West Indies hits 256-5 and wins 3rd T20 against Ireland by 62 runs to claim series

BREADY, Northern Ireland (AP) — West Indies piled up its second-highest Twenty20 innings in men's cricket and went on to secure a 62-run victory over Ireland on Sunday to win the series 1-0.
Ireland chose to bowl first in the third T20 and West Indies responded with 256-5 at Bready Cricket Club — propelled by an opening stand of 122 in 10.3 overs by Evin Lewis (91 runs in 44 balls) and captain Shai Hope (51 in 27).
West Indies smashed 20 sixes in total — Lewis hit eight maximums, with four each for Hope and Keacy Carty (49 not out in 22 deliveries).
Ireland replied with 194-7. Ross Adair (48 in 36) and Harry Tector (38 in 25) took the total to 114-1 before Ireland was reduced to 116-4 in 12 overs.
The first and second matches were abandoned because of rain without a ball being bowled.
The two teams drew a three-match ODI series 1-1 in Dublin in May, before England swept West Indies 3-0 in ODI and T20 series.
___
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

33 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Sam Konstas sends message to Aussie fans after Labuschagne's brutal axing before Ashes

Aussie opener Sam Konstas claims cricket fans will see a different person and player to the one that made his Test debut at the MCG last year having replaced Marnus Labuschagne in the starting XI. The Aussie selectors finally pulled the pin on Labuschagne after a drop in form across the last two years saw him struggle for runs. The experiment to move him up the order and open, alongside Usman Khawaja, in the World Test Championship final didn't help the top order after a second innings collapse cost Australia the match. And selectors had finally seen enough having opted to replace Labuschagne with Konstas in the line-up for the opening test match against the West Indies. Aussie fans have been calling for Konstas to return to the starting XI ever since his barnstorming entrance to the Test arena. Konstas took on Jasprit Bumrah at the MCG with an aggressive approach, which captured the attention of Aussie cricket fans. Although the selectors didn't reward the youngster, but instead dropped him for the Sri Lanka series. And the 19-year-old was then left out in favour of Labuschagne for the WTC final. But after the top orders failings once again, selectors listened to the calls and have reinstated Konstas back to the top of the order. And Konstas feels fans will see a more mature batter when he takes to the crease against the West Indies. 'The emotions probably got to me with the crowd,' Konstas said of his Boxing Day knock. 'It was good reflecting, having a bit of time off to strengthen my game up. I've been trying to focus on a few key areas with my batting coach, and I feel like I've come a long way, so hopefully I can display that in the next few Test matches.' And Konstas admitted it's nice to back in the side and isn't taking it for granted. 'It's been good training with the whole group and getting to know everyone a lot more,' Konstas said from Barbados. 'Obviously it's a tough team to crack into as we've got legends of the game.'For me, hopefully I grab my opportunity because it's such a strong side and I'm very grateful for that. 'It's a dream come true to be honest, 19 years old, playing for your country, travelling the world. I'm very lucky to be where I am currently.' RELATED: South Africa get last laugh as Aussie sledge backfires badly Pat Cummins' key confession after rival admits to 'dodgy' act While Konstas' return makes for big news, it's the call to drop Labuschagne that made the headlines. Since chief selector George Bailey took over in 2021 the Queenslander has been in the team. A former World No.1 batter, Labuschagne has only averaged 27.82 in the past 12 months. And after moving him to opener, hoping it would revitalise his career, the selectors made the call ahead of the series against the West Indies with one-eye on the Ashes later this year. "Marnus at his best can be a really important member of this team. He understands his output hasn't been at the level we, or he, expects," Bailey said in a statement. "We will continue working with him on the areas of his game we feel he needs to rediscover." Former Australian coach Justin Langer urged the selectors to stand by Labuschagne, despite his lack of runs. "He's actually a very, very important link in this chain," Langer said of the batter. "You think about the history of Australian cricket. The best young players come in surrounded by absolute guns. Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn and Matthew Hayden. They come in and they're around gun players. "If you just all of a sudden bring a couple of kids in, Cameron Green's still young to the game, and you have to bring another kid in there (to replace Labuschagne)." Despite the likes of former captain Tim Paine and Langer backing the Queenslander, his form was telling and the selectors made the call with his chances of playing in the Ashe up-in-the-air.

Yahoo

5 hours ago

• Yahoo

'It's only match one' says Itoje after Lions mauled by Pumas

A disappointed British and Irish Lions team will set off for Australia on Saturday after suffering a 28-24 loss against Argentina in Dublin (Paul Faith) The British & Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje brushed off Friday's defeat against Argentina in Dublin, saying his side will "live, learn and get better". The Lions, who leave for a three-Test tour of Australia on Saturday, were outplayed in the first half and, after a second half resurgence, went down 28-24. Advertisement Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne both went over the Pumas line and the Lions were also awarded a penalty try but the visitors replied with three tries of their own including one for fly-half Tomas Albornoz who finished with 18 points. It was the first opening tour match loss since 1971 but there was much to build on as the team sets off on Saturday for Australia. Seventeen players were not considered by coach Andy Farrell because of their presence in domestic competitions last weekend or, in the case of Toulouse's Blair Kinghorn, this weekend. "We weren't as consistent as we would have liked to be," Itoje told Sky Sports. Advertisement "We only showed glimmers of what we can do. When we were on it, we looked good, we just need to do it more consistently. "We want to be more aggressive but we are building. It wasn't quite that, we will live, learn and get better." The Lions, who come together every four years as a team drawn from the best players in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, chose to play Argentina, ranked fifth in the world rather than a scratch team like the Barbarians to give themselves a stern test ahead of Australia. "Argentina showed us where we are lacking," said Itoje. "I am happy we had a hard-fought game. We live and learn. This is only match one." Advertisement Farrell admitted that his side, who have only been together a short time, have much to do before their next game against Western force in Perth on June 28. "You can't win a Test with that error rate," he said. "We lost enough balls in that game for a full tour, throwing balls that weren't on. "There was good and bad throughout. We were just a little bit off, I take responsibility for that. "I hope we are better off for that. We will keep building for the Test matches." - Under pressure - The Lions, however, were under pressure from the start as the Pumas went on the attack from the kick-off, Albornoz stroking over a penalty in the fifth minute. Advertisement The Lions then had a try ruled out when Luke Cowan-Dickie spilled the ball forwards as he reached for the line but Fin Smith levelled with a penalty. The Pumas hit back straight away as Ignacio Mendy stepped in off his wing, wrong-footed Duhan van der Merwe and slid through for the try. The Lions had a second try, this time from Sione Tuipulotu, ruled out before his centre partner Bundee Aki barged through for their opener. Albornoz knocked over two more penalties to make it 14-10 as the clock ticked towards the red. The Lions had time to restart and had a chance to regain the lead before the half-time whistle as the Pumas coughed up possession. Advertisement The Pumas, though, quickly retrieved it, attacking down the right and opening the door for Albornoz to skitter through under the posts for their second try of the half. He added the conversion to take a 21-10 lead at the break. The Lions began the second half strongly and picked up a penalty try when Puma prop Mayco Vivas came in from the side of a maul to prevent it going over the line, collecting a yellow card in the process. Shortly after, the Lions were in front, a bullocking run by prop Ellis Genge producing chaos in the Argentine defence and allowing Irish lock Tadhg Beirne to crash over. Just before the hour, the Pumas were back in front when Connacht's Santiago Cordero beat Marcus Smith in a sprint to the line for the try that sealed the game. bsp/ea

Yahoo

6 hours ago

• Yahoo

Andy Farrell says Lions ‘won't sugar-coat' defeat to Argentina

Andy Farrell demanded an improvement from his British and Irish Lions when they arrive in Australia after they slipped to a 28-24 defeat by Argentina in Dublin. The Lions lost their opening tour match for the first time since 1971 after their second-half fightback was overturned when Santiago Cordero finished the match-winning try in the 59th minute. Advertisement On Saturday they head Down Under before facing the Western Force a week later and Farrell is seeking an immediate response to the error-strewn display seen at a sold-out Aviva Stadium. 'We made it a tough game. Congratulations to Argentina, they thoroughly deserved to win the match. I'm sure that's a big moment in Argentinean rugby history,' Farrell said. 'We had plenty of opportunities and we should have done better to convert them, but the whole story of the game is that we compounded too many errors. 'I wouldn't give familiarity as an excuse. We need to be better than that. The Lions are good players coming together. Advertisement 'We won't sugar-coat this. We need to be honest because if we're not honest, how do we gain trust with each other? 'Losing hurts, especially in this jersey. We need to find the solutions pretty quickly and be honest with ourselves because some good has to come from this. 'Of course we asked a lot of the players and maybe we put too much pressure on the side because it looked like we were a little disconnected at times. 'We'll review what we said we were going to do as a team. We need to make sure we get something positive from this because it's all about how we move forward. 'Some players will be happy and some players won't and will be dying to get another chance out there. We've got to learn a lot of lessons from that. Advertisement 'We want to see a better all round performance. There wasn't just one thing, it was the compounding of quite a few bits. 'The amount of balls that we threw blindly either on to the floor or to the opposition was a standout. 'The scraps on the floor always seemed to go to Argentina, so there was a bit more fight and hunger from them that we can't accept.' Maro Itoje's first game as captain ended in defeat (Brian Lawless/PA) Maro Itoje criticised the Lions' accuracy as his first outing as captain ended in the tourists' first defeat to Argentina in eight matches.. 'It was a spectacular occasion. The fans gave us a glimpse of what to expect in Australia,' Itoje said. 'We gave ourselves numerous opportunities but we weren't accurate enough at times and weren't consistent enough in piling pressure on to Argentina.'