time. They'll still be talking about this one in 50 years time, and I was there! The partisan England fan within me still wishes Ireland's innings had petered out like it was supposed to, but it certainly makes the rest of our group matches interesting, doesn't it?