Cricket Ireland v West IndiesThese games have traditionally been difficult for Irish players. The famous Sion Mills victory of 1969 aside, pitting Ireland against Test nations has always been something of a waste of time in terms of a genuine contest, with the only real value being to the spectators, who have always loved to watch the likes of Australia's Allen Border hit 32 off one over in Castle Avenue or the West Indies' Larry Gomes go berserk in Rathmines.
And traditionally, the visiting side bats first, regardless of who wins the toss, to ensure that the crowd gets what it came to see. But not this year, says Ireland coach Adrian Birrell, who is adamant his side is going out to win.
"If we win the toss, we will look at the conditions and make a decision based on what gives us the best chance to win the game," he said yesterday.
"This isn't a festival game for us or a practice game for them. We are taking it very seriously and will look to win. The West Indies have everything to lose."
Ireland, though, will be without North County bowler Paul Mooney, who has a suspected broken bone in his hand sustained in Saturday's Conqueror Senior Cup defeat to Clontarf. Birrell has not called in a replacement, relying on the 12 remaining players in the squad to do the job over the two one-day games (play starts at Stormont at 10.45 a.m.).
Skipper Jason Molins has recovered from a hamstring strain and while there is some concern over the fitness of Adrian McCoubrey (bruised heel) and Trent Johnston (Achilles strain), neither injury has been considered serious enough to warrant bringing in cover.
The West Indians flew in from the Caribbean yesterday as a squad under serious pressure at home. They have shown some poor form of late (against South Africa, England and even Test minnows Bangladesh). It's a young side, many of whom have no experience on our slower pitches, which allow more lateral movement of the ball.
"We do not have these conditions in the Caribbean so it will be difficult for our younger players to know how to deal with them," said coach Gus Logie.
"These games against Ireland will give us a chance to practise in a serious manner. They will give us an idea of the general fitness of our guys and the opportunity to start on a winning note," he said, adding quickly but unconvincingly that he did not take the Irish side lightly.
With the presence of class acts like Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and a certain Brian Lara, two solid losing performances is all that we can reasonably expect from Ireland.
That said, with jetlag still a factor for the West Indians and a certain greenness within the squad as to just how to play on our grassy wickets, you never know.
IRELAND (from): Jason Molins (capt.), Jeremy Bray, Andre Botha, Peter Gillespie, Niall O'Brien (wk), Andrew White, Kyle McCallan, Eoin Morgan, Trent Johnston, Gordon Cooke, Adrian McCoubrey, John Mooney.
WEST INDIES (from): Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Brian Lara (capt.), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy, Ridley Jacobs (wk), Carlton Baugh (wk), Ian Bradshaw, Ravi Rampaul, Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson.
