Cricket World Cup

[dod]

Just watching the highlights on sky now..England dropping balls all over the place..Its better now that i can enjoy it rather than the nerves earlier..

[dod]

How much will Kevin O'Brien be worth in the IPL when i starts again

[Leinsterman]

Just watching the highlights on sky now..England dropping balls all over the place..

Word has it that Alan Gaffney took a few of their training sessions in the build-up to the match.

[Leinster Exile]

Jesus we lost a wicket with the first ball!

[claire_m]

Alan Lewis was doing some of the commentary. I had no idea he was a good cricketer.

[Slipper1]

Alan Lewis was doing some of the commentary. I had no idea he was a good cricketer.

Over 120 caps.

[Hornet]

Alan Lewis was doing some of the commentary. I had no idea he was a good cricketer.

He was quite emotional at the end of the game. Even Boycott was full of praise for the way Ireland played.

[West Brit]

Alan Lewis was doing some of the commentary. I had no idea he was a good cricketer.

He was quite emotional at the end of the game. Even Boycott was full of praise for the way Ireland played.

And he knows a good performance when he sees one. He's very frugal in giving out praise.

[Armchair]

IPL APPEALS TO KEVIN O'BRIEN

Ireland hero Kevin O'Brien would be willing to play in the Indian Premier League were a franchise to make a bid for him.

The 26-year-old woke up Wednesday morning a virtual unknown but went to bed a household name after smashing 113 to help Ireland surpass England's 327 in Bangalore.

He brought up his century in just 50 balls - the quickest in the tournament's history - and bamboozled England's attack with a brutal display of power hitting.

Bookmakers have already offered odds on England asking him to play for them, while some talk has also suggested he could now be on the radar of some IPL sides.

"Who wouldn't (want to play in the IPL)?" he said. "A lot of people have said that Twenty20 suits me, the way I swing the bat and hit a few sixes.

"If something comes of that, even better. If not, just concentrate on Sunday's game and see what happens."

O'Brien came to the crease with Ireland at 106 for four, when their chances of winning were rated at 400-1 by some.

The former Nottinghamshire man soon put paid to that, though, and was then happy to reflect on a "fantastic occasion" for Irish sport.

He said: "From a personal point of view, and I think I speak for a lot of Irish sports teams, not just cricket, beating England in any form of the game in any sport not only at a World Cup is always a fantastic occasion.

"I'm sure a lot of people watched that game, just like they watched the Bangladesh game (last Friday).

"We gave a lot of people something to smile about back home and a lot of people got behind us from then. It's great to put a smile of their faces and really showed what we've been threatening to do for a while now and really back-up the performance.

"We've had that belief for a long time now that we can do something like that and to actually go out there and do it is a different story to thinking you can do it.

"It's not just something that you can get overnight. We've had that belief for a couple of years now that we can beat anyone on our day and if we click in all departments of the game, which we know we have to in this tournament, then we can roll off results like this."

While Ireland have now announced themselves as a nation capable of holding their own at a world cup, they may well not be at the next one following the International Cricket Council's decision to reduce the number of participating teams to 10.

"The ICC have made a decision and it's out of our hands," said captain William Porterfield.

"It's pretty disappointing cutting the teams to 10. I personally think they need to be some kind of qualification. It wouldn't be a world cup if they are cutting out teams."

[Hippo]

England were pretty sloppy in the field alright, they clearly thought they were going to stroll home after putting up such a big total. An incredible performance from Ireland!

[Dave Cahill]

Sometimes you just have to admire Michael O'Leary

[Hornet]

Sometimes you just have to admire Michael O'Leary

I didn't know that Ryanair had started up new routes to India!

[Dave Cahill]

[tackle-bag]

Looks like Canada may have spurned the chance to cause an enormous upset against Pakistan. At the very least, however, today's game is yet further evidence that it would be lunacy to remove the associate nations from the World Cup.

[Sea_point]

How much will Kevin O'Brien be worth in the IPL when i starts again

Quite a lot if he can repeat the heroics, but currently they wont be breaking down his door io the basis of one knock. IPL is still a competition after all...

[claire_m]

How much will Kevin O'Brien be worth in the IPL when i starts again

Quite a lot if he can repeat the heroics, but currently they wont be breaking down his door io the basis of one knock. IPL is still a competition after all...

To add to that, yes, it was a great knock. On the other hand, he is now 27 (will be tomorrow!), was with Notts (on an extended trial) a couple of years ago but I can't see that he is contracted to a county at present.

Like Sea_point said, he may well get a contract out of this, but he needs more than one good knock against a woeful and exhausted England side. He managed 37 against Bangladesh and let's see what he can do for the rest of the tournament (along with Ireland) before we all get too carried away.

[Hornet]

If anyone is thinking of heading out for the next game tickets are now sold out.

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/a ... 507409.ece

[Amz]

Pfft! All those bandwagoners off to India to follow the cricket now that Munster are in the doldrums ...

[Broken Wing]

Bangladesh all out for 58!

Windies need just 13 runs from 250 balls to win......

[Broken Wing]

4 from 234 now... too close to call really......