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Winning
another title difficult, but Sri Lanka off to a flying start Giant-killing
minnows Ireland just happy to be among the super elite
Group Editor Sports Gul Hameed Bhatti believes Sri Lanka can seriously consider themselves to be one of the more serious contenders for the coveted trophy Sri Lanka made a tremendous start to their cricket World Cup 2007 Super Eights campaign on Wednesday, against South Africa at the newly-commissioned Providence Stadium near Georgetown in Guyana. In the end, they were left vanquished, but with only one South Africa wicket standing and just 10 balls to spare. Surely, Sri Lanka would have liked to post a few more runs instead of their rather modest total of 209, because at one stage of the match later in the day, their opponents just appeared to be coasting merrily to a comfortable win. That was just before all hell broke loose. South Africa were 206 for five as the 45th over drew to a close. All they needed was a measly four runs to win. Then, fast bowler Lasith Malinga, with the Sri Lankan version of dreadlocks with golden streaks adorning a maze of loops and twirls and a whippy bowling action a la Jeff Thomson, unleashed a menace that the South Africans simply didn't know how to avert. In his eighth and ninth overs, in a matter of four balls, Malinga sent four batsmen back to the pavilion. These included the meticulous Jacques Kallis, who had stuck firm to his crease for some 40 overs having scored 86 runs in a little over three hours batting. In a matter of nine deliveries, South Africa crashed from 206-5 to 207-9, Malinga having created a unique World Cup record. Two overs later, Robin Peterson managed to steer a four to the off-side boundary, ironically also off Malinga, as South Africa attained one of the most exciting wins in this World Cup yet. Back in 1996, Sri Lanka had stunned the cricketing world by lifting the World Cup on a balmy evening at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore under floodlights, beating Australia in the final. They have appeared in all nine World Cup competitions so far, in the first two in 1975 and 1979 as associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), but since their solitary triumph a little over a decade ago their best position has been a semifinal place, in South Africa 2003, where eventual champions Australia had the better of them. Just how well equipped are the Sri Lankans this time round in the West Indies? On the surface, they do look like one of the more serious contenders for final honours and they are taking themselves quite seriously too. They moved into the Super Eights stage by winning all their three group matches -- only Australia and New Zealand among the 16 participants were also able to do the same -- and almost duplicated these results in their Super Eights opener against South Africa.
SRI LANKA COULD COMFORTABLY MAKE THE FINAL KILL There are slightly more mouth watering prospects in store for them in the next few days. Today (Sunday), they encounter the hosts West Indies and their next match is against a not so confident England team on Wednesday. A couple of wins will set them well on the way to the semifinals and because their last match in the Super Eights is against minnows Ireland, they can then comfortably make the final kill in case they have built up the appropriate tempo. Although skipper Mahela Jayawardene strikes down comparisons with the 1996 World Cup winning outfit, terming that team something out of this world, he has a squad at his disposal in the Caribbean which could be said to have an embarrassment of riches. A line-up that hasn't required the services of former captain and one of the side's star batsmen, Marvan Atapattu, in any of its four matches so far has to be brimming full of confidence and quite strong in support of the various elevens it has fielded. About eleven years down the road, after having been named Player of the Tournament at their World Cup triumph, the Sri Lankans are expecting more fireworks from their veteran left-hander Sanath Jayasuriya. Playing in his fifth World Cup competition, the still superbly fit 37-year-old is a brutal hitter of the ball, a magnificent fielder and a successful slow left-arm bowling, with nearly 12,000 runs and 300 wickets in close to 400 One-day Internationals. For a period spanning six years starting from 1998, he was also Sri Lanka's captain, leading them in as many as 118 One-day Internationals. On March 21, in a Group B match against Bangladesh at Port of Spain, Jayasuriya hammered his career's 24th hundred, his 109 coming off a mere 87 deliveries with seven fours and seven sixes!
SANK THE HOPES OF A BILLION INDIANS Sri Lanka were supposed to have a cakewalk win against the weak Bermuda in their first group fixture, but their triumph against Bangladesh was significant, especially after the latter had performed the giant-killing act by defeating India. Sri Lanka then sank the hopes of a billion Indians as they beat their team quite comprehensively and literally threw them out of the Super Eights and World Cup contention. Sri Lanka really have one of the more balanced squads on the cricketing circuit today. They bat at least down to number eight, with Chaminda Vaas as capable as anyone else. Jayasuriya has the exciting Upul Tharanga to start the proceedings with him, with skipper Jayawardene and the excellent Kumar Sangakkara to follow. A team that still has Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold and Chamara Silva in reserve has to be in extremely good health. There are really no two opinions about the great impact that Muttiah Nuralitharan's peculiar off-spin has had in world cricket. With the pace attack in the able hands of the likes of Vaas, Malinga, Dilhara Fernando and Farveez Maharoof, Sri Lanka should at least be getting ready to move into the 2007 World Cup semifinals. Of course, Malinga's earth-shattering spell at the death on Wednesday could have changed the course of history and propelled Sri Lanka definitely on their way to the last-four. But they have time on their hands and some soft matches coming up, so it is entirely up to them to gradually continue enhancing their position. For several years, Sri Lanka were really the minnows of international cricket. Then their fortunes started to change. Currently, according to various calculations they are one of the three leading cricketing teams in the world. In the latest ICC Rankings, they are placed fifth in both the Test and ODI tables. It is time to move upwards.
MEET THE SRI LANKA PLAYERS Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva JAYAWARDENE. Captain.
Born Colombo May
Marvan Samson ATAPATTU. Born Kalutara November 22, 1970 (36
years old at
Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage DILSHAN (changed name from Tuwan
Mohamad
Sanath Teran JAYASURIYA. Born Matara June 30, 1969 (37
years old at start of
Mohamed Farveez MAHAROOF. Born Colombo September 7, 1984
(22 years old at
Muttiah MURALITHARAN. Born Kandy April 17, 1972 (34 years
old at start of World
Lindamlilage Prageeth Chamara SILVA. Born Panadura December
14, 1979 (27 years
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda VAAS.
Born Mattumagala
***All figures complete upto April 1, when Sri Lanka were meeting West Indies in their second Super Eights match in World Cup 2007, at Providence Stadium, Guyana
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR Rank Team Points 1 Bangladesh 76 2 South Africa 75 3 Sri Lanka 68 4 Australia 68 5 New Zealand 54 6 Pakistan 52 7 West Indies 48 8 England 42 9 India 36 10 Zimbabwe 24
(a) Kenya 52 (b) Netherlands 33 (c) Scotland 31 (d) Ireland 30 (e) Canada 24 (f) Bermuda 23 Note: Matches taken into consideration were mostly played over the last one-year period. The quality of opposition has not been evaluated though SRI LANKA AT WORLD CUP 2007 MATCH SCHEDULE
WARM-UP MATCHES March 5 Sri Lanka bt Scotland Three Ws Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados March 9 New Zealand bt Sri Lanka Three Ws Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados GROUP B MATCHES March 15 Sri Lanka bt Bermuda Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad March 21 Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad March 23 Sri Lanka bt India Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad
SUPER EIGHTS MATCHES March 28 South Africa bt Sri Lanka Providence Stadium, Guyana April 1 West Indies v Sri Lanka Providence Stadium, Guyana April 4 England v Sri Lanka Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua April 12 Sri Lanka v New Zealand National Cricket Stadium, Grenada April 16 Australia v Sri Lanka National Cricket Stadium, Grenada April 18 Ireland v Sri Lanka National Cricket Stadium, Grenada SEMIFINALS AND FINAL April 24 1st Semifinal 2 v 3 Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica April 25 2nd Semifinal 1 v 4 Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia April 28 Final SF1 v SF2 Kensington Oval, Barbados
Group Editor Sports Gul Hameed Bhatti laments Pakistan's exit from the World Cup event, but lauds the achievement of cricket's little known part-time unit In a matter of three days, while on their first campaign in cricket's senior World Cup competition, the lowly-rated -- cricketingwise, of course -- Ireland team reached a position which would have been beyond their wildest imagination prior to the start of the 2007 event in the West Indies. They clinched a point from Zimbabwe with a match that ended in an exhilarating tie in Group D and then shattered the dreams of a supposedly much stronger Pakistan team by not only beating them convincingly in a low-scoring encounter, but also virtually throwing them out of the race for the Super Eights. Instead, Ireland find themselves in the Super Eights stage. It is now highly unlikely that they would meet their six opponents on equal terms and win even one more match from here onwards. But they have enhanced their stature, if not status, in the realm of One-day International cricket with one of the game's biggest giant-killing acts in recent history. They were back down to earth in a subsequent loss to the West Indies, but they had joined the eight leading teams of the tournament in the championship round. Taking a look at the composition of the Ireland squad in the Caribbean, one doesn't get any startling revelations regrading the strength of its individual players. There are no big names here, not even any internationally recognised cricketers -- in fact, anyone near that standard from their country, opening batsman Ed Joyce, is in fact representing England in the ongoing World Cup competition in the West Indies. Ireland's first foray into full One-day International cricket occurred only as recently as June 13, 2006. They played their inaugural ODI against England in Belfast, at the Northern Ireland Civil Service Club at Stormont, this also being their first meeting with the full England side. Until Friday (March 30) morning, when Ireland again played against England -- in the Super Eights stage of the World Cup -- they had a total of a mere 11 ODIs to their name, of which they had won only three, lost six and tied one with one no-result. Tickets sold well for the game in Belfast last June, with a full house of 7,500 attendees. Now the Ireland team is in the full glare of the international cricketing community.
BUT FOR THE TIE PAKISTAN WOULD HAVE MADE SUPER EIGHTS There is an ironic fact that emerged from the group stage of the ongoing contest in the Caribbean. If Ireland had not tied their match with Zimbabwe, but still beaten Pakistan as they did later, Pakistan had a better chance than them to move into the Super Eights. Keeping in view Pakistan's overwhelming victory in the last inconsequential game against Zimbabwe, they would have a superior net run-rate as compared to Ireland's that would have taken them forward. But these are the glorious uncertainties of cricket and Ireland, a team of virtual part-timers, get to stay another month at the World Cup and test their skills against the best of the rest of the world. In less than a year's time, they have beaten the fourth-ranked ODI team in the world and qualified to rub shoulders with six of the other leading cricketing powers. Ireland were granted International Cricket Council (ICC) membership in the year 1993. They are an associate member nation, having recently been given full ODI status. They ended as runners-up to Scotland in the ICC Trophy competition of 2005 and qualified as part of a group of five associate members for the 2007 World Cup. The Ireland cricket team represents all Ireland, that is both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Due to political difficulties, the Irish Cricket Union was not elected to the ICC until 1993, but cricket has been played in Ireland since at least the 1880s -- including a tour of North America in 1888. Their first match with first-class status was played in 1902 against a London County side including W G Grace. The Irish won convincingly, by 238 runs. But of course their grestest results so far have been against Zimbabwe and Pakistan in Jamaica last month. The Irish played yearly first-class games with the Scots with regularity, only interrupted by wars, up until 1999, but all their other cricket was dictated by whenever touring international sides would find it convenient to visit Ireland. However, they often surprised Test nations in these games, winning by 60 runs in a three-day game in Dublin over the West Indies in 1928, for example. They did, in fact, take a liking to the West Indies -- their arguably finest cricketing moment came in 1969, when they defeated a West Indian side including Clive Lloyd and Clyde Walcott by nine wickets, after bowling them out for a measly 25. The Scots and the Irish were competing with Sri Lanka for the title as the best non-Test nation at the time -- indeed, Ireland drew with Sri Lanka in a rain-hit first-class match in 1979. The 2005 ICC Trophy, which was hosted in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland -- the group stages in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the final stages in Dublin, Republic of Ireland -- has seen the Irish improve drastically, however. Ed Joyce's four years in county cricket, where he earlier in 2005 became the first batsman to hit 1,000 runs, gave him the experience to lift the Irish to big totals (he averaged 106 in four innings for them), and even when he left for County Championship games with Middlesex, they managed to win.
SAQLAIN, SHAHID AFRIDI HAVE WORN IRELAND COLOURS Ireland have had a busy period in their build up to the World Cup. From April, they took part in a newly expanded C&G Trophy, playing nine English county sides. For this tournament, they were bolstered by the signings of Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi, the two overseas players they are allowed when competing in English domestic competitions. Ireland recorded one win -- at Bristol against Gloucestershire -- in their nine matches, though they lost the remainder. Last August saw them participate in Division One of the European Championship, against Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands and Scotland. The games against The Netherlands and Scotland had ODI status. They won this tournament, and the Irish teams won the European Championships at every single age level, from Under 13s upwards. January 2007 saw the start of more than three months of almost constant cricket. First was a visit to Kenya, where they took part in Division One of the ICC World Cricket League. They then travelled to the United Arab Emirates, where they played an Intercontinental Cup game against the UAE at Abu Dhabi. In the final 13-a-side warm-up matches before the World Cup, Ireland lost to South Africa, but only by 35 runs; and beat Canada comfortably by seven wickets. Ireland, along with Scotland, has at times played in competitions for English county cricket sides, including the Benson & Hedges Cup and the Friends Provident Trophy. Since there is no nationality restriction in county cricket, non-Irish players have competed for Ireland in these matches. Hansie Cronje of South Africa competed for Ireland in the 1997 Benson & Hedges Cup, thanks to sponsorship from Irish industrialist Tony O'Reilly. Although most of the players at World Cup 2007 are indigenous Irishmen, skipper Trent Johnston, opening batsman Jeremy Bray and pace bowler Dave Langford-Smith are Australia born while all-rounder Andre Botha is from Johannesburg in South Africa. Most of the players have non-cricketing jobs, there are farmers, teachers, delivery drivers, salesmen, postmen and students in the team, who have had to take extended leave from their employers to continue playing at the World Cup. There are really only three professionals in the side, with Eoin Morgan at Middlesex and Niall O'Brien contracted to Northamptonshire while fast bowler Boyd Rankin is to play at Derbyshire this year. Among the outstanding performers at the event have been Jeremy Bray, who scored a century in the match against Zimbabwe and carried his bat through the completed innings, and medium-pacer Andre Botha who had marvellous figures of 8-4-5-2 against Pakistan. Then, wicket-keeper Niall O'Brien contributed a career-best 72 in Ireland's 133-7 to lead them to a memorable triumph over the Pakistanis.
MEET THE IRELAND PLAYERSMEET THE IRELAND PLAYERS David Trent JOHNSON. Captain. Born Wollongong, Australia
April 29, 1974 (32 years
Andre Cornelius BOTHA. Born Johannesburg, South Africa
September 12, 1975 (31
Kenneth Edward Desmond CARROLL. Born Dublin March 22, 1983
(23
Dave LANGFORD-SMITH. Born Sydney, Australia December 7,
1976 (30
Paul John Kevin MOONEY. Born Dublin October 15, 1976 (30
years old at start of
Kevin Joseph O'BRIEN. Born Dublin March 4, 1984 (23 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm medium-fast bowler. Brother of NJ O'Brien (10 ODIs for Ireland 2006-07). One-day Internationals 10 (2006-07), 366 runs (ave 40.66), HS 142, S/R 76.09, one 100, 2 50s, 6 catches, 8 wickets (ave 38.00), BB 2-38, R/O 5.15.
William Thomas Stuart PORTERFIELD. Born Londonderry September 6, 1984 (22 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman. One-day Internationals 10 (2006-07), 404 runs (ave 50.50), HS 112*, S/R 69.89, 2 100s, one 50, 2 catches.
Andrew Roland WHITE. Born Newtownards, Co Down July 3, 1980
(26
***All figures are complete upto the morning of March 30, when Ireland played their first Super Eights match in World Cup 2007, against England at Providence Stadium, Guyana.
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR Rank Team Points 1 Bangladesh 76 2 South Africa 75 3 Sri Lanka 68.2 4 Australia 68.0 5 New Zealand 54 6 Pakistan 52 7 West Indies 48 8 England 42 9 India 36 10 Zimbabwe 24
(a) Kenya 52 (b) Netherlands 33 (c) Scotland 31 (d) Ireland 30 (e) Canada 24 (f) Bermuda 23 Note: Matches taken into consideration were mostly played over the last one-year period. The quality of opposition has not been evaluated though.IRELAND AT WORLD CUP 2007 MATCH SCHEDULE
WARM-UP MATCHES March 5 South Africa bt Ireland Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground, Trinidad March 8 Ireland bt Canada Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground, Trinidad GROUP D MATCHES March 15 Ireland tied with Zimbabwe Sabina Park, Jamaica March 17 Ireland bt Pakistan Sabina Park, Jamaica March 23 West Indies bt Ireland Sabina Park, Jamaica
SUPER EIGHTS MATCHES March 30 Ireland v England Providence Stadium, Guyana April 3 Ireland v South Africa Providence Stadium, Guyana April 9 Ireland v New Zealand Providence Stadium, Guyana April 13 Ireland v Australia Kensington Oval, Barbados April 15 Ireland v Bangladesh Kensington Oval, Barbados April 18 Ireland v Sri Lanka National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
SEMIFINALS AND FINAL April 24 1st Semifinal 2 v 3 Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica April 25 2nd Semifinal 1 v 4 Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia April 28 Final SF1 v SF2 Kensington Oval, Barbados |
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27, 1977 (29 years old at start of World Cup 2007).
Right-hand batsman. Right-arm medium-pace bowler. Test matches 85 (1997-2006).
One-day Internationals 240 (1998-2007), 6,335 runs (ave 31.83), HS 128, S/R
75.30, 8 100s, 35 50s, 120 catches, 7 wickets (ave 77.00), BB 2-56, R/O 5.69.
Captain in 38 ODIs (2004-07), won 24, lost 11, no-result 3, win % 68.57.
Appearing in his third World Cup, the previous two being in 1999 and 2003.
Russel Premakumaran ARNOLD. Born Colombo October 25, 1973
(33 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman. Right-arm
off-break bowler. Test matches 44 (1997-2004). One-day Internationals 173
(1997-2007), 3,908 runs (ave 35.85), HS 103, S/R 72.49, one 100, 28 50s, 47
catches, 38 wickets (ave 45.00), BB 3-47, R/O 4.85. Appearing in his second
World Cup, the previous one being in 2003.
start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm leg-break
bowler. Test matches 88 (1990-2005). One-day Internationals 268 (1990-2007),
8,529 runs (ave 37.57), HS 132*, S/R 67.72, 11 100s, 59 50s, 70 catches, 0-41
as bowler, R/O 4.82. Captain in 63 ODIs (2001-06), won 35, lost 27, no-result
one, win % 56.45. Appearing in his fourth World Cup, the previous three being
in 1996, 1999 and 2003.
Charitha Malinga BANDARA. Born Kalutara December 31, 1979
(27 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm
leg-break bowler. Test matches 8 (1998-2006). One-day Internationals 23
(2006-07), 95 runs (ave 11.87), HS 28*, S/R 76.00, 4 catches, 26 wickets (ave
31.61), BB 4-31, 4w 2, R/O 4.82. First selection for a World Cup competition.
Dilshan). Born Kalutara October 14, 1976 (30 years old at start of
World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm off-break bowler.
Wicket-keeper. Test matches 39 (1999-2006). One-day Internationals 113
(1999-2007), 2,200 runs (ave 29.33), HS 117*, S/R 77.84, one 100, 9 50s, 55
catches, one stumping, 38 wickets (ave 41.44), BB 4-29, 4w 2, R/O 4.76. First
selection for a World Cup competition.
Congenige Randhi Dilhara FERNANDO. Born Colombo July 19,
1979 (27 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm
fast-medium bowler. Test matches 24 (2000-06). One-day Internationals 106
(2001-07), 138 runs (ave 9.85), HS 13*, S/R 57.26, 18 catches, 127 wickets (ave
31.14), BB 4-48, 4w one, R/O 5.50. Appearing in his second World Cup, the
previous one being in 2003.
World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman. Slow left-arm
orthodox bowler. Test matches 107 (1991-2006). One-day Internationals 383
(1989-2007), 11,701 runs (ave 32.96), HS 189, S/R 90.58, 24 100s, 62 50s, 112
catches, 287 wickets (ave 36.93), BB 6-29, 4w 10, R/O 4.74. Captain in 118
ODIs (1998-2003), won 66, lost 47, tied 2, no-result 3, win % 57.39. Appearing
in his fifth World Cup, the previous four being in 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2003
(captain).
Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan KULASEKARA. Born
Nittambuwa July 22, 1982 (24 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand
batsman. Right-arm fast-medium bowler. Test matches 4 (2005-06). One-day
Internationals 17 (2003-07), 32 runs (ave 8.00), HS 11, S/R 35.55, 4 catches,
10 wickets (ave 55.30), BB 2-19, R/O 4.48. First selection for a World Cup
competition.
start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm
fast-medium bowler. Test matches 17 (2004-06). One-day Internationals 63
(2004-07), 578 runs (ave 18.64), HS 58*, S/R 82.68, one 50, 14 catches, 76
wickets (ave 25.61), BB 6-14, 4w 3, R/O 4.77. First selection for a World Cup
competition.
Separamadu Lasith MALINGA (also known as Separamadu Lasith
Malinga Swarnajith). Born Galle August 28, 1983 (23 years old at start of
World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm fast bowler. Test matches 21
(2004-06). One-day Internationals 32 (2004-07), 44 runs (ave 8.80), HS 15, S/R
57.14, 4 catches, 50 wickets (ave 23.64), BB 4-44, 4w 3, R/O 4.76. First
selection for a World Cup competition.
Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm off-break
bowler. Test matches 110 (1992-2006). One-day Internationals 291 (1993-2007),
489 runs (ave 5.75), HS 27, S/R 70.66, 115 catches, 441 wickets (ave 22.87),
BB 7-30, 4w 19, R/O 3.83. Appearing in his fourth World Cup, the previous
three being in 1996, 1999 and 2003.
Kumar Chokshanada SANGAKKARA. Born Matale October 27, 1977
(29 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman. Wicket-keeper.
Right-arm off-break bowler. Test matches 64 (2000-06). One-day Internationals
193 (2000-07), 5,651 runs (ave 36.45), HS 138*, S/R 74.68, 6 100s, 38 50s, 172
catches, 50 stumpings. Appearing in his second World Cup, the previous one
being in 2003.
old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman.
Right-arm leg-break bowler. Test matches 2 (2006). One-day Internationals 18
(1999-2007), 451 runs (ave 37.58), HS 107*, S/R 76.44, one 100, 4 50s, 3
catches. First selection for a World Cup competition.
Warushavithana Upul THARANGA. Born Balapitiya February 2,
1985 (22 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman.
Wicket-keeper. Test matches 12 (2005-06). One-day Internationals 47 (2005-07),
1,548 runs (ave 35.18), HS 120, S/R 74.49, 6 100s, 6 50s, 9 catches. First
selection for a World Cup competition.
January 27, 1974 (33 years old at start of World Cup 2007).
Left-hand batsman. Left-arm fast-medium bowler. Test matches 96 (1994-2006).
One-day Internationals 294 (1994-2007), 1,895 runs (ave 14.03), HS 50*, S/R
73.93, one 50, 58 catches, 375 wickets (ave 26.84), BB 8-19, 4w 13, R/O 4.18.
Captain in one ODI (2006), match lost. Appearing in his fourth World Cup, the
previous three being in 1996, 1999 and 2003.
old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman.
Right-arm fast-medium bowler. One-day Internationals 9 (2006-07), 143 runs (ave
28.60), HS 45*, S/R 131.19, 6 catches, 4 wickets (ave 83.00), BB 1-20, R/O
5.10. Captain in 9 ODIs (2006-07), won 3, lost 4, tied one, no-result one, win
% 37.50.
William Kyle McCALLAN. Vice-captain. Born Carrickfergus, Co
Antrim August 27, 1975 (31 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand
batsman. Right-arm off-break bowler. One-day Internationals 11 (2006-07), 196
runs (ave 32.66), HS 50*, S/R 100.51, one 50, one catch, 15 wickets (ave
25.53), BB 4-36, 4w one, R/O 4.36. Captain in 2 ODIs (2007), both lost.
years old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand
batsman. Right-arm medium-pace bowler. One-day Internationals 11 (2006-07),
161 runs (ave 20.12), HS 56, S/R 62.40, 2 50s, 3 catches, 17 wickets (ave
21.11), BB 4-42, 4w one, R/O 4.66.
Jeremy Paul BRAY. Born Newtown, Sydney, Australia November
30, 1973 (33 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman.
Wicket-keeper. One-day Internationals 9 (2006-07), 348 runs (ave 43.50), HS
116, S/R 72.80, 2 100s, 6 catches.
years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm
leg-break bowler. One-day Internationals 2 (2007), 30 runs (ave 15.00), HS 28,
S/R 62.50, one catch.
Peter Gerard GILLESPIE. Born Strabane, Co Tyrone May 11,
1974 (32 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm
medium-pace bowler. One-day Internationals 4 (2006-07), 0 runs (ave 0.00), HS
0, S/R 0.00.
years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm
fast-medium bowler. One-day Internationals 10 (2006-07), 38 runs (ave 7.60),
HS 15, S/R 95.00, 2 catches, 12 wickets (ave 34.33), BB 3-32, R/O 4.79.
John Francis MOONEY. Born Dublin February 10, 1982 (25
years old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman. Right-arm
medium-pace bowler. Brother of PJK Mooney (3 ODIs for Ireland 2006-07).
One-day Internationals 7 (2006-07), 60 runs (ave 60.00), HS 30*, S/R 117.64, 5
wickets (ave 54.60), BB 3-79, R/O 7.18.
World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm
medium-pace bowler. Brother of JF Mooney (7 ODIs for Ireland 2006-07). One-day
Internationals 3 (2006-07), 12 runs (no average, unbeaten in 2 innings), HS
11*, S/R 150.00, 2 catches, 0-60 as bowler, R/O 5.45.
Eoin Joseph Gerard MORGAN. Born Dublin September 10, 1986
(20 years old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman. Right-arm
medium-pace bowler. Wicket-keeper. One-day Internationals 9 (2006-07), 401
runs (ave 44.55), HS 115, S/R 81.83, one 100, 2 50s, 4 catches.
Niall John O'BRIEN. Born Dublin November 8, 1981 (25 years
old at start of World Cup 2007). Left-hand batsman. Wicket-keeper. Brother of
KJ O'Brien (10 ODIs for Ireland 2006-07). One-day Internationals 10 (2006-07),
214 runs (ave 21.40), HS 72, S/R 68.15, 2 50s, 8 catches, 2 stumpings.
William Boyd RANKIN. Born Derry July 5, 1984 (22 years old
at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm medium-fast bowler.
One-day Internationals 4 (2007), has yet to bat, 2 catches, 4 wickets (ave
34.50), BB 3-32, R/O 5.52.
years old at start of World Cup 2007). Right-hand batsman. Right-arm
off-break bowler. One-day Internationals 11 (2006-07), 128 runs (ave 18.28),
HS 40, S/R 70.32, 4 catches, 5 wickets (ave 44.60), BB 2-31, R/O 5.52.