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Irish defeat Bangladesh by 74

Ireland captain Trent Johnston, right, takes the last wicket of Habibul Bashar of Bangladesh during their Super Eights World Cup match at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Sunday. Ireland won the match by 74 runs. PHOTO: AFP

Ireland's love affair with the cricket World Cup continued with a shock victory over Bangladesh.

Having beaten powerhouse Pakistan in the group stage, the part-timers beat Bangladesh, another test playing nation, by 74 runs on Sunday to climb away from last in the Super Eights and achieve full-time status among cricket's one-day international fraternity.

"We played almost a perfect game," Ireland captain Trent Johnston said after his team had run a lap of honor round the Kensington Oval field in front of a cheering crowd, many of whom had been allowed to come in for free.

"In Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados I think the locals have warmed to us," he said.

A patient first wicket partnership of 92 put Ireland on the way to victory in Barbados. Opener William Porterfield went on to score 85 and big-hitting Kevin O'Brien hit 48 in an impressive 243 for seven.

That proved way out of reach for Bangladesh, which beat South Africa by 67 runs a week ago but struggled all the way against the tight bowling and inspirational Irish fielding.

Mohammed Ashraful scored 35 in the middle of the innings and captain Habibul Bashar was last out for 32, dismissed by his Ireland counterpart Johnston, as Bangladesh was bowled out for 169 in the 42nd over.

Faced by a game involving the weakest teams in the Super Eights playing in the stadium which will be used for the final, the organizers knew thousands of seats in the 23,000 capacity Kensington Oval would be empty for the match.

So they decided to let the locals in for nothing and the result was the noisy, colorful crowd that Caribbean cricket is famous for.

Throughout this World Cup, organizers have taken a lot of criticism for imposing high ticket prices of up to US$100 and strict regulations and bans on such things as food, drinks and musical instruments that deterred locals from going to the games.

The poor performances of Brian Lara's West Indies -- on the brink of elimination after four Super Eights losses in a row -- have given its fans virtually nothing to cheer.

When play started, it was possible to count all the fans sprinkled around the stadium.

When the gates opened to the free tickets an hour and a half later, the seats started to fill up, especially those in the so called Party Stand, the temporary structure that holds 7,000.

The drums, trumpets and whistles grew louder as Barbadian spectators joined the flag-waving overseas visitors.
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