The Ireland men's cricket team are celebrating a historic One-Day International series win over the West Indies.
A two-wicket victory in last night's third ODI sealed a 2-1 victory for Ireland at Sabina Park.
It's the first-ever ODI series victory for Ireland over a full ICC member away from home.
🏏 | MATCH RESULT
We’ve done it!!!!!!
▪️ West Indies 212 (44.4 overs)
▪️ Ireland 214-8 (43 overs)
➡️ Scorecard: https://t.co/cVlMf8Hut4#BackingGreen #IREvWI ☘️🏏 pic.twitter.com/RUOGQUEmsI— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) January 16, 2022
It wasn't without a nervous finish, however.
Ireland - after a good performance with the ball - appeared to be coasting for victory.
Three wickets in quick succession gave the West Indies a glimmer of hope, but a boundary from Craig Young saw Ireland reach the target of 213 with 31 balls to spare.
Andy McBrine starred with ball and bat for the victors, recording four wickets before registering a half-century to aid Ireland's chase.
Harry Tector also broke the 50-run mark.
It represented a significant result for Ireland.
It was also achieved after a turbulent month in which the squad and staff have been dealing with a number of Covid cases.
“It means a lot to the team – the last 3 to 4 weeks hasn’t been easy on us, but there’s a fighting spirit left in us and we showed that today," McBrine, the Player of the Series, said afterwards.
“There was a nice bit of spin in the pitch today – I just had to change up my lengths and keep it as simple as possible and force them to make mistakes – and that has happened in the last three games.
“I struggled a bit to get my timing with the bat, I just ground it out and waited for my ball as much as I could.
"Harry and I kept things simple, we were always up above the required rate, so didn’t need to lapse into anything we didn’t need to.
“Player of the Series means a lot personally, but I’m firstly just trying to contribute what I can to the team.”
