Archive May 21, 2025

Clontarf’s first one-day international

Ireland 303-6 (50.0 overs) Balbirnie 112, Tector 56, Forde 3-68

West Indies 179 all out (34.1 overs) Chase 55, Forde 38, McCarthy 4-32

Ireland defeated 124 runs to win.

With a winning record of 10, 000 international runs in the opening one-day international at Clontarf, Ireland defeated West Indies with ease. Paul Stirling became the first Irish player to do so.

With a 109-run partnership between record-breaking captain Stirling (54), Andrew Balbirnie (112), and Stirling (54) put Ireland on course for victory.

In ODI matches, Stirling has scored 5 979 runs, 3 656 runs in T20 matches, and 382 runs in Test matches.

For the first time since 2019, the West Indies were up against the Irish in Dublin, but Barry McCarthy won 4-32.

Ireland won the toss and was initially asked to bat first, but they eventually increased their lead to 109 before Gudakesh Motie dismissed the latter due to the successful pairing of Balbirnie and Stirling.

Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker both added 30 to help Ireland set a high target, but Cade Carmichael, who was making his debut alongside Tom Mayes and Liam McCarthy, was out for 16.

In the powerplay, Mayes’ dismissal of West Indies captain Shai Hope set up his first international innings, and the difficulties persisted as West Indies dropped to 31-5 before Roston Chase (55) and Matthew Forde (38) kept their innings steady.

With only 15.5 overs remaining, McCarthy sent the West Indies to a 124-run defeat after taking Brandon King, Keacy Carty, Amir Jangoo, and Forde.

Captain Ben Stokes has given a strong hint that Jacob Bethell will come straight back into the England team for the series against India later this summer.

Bethell, 21, impressed in his debut series in New Zealand before Christmas but is missing Thursday’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe because he is playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Bethell’s return for the five Tests against India, beginning on 20 June, could come at the expense of opener Zak Crawley or, more likely, number three Ollie Pope.

“If you’re smart enough, the series that Beth had out in New Zealand, obviously he’s going to be back in the UK for that India series,” said Stokes.

Any change to a long-established top order would be a huge decision for England, given the significance of the series against India and the Ashes in Australia that follow.

But Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have shown they will not shy away from big calls or investing in youth. In the past year the likes of James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Ben Foakes and Ollie Robinson have been discarded in favour of Shoaib Bashir, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson.

Left-hander Bethell only got his chance to play in New Zealand after an injury to Jordan Cox. As a result, Pope kept wicket and batted at number six, leaving Bethell at number three despite never previously batting higher than four for his county Warwickshire.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Stokes said: “You look at what Beth did in the winter for us, he has done himself the world of good by the performances he put in there with being part of our plans going forward.”

There is an argument that England should have insisted Bethell, who is centrally contracted, played in the Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.

But pulling him out of the IPL would have risked confrontation with the Board of Control for Cricket in India. There is also a feeling that his time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he opened the batting with India legend Virat Kohli, is more beneficial to his development.

Bethell is yet to score a century in professional cricket, though England feel they have seen enough in New Zealand and his appearances in white-ball internationals to suggest he will have a successful Test career.

Although the evidence is limited, Bethell certainly has the potential to outstrip both Crawley and Pope, who have middling returns from what are now lengthy England careers. Crawley averages 30.51 from his 53 Tests, Pope 34.02 from 55.

Crawley has endured a difficult few months. Struggles in New Zealand, where he averaged less than nine and was dismissed in all six innings by Matt Henry, were carried into the South Africa T20 league. He has at least made half-centuries in each of his past three matches for Kent.

Pope, therefore, is vulnerable, despite again being confirmed as England’s vice-captain by Stokes on Wednesday.

If he does lose his place, it would be unfortunate given his willingness to adapt for England over the past year. At various times he has been captain, wicketkeeper, opener, number three and number six. Indeed, he slipped down the order to make way for Bethell.

Pope endured a rollercoaster 2024 with the bat. His 196 in the first Test against India in Hyderabad was one of the greatest overseas innings ever played by an Englishman in Test history, but he was inconsistent thereafter. Pope averaged 33.13, the lowest for any batter in Test cricket to have scored three hundreds in a calendar year.

Following the series in New Zealand, head coach McCullum appeared to give greater backing to Crawley than to Pope.

Speaking on Wednesday, McCullum said: “It’s a problem that we want, and our guys know that. Ultimately, our currency is runs.

“We do need to keep putting up performances to be earning the opportunity to keep getting picked, and especially when you get surrounded with good cricketers throughout your country. So it’s a good problem to have, but, again, what a great opportunity these guys got in front of them.”

Richard Carapaz launched a late attack to take victory on stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday, while overall leader Isaac del Toro finished second.

Britain’s Tom Pidcock came fourth, just off the podium, as he was overhauled in the final metres by Lidl-Trek’s Giulio Ciccone.

The 186km ride from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne’ Monti saw 3,812 metres of climbing, including gradients of about 20%.

A breakaway group of four led until the final climb but once they were hauled in, Carapaz’s EF Education-EasyPost set a rapid pace before the Ecuadorian attacked hard.

The 2019 Giro winner and 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion went clear and although his lead was cut in the final metres, he held on to win by 10 seconds from Team Emirates-XRG’s Mexican rider Del Toro.

Del Toro retained the leader’s pink jersey, having added six seconds to his lead over his Spanish team-mate Juan Ayuso, while Carapaz moved up to sixth overall.