Disastrous World Cup can’t end soon enough for Ireland’s cricketers

Neither side wants to be there, and neither will mourn if the rainwaters that have pounded Broward County these past six days get their way once again today.

All of south-east Florida is under a state of emergency due to flooding, so a dead-rubber cricket match is unlikely to be high on anyone’s agenda.

Fourth place Pakistan (2pts) and fifth place Ireland (1pt) are scheduled to meet in Lauderhill at 10.30 this morning (3.30pm in Ireland) to decide the Group A wooden spoon at the Men’s T20 World Cup. Little else is at stake, except ranking points and the small matter of pride after a dismal tournament for both teams.

‘Whenever you play a game for your country you’re going to go out there with an immense amount of pride and motivation,’ Andrew Balbirnie said yesterday.

‘Particularly at a World Cup with a lot of eyes on us, against a strong Pakistan team we’ll be looking to finish the campaign with a good performance.’

The former Ireland captain knows when to say the right things but it is hard to imagine how head coach Heinrich Malan will lift his men for one last push in a campaign that seems to have been jinxed at every turn since they flew out from Dublin.

Two weeks ago, flight delays led to an eight-hour stay in Miami Airport, which led to arrival in New York in the middle of the night.

The squad then discovered their hotel was 90 minutes from the training ground – which was inadequate – and 90 minutes from the stadium – which was out of bounds to all except their opponents, India.

Getting to practice in the Nassau County Stadium was a huge advantage as the pitches were erratic, to say the least.

When Ireland finally got to see them, a lost toss meant the fearsome Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj worked them over while they adjusted to the variable bounce and sidewards movement.

A low score left little to bowl with, and Ireland’s seamers failed to master the conditions.

Two days later Canada – ranked 15 places below Ireland – batted, bowled and fielded better than Paul Stirling’s side.

In a galling display, Ireland’s bowlers failed to stick to the plan as the North Americans did the simple stuff right.

And then the Canadian bowlers showed them how to bowl on such a pitch with a performance that restricted Ireland to just two fours in the first 15 overs as the demons got into their heads.

The batting was limp all round in the two games, and an ESPN Cricinfo analysis of the leading teams since 2021 showed just how far behind Ireland have fallen.

Using two sets of criteria, they counted how many 1-7 batters on each side averaged 25 or more, and had a strike rate above 130 per hundred balls.

India had 14, West Indies 9 and England 8. Only Ireland and Pakistan did not have a single player who hit that mark.

And on a list of more aggressive batters, averaging 15 and a SR over 140, only Ireland , Sri Lanka and Afghanistan were without any (India had 10, England and Australia 8 apiece).

On Friday, rain killed off the crucial game against the hosts before a ball could be bowled, but it would be foolish to expect that Ireland would have cruised to victory in better weather. The Americans have shown great grit and occasional flair so far, and will be tricky Super Eight opponents for West Indies, South Africa and either England or Scotland.

Their surge to the second stage has been a fillip for the ICC, although whether a nation with such woeful cricket infrastructure should have been allowed to host is debatable.

But the dollar signs that brought the tournament here are flashing even brighter now. If ICC can kick the US domestic scene into shape, and marshal the vast Asian population, the game could be set to take off.

One thing the ICC and Cricket Ireland failed to do was marshal the vast Irish population, with little effort made to appeal to immigrant communities.

A tiny scattering of the 31.5 million who identify as Irish showed up in New York, many new to the game but ready to support ‘the home country’. A properly marketed series of USA v Ireland games in New York and Boston could help both nations find new audiences.

But Ireland have to fly home to a summer programme shorn of the visit by Australia, who will now visit Scotland instead.

The solution to the woes of the last two weeks is not rocket science: more games, better opponents, better domestic games and – above all – better facilities to train, practice and play.