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Cricket shock?
- Thread starter harry_h
- Start date
MRRF 10
New member
when was there last winLondon Irish
Well-known member
We've done that before - we beat the great West Indies team of the 1970s when England were being blackwashed all over the place.
Brighton Breezy
New member
When was this game and are there any online reports?
- Thread starter
- #7
The match took place in Belfast and finished around 7.45 today.
West Indies innings report- http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2004/JUN/171212_WI_17JUN2004.html
Will be updated with Ireland's innings soon
West Indies innings report- http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2004/JUN/171212_WI_17JUN2004.html
Will be updated with Ireland's innings soon
- Thread starter
- #8
A complete scorecard- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sol/shared/bs..._match_other_match/7073/html/scorecard_hi.stm
Another uncompleted report- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3815183.stm
Another uncompleted report- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3815183.stm
Last edited:
saafend_seagull
Well-known member
ireland?! haha
Gully
Monkey in a seagull suit.
Bloody hell, my next door neighbour is a cricket mad West Indian, funny thing is that his wife is of Irish lineage, bet it is quiet in their house tonight!!!
London Irish said:We've done that before - we beat the great West Indies team of the 1970s when England were being blackwashed all over the place.
In 1969 actually. West Indies' players later admitted that they'd partaken rather heavily of the black stuff the night before.
Good result though as I'm sure the Irish team hadn't held back. Good result today too.
London Irish
Well-known member
Gwylan said:
Good spot, Gwylan!
Magic of Sion Mills still fresh after all these years
By Malcolm Brodie, belfasttelegraph.co.uk
12 June 2004
THEY call it the legend of Sion Mills. July 2, 1969 was the most momentous day in the history of Irish cricket when the West Indies were bowled out for 25 and Ireland passed their total and declared at 125-8.
"At 12 for 9 I thought we let them off the hook," humorously commented Dr Billy Ritchie, then chairman of selectors.
Some years ago when having a drink in a Barbados hotel bar, I mentioned this sensational win to a Bajan sitting beside me. He gazed into my eyes and said: "No man no!" Even after studying the clippings, he remained unconvinced.
Unquestionably world record holder Brian Lara and his squad will be frequently reminded of that day when they play Ireland in two one-day matches at Civil Service next week.
It was a day which Clarence Hiles in his excellent "A History of Irish Senior Cricket" describes it as "while nothing more than a blip in the passing of West Indies history, it gave Irish cricket a boost no million dollar advertising campaign could have achieved."
That day too a 21-year-old Ulsterman Michael Reith, born and bred in Waringstown, left-hand opening batsman and right-arm medium paced bowler made his debut as a replacement for Dermot Monteith who was unavailable for business reasons. It was an occasion which will never be erased from his memory.
Reith, now 56 and a leisure centre management executive with Banbridge Council said: "I suppose you could say it was a piece of Irish selection which gave me my chance - naming an opening batsman to come in for a slow left-arm bowler.
"We beat the West Indies total for the loss of one wicket. I came in at number three to hit the winning run - a push through the covers. It was all quite surreal. Here we had dismissed the West Indies for 25, yet there was an atmosphere of disappointment that the supporters couldn't see the great West Indies in full flow.
"They had come from a hard five-day test at Lords. The Sion Mills wicket wasn't bad and I felt there was an attitude problem, a lack of dedication by the West Indies who gave the impression that someone would eventually come along to rescue them. Alec O'Riordan and Dougie Goodwin did the damage. The fielding too was superb."
Reith, highly knowledgeable on every facet of the game, accepted by his fellow professionals and indeed, all in cricket, is ranked as a real gentleman of sport. He played 44 times for his country, scored almost 2,000 runs and made 41 catches.
Cricket has always been his main sporting interest although he did play football in the Mid-Ulster League.
His career began at 14 with Waringstown, that cradle of the game in Northern Ireland, and, amazingly, within two years was a member of the team that won the NCU Cup 10 times and the League seven in a remarkable 16-year span.
He spent two years in Sydney playing in highly-competitive Grade cricket but returned to Northern Ireland to become the central figure in the most revolutionary development here.
He was the first local professional to be "tapped" by another club when he joined North Down who had been examining the prospect of getting several other big names on their books.
Success followed him throughout those three seasons at Comber, losing to North of Ireland in the 1980 Cup final but defeating Ballymena in the next one.
Better still he instilled organisation, techniques and generally gave the club an uplift.
"He brought back the glory days of the Thirties. The catalyst who made it all happen," said Hiles.
And praise has been heaped on him too by Cecil Walker who can aptly be described as "Ulster's Mr Cricket".
Walker said: "He was technically brilliant, a deep thinker about the game, a superb opening batsman, a valuable all-rounder. He had a wonderful way with players when coaching and you could see he was obviously someone who enjoyed cricket."