Limited opportunities bring out the best in Ireland: Balbirnie

Dublin, July 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Ireland cricket team skipper Andy Balbirnie said after his side's 43-run victory over South Africa in the second ODI that due to lack of opportunities, the boys are more determined when facing big opponents and it brings out the best in his team.

Ireland shocked South Africa on Tuesday with the win giving them a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series after the first match produced no result.

Ireland made 290/5 in 50 overs with Balbirnie scoring 102. Harry Tector made 79. But it was South Africa's fielding that let them down.

"We've beaten big teams before but we haven't beaten them consistently. We don't have the players these teams have; we don't have the infrastructure or the exposure. A lot of the South African team have played in the IPL. We don't get that," Balbirnie was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"So what we do, when we do play these big teams, we get the most of out of these games and we try to put in our best performance. We are thrilled and beating them once off is great but winning a series at the end of the week will be so important, because it shows we're making strides."

Ireland's win is the first time they have defeated South Africa in seven One-day Internationals, and the only the fourth time they have beaten a top-five team. They had beaten Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup and England in 2011 and last year.

On his partnership with Tector, who was playing only his 12th ODI, Balbirnie said, "Harry is a quick learner and a very impressive person. A lot of our guys have been thrown into the deep end, playing big teams but these are the players we need to invest in and put time into. The last series in Holland, Harry has shown promise. He is looking really impressive in that No.4 position. That was probably the innings of the day."

Source: IANS