Ireland left to curse missed chances in defeat to T20 World Cup hosts Sri Lanka: ‘We were a little bit sloppy in the field’
Not that the Boys in Green were ever going to emulate the great Australian’s 1999 team and become world champions, but at least six spilt chances have left them struggling to reach the quarter-finals when a victory over the hosts was there for the taking.All was looking rosy for Ireland when some intelligent and superbly disciplined spin bowling, led by George Dockrell, who took 2-17 from four overs, and Gareth Delany’s 1-24, restricted Sri Lanka to 104-4 after 16 overs.The game pivoted on the next delivery from Matthew Humphreys, which was slogged back over his head and badly misjudged by Curtis Campher rushing in from long off, and two further chances were spurned from the left-armer’s next three balls.Matthew Humphreys, left, and Barry McCarthy of Ireland react after losing the ICC Men's T20 World Cup group stage match against Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Photo by SportsfileA total of 21 came from Humphrey’s final over, and after a mad 19th from Barry McCarthy, that brought him two wickets but also contained a no-ball and four wides, which cost 19 runs, what should have been a gettable target became more daunting as the home side finished on 163-6.“Halfway through, we thought that maybe they’d got 15 or 20 runs too many,” skipper Paul Stirling said.“We weren’t as clinical as we wanted to be. We were a little bit sloppy in the field, and there are areas we need to work on before we play Australia here on Wednesday.”In reply, Ross Adair rode his luck to make 34 from 23 balls, and with Harry Tector keeping the scoreboard moving without ever fully coming to terms with a tricky surface, there were a few nervous looks among the Sri Lankan coaches.Lorcan Tucker weighed in with 21 and for comparison, Ireland were well ahead on 117-4 at the end of their 16th over.Tector had already departed for 40 from 34 balls, though, and the much-heralded finishers collapsed in a heap with the last six wickets falling for 23 as the innings closed on 143.“The Sri Lankan experience told at the end of each innings,” Stirling said. “Those 20 extra runs at the back end were important and although we were in a good position, they upped the ante and put the squeeze on our batters at the end.”
