The West Indies Cricket team continues to bring tears of joy and tears of grief to their fans.
After winning the first one day match versus the touring Ireland team, on Thursday 9th January, the Windies almost succeeded in pulling off A STUNNING DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY.
The Irishmen batted first and were pretty stubborn at the crease throughout and managed to muster a formidable enough 237 for 9 from their allotted 50 overs.
Alzarri Joseph was once again their main tormentor, bowling with pace and accuracy.
The Windies in response lost three early wickets and looked in trouble at 24 for 3.
However, Nicholas Pooran teamed up with Captain Pollard and they proceeded to pummel the white ball, all around the Kensington Oval.
It looked like a foregone conclusion, with both men looking at ease and with plenty of overs remaining.
Then came the rain and a brief stoppage and what followed would top any Shakespearean play.
It was absolute drama!
It must have been an Irish rain shower, because immediately after the break, Pooran got out and he was quickly followed by Pollard, with Romario Shepherd also following suit.
At 148for 7, the Irishmen were cock-a-hoop. They were smelling victory.
Enter Hayden Walsh Jr, to join Khary Pierre and the two unlikely heroes proceeded to show that the Windies has some sting in its tail, after all.
The eighth wicket fell with the score on 200 when Pierre was caught, but Alzarri Joseph joined his fellow Antiguan and followed his heroics with the ball, with a crucial inning of his own, before he too fell with the score precariously placed at 232 for 9.
Sheldon Cottrell joined Walsh and the pair forced the lively Kensington spectators to take out their heart and blood pressure tablets, with some bizarre running between the creases.
However, with two runs required from the last two remaining deliveries, Cottrell cleared his front leg and slam-dunked an Adair delivery, clean over the extra cover boundary for a maximum. The Kensington crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Summarized scores:
Ireland 237 for 9 from 50 overs: Paul Stirling 63, Simi Singh 34, Kevin O’Brien 31
Alzarri Joseph 4 for 32, Sheldon Cottrell 3 for 51, Khary Pierre 1 for 50
West Indies 242 for 9 from 49.5 overs: Nicholas Pooran 50, Hayden Walsh Jr 46*, Kieron Pollard 40
Simi Singh 3 for 48, Mc Carty and Brine 2 wickets each
West Indies won by 1 wicket
Alzarri Joseph –Man of the Match