Wilson and O’Brien hailed in Ireland's victory over UAE
Ireland captain William Porterfield hailed big-hitting Kevin O’Brien and rock-steady Gary Wilson for carving out a nervy two-wicket Cricket World Cup win over the United Arab Emirates in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Ireland captain William Porterfield hailed big-hitting Kevin O’Brien and rock-steady Gary Wilson for carving out a nervy two-wicket Cricket World Cup win over the United Arab Emirates in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Chasing 279 to win at the Gabba, Wilson top-scored with 80 off 69 balls although it was O’Brien who gave the innings vital impetus with a swashbuckling 24-ball half-century as victory was secured with just four balls remaining.
Earlier, Pakistan-born Shaiman Anwar scored the first hundred by a UAE batsman at a World Cup with 106 off 83 balls.
It was a bit closer than we would have wanted but we’d take that any day of the week. Confidence is high in the squad, and the fixtures start coming thicker and faster now
Ireland now have two wins in two while the UAE have lost both their opening pool matches.
“Wickets in hand are always a big thing, especially when you’ve got lads like Kev and Wilson coming in,” said Porterfield, whose team had started their campaign with a win over the West Indies.
“One key factor was the way we played in the last 20 overs of our innings.”
He added: “It was a bit closer than we would have wanted but we’d take that any day of the week.
“Confidence is high in the squad, and the fixtures start coming thicker and faster now.”