ICC CWC 2015 Day 3

Ireland bt West Indies by 4 wickets


Ireland have pulled off a major World Cup shock, as they beat West Indies by four wickets in their Pool B match in Nelson.


West Indies batted first and struggled early on, as three wickets from George Dockrell (3-50) helped to restrict them to 87-5.


However, a massive partnership between Lendl Simmons (102) and Darren Sammy (89) came to their rescue and they accelerated in the final ten overs to post a daunting 304-7.

In reply, Ireland's Paul Stirling (92) and Ed Joyce (84) kept up a high run-rate during their partnership of 106, before Niall O'Brien (79*) hit a flurry of boundaries after Stirling got out.


Ireland lost momentum in the closing overs, as Jerome Taylor claimed three wickets (3-71) to set up a nervy finish.


However, O'Brien avoided a total collapse as he hit a couple of key boundaries, before John Mooney hit the winning runs.


This is the third time Ireland have successfully chased down 300 runs in a World Cup, and they next face UAE in Brisbane.