KINGSTON: Making his One-day International debut at the age of 33, Shamarh Brooks top-scored with 93 and led West Indies to a 24-run victory against Ireland to a 24-run victory in the first match of a three-game series at Sabina Park on Saturday.

The West Indies made 269 after being put into bat before Ireland collapsed from 165-1 to 245 all out in reply.

Brooks, whose late development as an international cricketer meant the Barbados batsman was already 29 when he made his Test debut, hit nine boundaries and three sixes in his 89-ball stay.

He just missed becoming the second West Indian to score an ODI century on debut, after Desmond Haynes, the team’s new selector.

Captain Kieron Pollard smashed 69 with four boundaries and four sixes in a 155-run fifth-wicket partnership with Brooks.

Three of those sixes came off successive balls in the 37th over bowled by Andy McBrine as the pair rescued their team from a worrying 62-4.

Opening bowler Mark Adair returned figures of 3-38 off 8.5 overs including the lbw dismissal of Brooks.

In reply, the Irish, coming off a shared series with the United States in Fort Lauderdale, were well-set at 165-1 with captain Andy Balbirnie making 71 and Harry Tector contributing 53.

Balbirnie hit seven fours and a six while Tector swept five boundaries and one six.

However, once they fell in the space of eight balls, the required run-rate crept up and the West Indies claimed a key opening victory in a series which forms part of the qualifying route to the 2023 World Cup.

Balbirnie was hit on the grill by debutant fast bowler Odean Smith and was out three balls later in a new over by Romario Shepherd, poking at a ball and edging behind. Tector was out in the next over, trying to cut and top-edging Smith to Roston Chase on the boundary.

With both set batsmen gone by the 38th over, Ireland never recovered. Shepherd finished with 3-50 while Alzarri Joseph claimed 3-55.

Ireland’s problems were compounded by McBrine getting hit on the helmet by Smith in the 16th over. McBrine had made 34 when he was forced to retire with concussion.

Ireland’s star opening batsman Paul Stirling and all-rounder Shane Getkate were both ruled out of the game having tested positive for Covid-19 in Florida where the ODI leg of their tour was abandoned.

Simi Singh and Ben White were also sidelined after testing positive on Friday night.

The West Indies were also hit by Covid which ruled out Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen and Anderson Phillip.

Shimron Hetmyer, West Indies’ leading run-scorer at the T20 World Cup last year, was dropped for failing to meet fitness standards.

The series stays in Kingston on Tuesday and Friday, followed by a one-off Twenty20.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES:

S. Hope c Tucker b Campher 29

J. Greaves c Delany b Adair 7

N. Pooran c Porterfield b McBrine 13

S. Brooks lbw b Adair 93

R. Chase c Tector b McBrine 1

K. Pollard c Tector b Young 69

J. Holder c McBrine b Young 13

R. Shepherd c Adair b Young 2

O. Smith c Delany b Adair 18

A. Joseph c McBrine b Little 0

A. Hosein not out 5

EXTRAS (LB-7, W-12) 19

TOTAL (all out, 48.5 overs) 269

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-18 (Greaves), 2-59 (Pooran), 3-59 (Hope), 4-62 (Chase), 5-217 (Pollard), 6-238 (Brooks), 7-246 (Shepherd), 8-246 (Holder), 9-253 (Joseph).

BOWLING: Little 10-1-46-1, Adair 8.5-1-38-3 (3w), Young 9-0-56-3 (5w), Campher 10-0-47-1 (4w), McBrine 8-0-52-2, Dockrell 3-0-23-0.

IRELAND:

W. Porterfield lbw b Hosein 0

A. Balbirnie c Hope b Shepherd 71

A. McBrine retired hurt 34

H. Tector c Chase b Smith 53

C. Campher c Hope b Shepherd 6

L. Tucker b Joseph 9

G. Dockrell c Holder b Joseph 30

G. Delany b Joseph 6

N. Rock c Chase b Holder 5

M. Adair not out 21

C. Young c Pollard b Shepherd 0

J. Little c Pooran b Smith 0

EXTRAS (LB-1, NB-1, W-8) 10

TOTAL (all out, 49.1 overs) 245

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-1 (Porterfield), 2-165 (Balbirnie), 3-173 (Tector), 4-173 (Campher), 5-186 (Tucker), 6-194 (Delany), 7-222 (Rock), 8-237 (Dockrell), 9-239 (Young).

BOWLING: Holder 10-1-48-1, Hosein 10-0-35-1, Joseph 10-0-55-3 (2w, 1nb), Shepherd 9-0-50-3, Smith 5.1-0-26-2 (6w), Chase 5-0-30-0.

RESULT: West Indies won by 24 runs.

UMPIRES: Joel Wilson and Nigel Duguid (both West Indies).

TV UMPIRE: Gregory Brathwaite (West Indies).

MATCH REFEREE: Richard Richardson (West Indies).

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2022