Adrian Raftery
Ireland super fan Larry Leprechaun, aka Adrian Raftery, has written to the ICC demanding to know why the T20 World Cup match against Canada on Friday was shown as sold out when he applied for tickets in February. On the day, the Nassau County International Stadium was a quarter full at best.
While Raftey and others claim it is part of an effort to drive sales for the tournament’s more expensive corporate packages, the more likely explanation is poor organisation, a not-unknown occurrence at ICC events.
“I’m worth at least 12 runs to the boys,” Larry fumed. “If I’d been there in New York, that game would have gone to a Super Over at the very least!”
Despite the poor start to the campaign, Paul Stirling has been predictably upbeat about Ireland’s chances of making the Super Eights even after losing first two Group A matches to India and Canada in New York.
Two wins and Ireland can still go through, has been the message from the captain, and this remained true after yesterday’s clash between favourites India and Pakistan saw the former prevail by six runs.
But – and it’s a big but – the ‘Boys in Green’ can only qualify by dint of a better nett run rate and will have to beat the USA and Pakistan by decent margins to rectify their current NRR, which is the worst in the group.
One thing in Ireland’s favour is that their final two games are in the familiar surroundings of Lauderhill in Florida, where they shared a T20 series with the USA at the end of 2021. Another is that the other four teams in the group all play again before Ireland face the USA on Friday, so the requirement will be a lot clearer. It’s still a very long shot, though.