All posts by n8rngtd.top

Perry suffered back spasms and was forced off the field during Australia’s win against South Africa

AAP24-Mar-2022Injured allrounder Ellyse Perry has been ruled out of Australia’s last World Cup group game against Bangladesh on Friday, but they expect her to be fit for next week’s semi-finals.Perry suffered back spasms and was forced from the field during Australia’s win against South Africa on Tuesday. Australia’s physiotherapist Kate Beerworth said Perry’s back is settling with treatment.”She won’t play tomorrow but we expect that she will be available for the semi-final,” Beerworth said on Thursday.Perry was hurt when tumbling over a boundary rope in a fielding attempt against South Africa. She didn’t bat as Australia banked their sixth consecutive win of the World Cup.The Australians chased down South Africa’s 271 for 5 to win with 28 balls to spare after earlier in the tournament, reeling in India’s 277 for 7 to triumph with three balls remaining.Those victorious chases, propelled by captain Meg Lanning’s 97 and unbeaten 135, has further enhanced Australia’s belief, spinner Jess Jonassen said.”It’s huge, particularly for our batting group,” she told reporters on Thursday. “It was a really pleasing thing for our batting group to be able to go out and put a marker out there, I guess, make a statement.”The India game got a bit closer than we would have liked…[but] coming into our last-round game and then the finals, hopefully, it gives them even more confidence in higher pressure games.”And Jonassen warned that despite Australia’s perfect record in the tournament – they’re the only undefeated nation – there was some improvement to come.”It’s something that we have identified throughout the whole tournament so far that we are building towards this business end of the tournament,” she said. “I see Ash Gardner made the comments the other day that we’re looking for the perfect game, but ultimately, we are just looking to improve every game in different areas.”And we still have a bit to improve on, particularly with the ball. Against South Africa, we weren’t able to take wickets upfront, but we were able to hold them.”So just needing to tighten up in a few areas, which I think is really exciting considering we have gone undefeated whilst still identifying areas that we can still improve on.”

Notts consolidate top spot despite Moores, Clarke and Budinger’s absences

ECB Reporters' Network01-Jul-2021A half-century from Samit Patel saw North Group leaders Nottinghamshire Outlaws home by six wickets with 13 balls to spare as the Foxes slumped to an eighth defeat of the Vitality Blast season.Patel hit six fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 63 and shared a 99-run fourth-wicket stand with Ben Slater, who made 48 from 31 balls in his first Twenty20 match for three years, as the Outlaws chased down a target of 155, the Foxes dropping three catches on a poor night in the field.Legspinner Calvin Harrison took 3 for 20 and Luke Fletcher 3 for 31 as Leicestershire were bowled out for 154 in precisely 20 overs, Harry Swindells top-scoring with 36, Arron Lilley and Ben Mike each hitting 27.The Outlaws were forced to make three changes with Tom Moores unwell and both Joe Clarke and Sol Budinger obliged to wait for Covid tests after being alerted by the NHS app.An eventful Powerplay saw the Foxes post 47 for 2. They lost Scott Steel for a duck in the first over as Ben Duckett – keeping wicket for the absent Moores – showed neat glovework. Lilley survived on one as Fletcher and Lyndon James collided under a top-edged reverse-sweep and made them pay with 27 off 20 balls before he was yorked.They lost momentum after wickets fell in consecutive balls to Harrison, Josh Inglis finding long-off before Colin Ackermann chipped back to the bowler.Calvin Harrison was in the wickets•PA Images/Getty

Lewis Hill lofted sixes off Steven Mullaney and offspinner Matt Carter but was caught at midwicket off Fletcher, Rishi Patel was lbw sweeping as Harrison picked up his third wicket and Swindells misjudged a slower ball to be caught at mid-off. Naveen was run out and Fletcher was rewarded with wickets in his last two overs and though Mike clubbed two sixes off Ball, the Foxes’ total looked below par.Duckett, who hit Callum Parkinson to deep backward square, and Alex Hales, caught at point off Naveen-ul-Haq’s first ball, having just survived a run-out chance that saw Lilley ticked off for dissent. Peter Trego perished to a beauty from Naveen but 58 for 3 saw them ahead in the Powerplay.Patel was dropped at backward point on 10 off Naveen and at short midwicket on 26 off Steel, albeit both difficult chances, but he and Slater brought the target down to 71 at halfway. Slater had an escape when he was spilled at extra cover off Mike on 37.Slater missed out on a half-century, trapped in front by Parkinson, before Patel drove Naveen through the covers to finish the job.

Home side trails by 148 with five wickets down after Will Rhodes 82, Dan Mousley 45*

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2023Warwickshire 197 for 5 (Rhodes 82, Mousley 45*) trail Lancashire 327 (Balderson 116, Bailey 75) by 148 runsGeorge Balderson’s maiden first-class century illuminated a grey second day as Warwickshire and Lancashire grind towards a draw in their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.On a cloudy morning, Lancashire all-rounder Balderson extended his overnight 94 to 116 out of his side’s 327 all out before the home side replied with 179 for 5.On a slow pitch, diligence has been required throughout from batters and Balderson showed plenty of it, spending 44 balls in the nineties before reaching his richly-deserved ton. Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes then showed similar resolve to compile 82 from 168 balls.With time lost to the weather on day two and a forecast suggesting little or no play on the fourth day, this match appears doomed to a draw already with batters forced on to the defensive by capable seam bowling on a slow pitch.After resuming on 295 for 7 on the second morning, Lancashire lost Tom Bailey for 75 to the second ball, lbw to a big inswinger from Hamza Mir. That concluded a partnership of 145 in 45 overs between Bailey and Balderson and when Will Williams quickly fell the same way, Balderson still required five runs for his maiden ton with just last man Jack Morley for company.Unlike at Lord’s in 1895, when Sammy Woods generously served up a deliberate leg-side full toss so that WG Grace could reach his hundredth hundred, Balderson was made to earn every run towards his milestone before he edged Olly Hannon-Dalby to the boundary at third.Morley stuck around while 30 were added and doubled his previous first-class run tally of nine before nicking a slog at Danny Briggs.In reply, Warwickshire’s openers fell in the first seven overs, both deciding too late to leave the ball as Alex Davies played on to Williams and Rob Yates edged Bailey behind. Rhodes and Sam Hain then added 68 in 28 overs either side of a rain break, Hain arriving into double-figures after 69 balls before falling, strangled down the leg side off Balderson, for 15 off 79.At 82 for 3, further quick wickets would have moved Lancashire into a strong position, but Rhodes and Dan Mousley batted watchfully to add 77 in 22 overs. Bailey continued his impressive match by trapping Rhodes lbw and Ed Barnard tickled Balderson down the leg side to the keeper but Mousley, after a skittish start, settled to play with authority and reach the close unbeaten on 45.

Neil Dexter’s half-century the mainstay for visitors after they won the toss at Cheltenham

ECB Reporters Network15-Jul-2019
Matt Taylor and Ethan Bamber led the way with three wickets apiece as Gloucestershire bowled out Leicestershire for 252 on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Cheltenham.Left-arm seamer Taylor returned 3 for 39 from 18 overs and debutant Bamber 3 for 53 from 22.3 overs after the visitors had won the toss and elected to take first use of what looked likely to be a good batting wicket. Neil Dexter and Paul Horton top scored for Leicestershire, who were reined in by more miserly bowling from Ryan Higgins in sunny conditions at the College Ground.The opening day of the annual festival began with new loan recruit Bamber taking a wicket with only his second ball for Gloucestershire as Hassan Azad was caught behind down the leg side by wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick in the second over.Signed to replace Josh Shaw following his recall by Yorkshire, the 20-year-old Middlesex seamer went on to beat the bat on several occasions in sending down 23 overs.It was soon looking a decent pitch as Horton and Dexter added 73 for the second wicket under sunny skies before Horton fell lbw to Taylor, having faced 60 balls and hit 8 fours.Dexter was unbeaten on 29 at lunch, which was taken at 92 for 2. That became 124 for 3 in the afternoon session when Colin Ackermann, on 21, miscued an attempted pull shot off Taylor and skied to Graeme van Buuuren at mid-wicket.Taylor’s six-over post-lunch spell from the Chapel End included three maidens and saw him concede only three runs. Harry Dearden and Ben Mike, the latter playing in place of Mark Cosgrove, who suffered a blow on the head batting in the nets before the game, could make only 7 apiece before being bowled by Higgins and Benny Howell respectively.When Dexter’s patient 178-ball knock ended with an edge to second slip off Sayers, Leicestershire were 151 for 6 and in danger of not collecting a batting point. But either side of tea, Callum Parkinson and young wicketkeeper Harry Swindells added 46 in solid fashion before Parkinson, on 19, became a third victim for Taylor, lbw looking to play a full delivery through the leg side.The second new ball was taken at 199 for 7 by which time Chris Wright had joined Swindells and quickly began to assert with some meaty boundaries.Swindells produced one of the shots of the day to square drive Higgins through the covers for four, but departed leg-before to the next delivery for a well-made 32 on only his third first-class appearance, with the score on 226.Wright also played well for his 30 before being bowled by Bamber with less than three overs remaining in the day’s play. Last man Mohammad Abbas then secured a second batting point for Leicestershire by clipping Higgins off his toes for two before being caught in the slips off Bamber to end play.Gloucestershire were without young batsman Ben Charlesworth because of a hand injury and selected left-arm spinner Tom Smith for his first Championship appearance of the season, believing the pitch will turn as the match progresses.

RCB captain du Plessis says Kohli is in good spirits and is seeing the “lighter side of it”

Sidharth Monga13-May-2022Virat Kohli believes a big innings is around the corner, his IPL captain Faf du Plessis has said, and the Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Mike Hesson is not ruling out that big innings in their final league match, which could well be a must-win affair.Kohli has not scored an international century since the end of 2019, but his T20 batting has been cause for bigger concern. In this IPL, he has scored three golden ducks, has been run out twice, and on Friday he managed to get caught at short fine leg off his thigh pad, which left him frustrated because he had got himself in and was looking good.”He is seeing the lighter side of it,” du Plessis said. “Every single way you can think possibly to get out. Just how the game works, doesn’t it? Sometimes when you are under pressure, the game finds ways to keep you under pressure. What you can really do is keep working hard, keep up a good intensity, a good attitude, keep staying positive, knowing that it’s around the corner. He played some really good shots tonight. Obviously he would have liked to have kept going but he is handling it really well. Tough patches are difficult for all of us but he is in good spirits. He also believes it is around the corner.”Related

• Kohli open to taking a break to 'rejuvenate' himself mentally

• Shastri: 'Overcooked' Kohli needs a break

• Livingstone, Bairstow set up winning total for Kings

• Scenarios: Kings almost certain to make playoffs if they win their last two games

Hesson also spoke of Kohli’s poor luck. “Virat, I thought, looked very good today,” Hesson said. “He looked in good touch, he was aggressive, and he is doing everything off the park as well in terms of making sure he prepares well. I thought today was going to be his day but once again… it hits the other side of the thigh pad and goes down and he gets a single. He hasn’t had a huge amount of huge fortune especially when he has got himself set, when he has got himself in. He is as frustrated as anybody. We thought today was going to be the day.”Hesson doesn’t believe much is wrong with Kohli’s game. “Look he is the best we have ever had in terms of RCB,” Hesson said when asked what was going wrong. “He is an incredible player. He hasn’t scored the volume of runs he would have liked. Today he looked in really good touch. It is not a technical thing. As I said, he is putting in a lot of work behind the scenes. He looked in really good touch today. He was unfortunate. I thought we were going to see something special. Virat is as frustrated as anyone but we know that the epic one is around the corner. We have got a huge game coming up. So there is no reason why it won’t be in a few days’ time.”Kohli’s lack of big runs in any format of cricket has been a matter of debate over the last year or so. During this period he has given up – in phases – his India captaincy and also RCB captaincy. His former India coach and confidante Ravi Shastri has said he is overcooked and needs a break.

Durham seamer draws level with Graham Onions after five-wicket haul

ECB Reporters Network14-May-2021Durham 246 (Lees 99, Tongue 5-39) and 79 for 1 lead Worcestershire 213 (Fell 44, Leach 42*, Rushworth 5-56) by 112 runs Chris Rushworth joined Graham Onions as Durham’s highest first-class wicket-taker after notching a five-wicket haul to dismiss Worcestershire for 213 in their LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Emirates Riverside.Rushworth was at his imperious best to claim figures of 5 for 56 to put the hosts in a strong position and move level with his former team-mate with 527 first-class strikes for Durham. Brydon Carse and Ben Raine were also on point, although late resistance from Joe Leach kept Worcestershire in the game.Although the home side lost Alex Lees early in their second innings, Scott Borthwick and Will Young held firm to leave the north-east outfit in control of the contest with a lead of 112 runs.Durham made a strong start to day two through Rushworth, who began the day by dismissing Daryl Mitchell for the ninth time in his first-class career, pinning the opener lbw with an inswinger. Jake Libby performed well in tough conditions, mustering 24 before he was undone by a brilliant delivery from Raine.The seamers were on the mark and did not allow Jack Haynes to settle. In his second spell, Rushworth removed Haynes lbw for 8 to reduce the visitors at 60 for 3. Brett D’Oliveira battled with Tom Fell to take Worcestershire into the lunch break, but the pressure resumed immediately after the restart.Related

• Alex Lees resists with 99 as Josh Tongue five-for lays marker for Worcestershire

• Tom Westley seeks uplift after 'strange' start to Essex's twin title defence

• Jofra Archer 'happy to go back in the bubble' after confirming Test fitness bid is on track

Fell survived a close lbw shout against Raine, but the right-armer plugged away and removed D’Oliveira for 10 in his next over. Fell offered solid resistance, grinding his way into the forties amid excellent bowling from the hosts. He was given a life by Borthwick, who put down a routine chance at second slip off Raine. The Durham captain’s blushes were spared by Carse as he skittled Fell, taking his off and middle stump out of the ground.Rushworth whittled through the lower order from the Lumley End, breaking through Riki Wessels’ defences tbefore pinning Ed Barnard on the crease. Mark Wood and Carse reduced the visitors to nine down by using their pace to prise out Ben Cox and Josh Tongue.However, Leach frustrated the hosts with a vital knock of 42. The Worcestershire captain produced a fifty partnership with Morris to bring his team within 33 of Durham’s first-innings total. Rushworth wrapped up the innings with his record-equalling scalp to bowl Morris, earning his 28th five-wicket haul in the process.Worcestershire claimed the vital wicket of Lees before the end of the day, but Young and Borthwick put together an unbeaten stand of 51 to leave Durham in a formidable position at 79 for one in their second innings.

Vince and Billings put up a fight for England but a total of 280 felt very competitive on a surface that was not easy for scoring

Andrew McGlashan19-Nov-2022Steven Smith continued his prolific ODI form, Mitchell Starc gave a reminder of his first-over prowess and Adam Zampa scuttled England’s middle order as Australia wrapped up the series with a convincing 72-run victory in Sydney on Josh Hazlewood’s captaincy debut.Smith’s 94 from 114 balls was the major contribution in Australia’s innings alongside a fluent half-century from Marnus Labuschagne and a more hard-working effort from Mitchell Marsh. England never completely lost control with the ball, largely thanks to Adil Rashid’s three wickets, but a total of 280 felt very competitive on a surface that was not entirely easy for scoring.The target looked much more daunting after just five balls of England’s chase by which time Starc had two wickets to his name. Jason Roy’s struggles did not abate as he gloved down the leg side second ball then Starc produced rapid outswing to firstly beat Dawid Malan twice then take out the off stump with an unplayable delivery.Malan was looking to play to the leg side with an open face but having come off a fine century two days he had the right to feel positive and the ball shaped late and at pace to beat the edge. After Starc’s wicked delivery to remove Roy in Adelaide it was another strong response to his omission late in the T20 World Cup.When Phil Salt was cleaned up by Hazlewood for a counterpunching 23, England were 34 for 3 in the sixth over and in danger of falling away. However, in the latest example of their batting depth James Vince and Sam Billings, who took Ashton Agar for consecutive sixes, constructed excellent fifties in a fourth-wicket stand of 122 in 22 overs which put England back in a position where the target was attainable.But Vince swung across the line at Hazlewood for an umpire’s call lbw then the ever-consistent Zampa made the decisive breakthroughs in the middle order, including Billings for 71, as he claimed 3 for 0 in nine balls and England lost 7 for 52. This time, the batting depth was not enough.Mitchell Starc celebrates taking two in the first over•Getty Images

There had been a surprise before the game when Hazlewood appeared for the toss when Pat Cummins was rested one match into his captaincy tenure. It was a case of change all-round with Moeen Ali also leading England for the first time in ODIs as Jos Buttler took a well-deserved break.Smith and Labuschagne added 101 in 19 overs for the third wicket then Smith and Marsh put on 90 for the fifth after Rashid had knocked Australia back with two wickets in two balls.Smith was not as fluent as two days ago in Adelaide, after which he said it was the best he felt at the crease in six years, but moved into the 90s with a flick for six over backward square leg against Sam Curran. However, attempting to reach his century with another six he picked out long-off against Rashid in the 44th over.Australia’s openers had made a brisk start before Moeen struck with his second ball when David Warner swept to square leg. Travis Head followed three overs later when he fluffed a pull shot to midwicket against Chris Woakes to leave Australia 43 for 2.Labuschagne started positively when he skipped down the pitch to Moeen and lofted him over wide mid-on and generally scored more freely than Smith who struck his first boundary off his 14th ball but did not add another until his 65th when he clubbed David Willey over the leg side.Labuschagne went to a neat 47-ball fifty, which proved the most fluent batting of the innings, and was furious with himself when he toe-ended a sweep against Rashid which looped to mid-off. Rashid struck again next ball when Alex Carey played over the top of a sweep and Billings was very swift to remove the bails with Carey’s foot on the line.The hat-trick delivery was misdirected into Marsh’s pads and alongside Smith the pair rebuilt to give Australia a platform going into the final 10 overs but they were not able to fully capitalise.Marcus Stoinis couldn’t get going in a 14-ball 13 before missing a swing at Woakes and though Marsh, back in the side in place of the rested Cameron Green who had returned to Perth ahead of the Test summer, brought up a 58-ball half-century he couldn’t quite move through the gears. In the end, however, they had more than enough as Australia’s latest ODI captains claimed their first series.

Bell-Drummond, Leaning and Finch all contribute as Hosts reach 398 for 4

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023Zak Crawley’s century led Kent to 398 for 4 on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship fixture with Nottinghamshire at Canterbury.Crawley cashed in after being dropped when he was on two, making 158 from 153 balls and hitting three sixes before he was caught and bowled by Calvin Harrison, who was Notts’ most potent bowler, claiming 2 for 104.Daniel Bell-Drummond was Kent’s next highest corer with 60 while Jack Leaning and Harry Finch were unbeaten on 54 and 42 respectively at stumps.Kent were barely recognisable from the side that lost by 321 runs at Trent Bridge in July. Of the seven changes, Crawley was back from England duty and there were debuts for spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Aron Nijjar, signed on-loan from Essex.The major talking point, however, was the ongoing absence of club captain Sam Billings.Billings had taken a break from red-ball cricket earlier in the season and although he was included in the squad, Leaning remained captain and Finch retained the gloves.Nottinghamshire handed a debut to Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando, just 24 hours after he’d arrived in the UK and on a day when the temperature in Canterbury was 30 degrees, the same as in his native Katuneriya.It looked like a vital toss to win and after choosing to bat Kent’s openers put on 95 in a partnership of almost diametrically opposed styles.Crawley played like he was still in Ashes mode, riding his luck at times on a surface that wasn’t as dead as it initially appeared. He was put down by Dane Paterson at point in just the second over and responded by cracking Brett Hutton for four consecutive fours in the third.He punched his way past 50 when he straight-drove Paterson for four while Ben Compton, after one expansive early effort, Geoffrey Boycotted his way to 18 before he was bowled trying to reverse sweep Calvin Harrison, four minutes before lunch.Crawley brought up his century off 100 balls when he nudged Lyndon James to point for a single and reached 150 when he pulled Fernando for one through fine leg before Harrison somehow clung onto a violent drive to remove him.Bell-Drummond was out to the very next delivery when he tried to hook Fernando and went to an acrobatic grab by keeper Tom Moores, but Tawanda Muyeye pulled the final ball of the afternoon session for six to leave the hosts on 260 for 3 at tea.Muyeye and Leaning put on 59 for the next wicket, before the former went for 35. Having edged Steven Mullaney for four he ran out of luck when he nicked the next ball to Harrison at slip, but Finch joined Leaning to earn Kent a third batting point and the skipper brought up his half-century when he flicked Mullaney to third man for four in the penultimate over.

Fifties for Alsop, Ibrahim and Haines go begging in narrow loss for Sussex

ECB Reporters Network22-Aug-2023Ed Barnard continued his outstanding form in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with his second successive century as Warwickshire scrambled to a one-wicket win over Sussex Sharks at Hove to seal top spot in Group B and a home semi-final on 29 August.The 27-year-old all-rounder, who had earlier taken his 11th wicket in this season’s competition, took his aggregate to 590 runs with 100, two days after he’d made 161 – his maiden List A century – against Durham. He has also scored three fifties.Sussex had fancied their chances of ending a dismal campaign with only their second win when they had Warwickshire 126 for 4 halfway through their pursuit of 276 and again when they removed Barnard and Ethan Brookes, who’d put on 78 for the fifth wicket, in successive overs with 64 still needed.

Knockout fixtures

Quarter-finals: Gloucestershire vs Lancashire (August 25), Hampshire vs Worcestershire (August 27)
Semi-finals: Warwickshire vs Hampshire/Worcestershire (August 29), Leicestershire vs Gloucestershire/Lancashire (August 29)
The final (September 16)

Jake Lintott hit a breezy 28 but Henry Crocombe picked up two wickets to keep Sussex in contention and when last man Oliver Hannon-Dalby walked out Warwickshire still needed 13 off 16 balls.Sussex had one last opportunity but sub fielder Zach Lion-Cachet dropped Danny Briggs on the boundary and Briggs swung the next ball over mid-on for four to seal his team’s seventh win out of eight.Barnard and Rob Yates had begun with 83 in 13 overs for the first wicket, but their progress was checked by three wickets in six overs, two of them for allrounder Dan Ibrahim, who found some extra seam movement to defeat Yates while Alex Davies played on. Skipper Will Rhodes drove to mid-off and Jake Bethell under-edged to the keeper before Barnard and Brookes rebuilt.Barnard was stumped giving off-spinner James Coles the charge, having hit nine fours and twice cleared the short boundary on the eastern side while Brookes (43) was leg before sweeping Bertie Foreman in the next over.For Sussex it was a seventh defeat in their eight games, a bitter disappointment after they reached the last four a year ago, although this was a much better performance.Put in by Rhodes, their 275 for 8 featured three half-centuries, but no one was able to push on and make the big score that would have given them a more competitive total on a slow pitch.Tom Alsop top scored with 68 – his first fifty of the tournament – and Tom Haines hit 55 – his fourth half-century – before Ibrahim made it back-to-back fifties as he added 65 for the seventh wicket with Foreman – another 19-year-old – as 93 were plundered off the last ten overs.At least Sussex made a decent total without a major contribution from Cheteshwar Pujara, who was leg before to Henry Brookes for 23 from 40 balls and looked unusually out of sorts.Warwickshire bowled tightly. The competition’s leading wicket-taker Hannon-Dalby claimed his 24th victim when Ibrahim feathered an edge to wicketkeeper Kai Smith and there were two wickets for leg-spinner Lintott, who pinned Haines leg before to end a second-wicket stand of 83 with Alsop.Alsop has been in poor form in the tournament with single-figure scores in five of his previous seven innings but looked more assured until holing out in the deep to give Lintott a second wicket.Ibrahim and Foreman swelled the total in the closing overs, their partnership spanning just 35 balls with Ibrahim’s 56 coming from 46 deliveries.

The two openers put on 365, the biggest partnership for the first wicket in ODI history

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy05-May-20191:35

All the records Campbell and Hope broke

185 (O’Brien 68, Nurse 4-51, Gabriel 3-44) by 196 runsBetween those two moments, separated by two days, Ireland bowled 62.1 overs, conceded 463 runs, and failed to take a single wicket.The bulk of those 463 runs – 365 of them – came on Sunday, as John Campbell and Shai Hope put on the biggest opening partnership in ODI history. They came within seven runs of the biggest ODI partnership for any wicket – a record held by another West Indies pair, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels. They came within 17 balls of becoming the first opening pair to bat through the entire first innings of an ODI. They did, however, become the second pair of openers – after Brendon McCullum and James Marshall – to both score 150 in an ODI innings.It left Ireland an improbable 382 to chase, and they didn’t get remotely close. Kemar Roach and Sheldon Cottrell reduced them to 21 for 3, and there was no recovering from there, even if there were a couple of bright partnerships involving Kevin O’Brien, who made 68, first with Andy Balbirnie and then with Gary Wilson. Playing his 100th ODI, Balbirnie had to retire hurt on 28, when a nasty bouncer from Shannon Gabriel hit him on the helmet; he returned later but only added one run to his score.West Indies’ bowlers presented a much bigger wicket threat than Ireland’s had, Gabriel’s raw pace offering the starkest point of difference; he pinged O’Brien’s helmet too, apart from bagging three wickets. There were also four for the offspinner Ashley Nurse, including one off a dipping offbreak that spun through the gate to have Barry McCarthy stumped. With the last six wickets adding just 32, Ireland’s innings only lasted 34.4 overs.Ireland’s assortment of medium-fast seam and honest fingerspin must be the least threatening bowling arsenal of all the Full Member teams at the moment, and Campbell and Hope took it apart in an utterly controlled and clinical manner. Watching this, it was hard to believe that these two teams had both been in the same ODI boat, fighting to make the World Cup grade, the last time they met.John Campbell and Shai Hope put on the biggest opening stand in all ODI cricket•Sportsfile via Getty Images

Plenty has happened since then, and much of it has been encouraging for West Indies, to the extent that they will be counted among the most dangerous line-ups at the World Cup that they so nearly didn’t qualify for. Today’s partnership didn’t even come from their first-choice opening pair. Campbell, who clattered six sixes in a 137-ball 179, isn’t in the preliminary World Cup squad, and Hope, who stroked a cultured 170 off 152, doesn’t usually open the batting.Both, though, were too good for Ireland’s modest attack. They were watchful early on, but once they had seen off the initial new-ball nibble – Tim Murtagh and Mark Adair went past the edge on a fair few occasions, with Campbell in particular taking time to get his feet moving – they pretty much did as they pleased.Only 42 came off the first 11 overs, at which point Ireland made their second bowling change, bringing on McCarthy, their fourth seamer. McCarthy’s first ball was a stomach-high full-toss, which Campbell flat-batted over the long-off boundary. His third ball drifted onto Hope’s legs, and he tucked it away to fine leg for four. The next ball was a wide half-volley, and Hope unfurled an extra-cover drive. Four more. Eighteen came off that over, and from there on the runs flowed unchecked.Shai Hope defends off the back foot•Sportsfile via Getty Images

Hope drove the seamers eye-catchingly through the covers, often opening his bat face to beat short extra diving to his left, and down the ground, and used the shuffle across the crease adroitly to pick up leg-side singles and twos off all lines and lengths. Campbell was the likelier of the pair to hit over the top, and he also showed a fondness for the lap-sweep off the seamers, picking up three fours with this shot.After scoring only 37 in the first ten overs, West Indies scored 68, 80, and 74 in their next three ten-over blocks. Then came the long-promised carnage: in the last 44 balls of their partnership, Hope and Campbell clattered 106 runs. Both batsmen began clearing their front leg and flat-batting the ball where they pleased. Adair went for 21 in the 41st over, George Dockrell for 16 in the 42nd, Josh Little for 16 in the 45th, Adair for 18 in the 46th, and Murtagh for 17 in the 47th.By this time both batsmen were past 160 and the world-record partnership for any wicket beckoned. But trying to fetch a rising ball from outside off stump, Campbell sent a rare top-edge ballooning high in the sky. It took an age coming down, but a tumbling William Porterfield eventually got under it at mid-off. It was Ireland’s first ODI wicket in 374 balls. Like the old cliche about buses, the next wicket came in the same over, Hope picking out the fielder at deep square leg.Almost miraculously, only 16 came off the last three overs, and West Indies fell short of their highest ODI total – achieved just over two months ago – by eight runs. With the World Cup less than a month away, it’s not a bad time to make your two biggest ODI totals in the space of three matches.