A remarkable innings of 72 off 32 balls from Curtis Campher rescued Ireland from the brink of elimination from the T20 World Cup, carried them to a dramatic victory over Scotland in Hobart and blew their first-round group wide open.
Scotland’s 176 for five, led by Michael Jones’s 55-ball 86, was the highest score of the tournament so far and Ireland’s reply started catastrophically, with Andy Balbirnie, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector all falling in the opening 10 overs. By the end of the 11th over they needed a far-fetched 106 from 54 balls but Campher and George Dockrell remained unbeaten to reach their target with an over to spare.
Afterwards Dockrell insisted that at no stage did he and Campher believe victory was not within their grasp. “I think we were backing ourselves,” he said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but I suppose that’s why you play the game, it’s these kinds of moments. Me and Curtis had a good idea of what we needed to do, who we needed to score off to be able to chase the game. I thought we put together plans quite nicely and managed to keep that rate going all the way to the end.”
Though between them the pair hit 14 boundaries, including three sixes, their running between the wickets was instrumental in Ireland’s success – their 119-run partnership included 11 twos and two threes.
Pakistan could boycott next year's 50-over World Cup in retaliation for Indian attempts to scupper their rivals' status as hosts of the Asia Cup.
Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and also president of the Asian Cricket Council, told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday that his country would not travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asian Cup due to ongoing political tensions between the nations.
He also took it upon himself to float the idea of staging the competition away from Pakistan - an idea that has gone down predictably badly with the hosts.
A terse statement has followed, complete with a threat to undermine the 2023 World Cup which is due to take place on Indian soil.
"The PCB has noted with surprise and disappointment yesterday's comments made by the ACC President Mr Jay Shah with regards to shifting of next year's Asia Cup to a neutral venue," it read. "The comments were made without any discussion or consultation with the Board of the Asian Cricket Council or the Pakistan Cricket Board and without any thoughts towards their long-term consequences and implications.
"This is contrary to the philosophy and spirit for which the Asian Cricket Council was formed in September 1983 - a united Asian cricket body to safeguard the interests of its Members and organise, develop and promote the game of cricket in Asia.
"The overall impact of such statements have the potential to split the Asian and international cricketing communities, and can impact Pakistan's visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC Events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle."
Pakistan and India have not played each other in a bilateral series since 2013 but do face off at global events, including a scheduled game at the T20 World Cup on Sunday. PA Media
Having sensationally beaten West Indies in their opening game Scotland knew another victory would put them on the verge of a place in the Super 12 stage for the second successive World Cup. With Zimbabwe, who beat Ireland in their opening match, losing to West Indies by 31 runs all four teams now sit level on two points – the scale of their opening victory has given Scotland an advantage on net run rate – and they go into their final fixtures knowing victory would take them through.
“Through large parts of that game we executed really well, and we were ahead for a lot of the game,” said Richie Berrington, the Scotland captain. “We know in these group scenarios it’s never straightforward. We’ll reflect well on this and then come back strong on Friday.”
