Delany delivers at the death
Former captain rides her luck to power Ireland to a 3-0 T20 series win over Bangladesh
With six balls remaining, the obituary of this game was already being written. Ireland had thrown away a winning position, reaching 47-0 after the powerplay in chase of a meagre Bangladesh total of 123. A middle overs malaise, where Ireland scored only 37 runs from overs 13-19, left them needing 15 off the final set of six. They hadn’t scored a boundary since the 16th over. Bangladesh’s spinners varied their speeds and lengths beautifully to cut down on scoring.
Step forward Laura Delany. In that final over, she hit three consecutive boundaries, ending the chase with a ball to spare. Bangladesh imploded. Delany was dropped at long-off. The same position then charged in to take a catch three balls later, only to see the ball fly over her head. Had she stayed on the fence, another catching opportunity was on hand. Instead, the ball landed a yard inside the rope before bouncing over for the winning boundary.
Not for the first time this year in an Irish victory, the final over was beautifully chaotic. Ball one featured a bizarre runout which saw the back of Arlene Kelly. Delany was dropped for the first time on the second delivery, the ball rolling just far away from the crestfallen fielder to allow Ireland’s former captain to come back for a second and stay on strike.
12 needed off four. Down the track comes Delany. Shorna Akter, the leg-spinner, tossed it up. Delany found the middle of the bat, powering the ball dead straight to split long-on and long-off.
8 needed off 3. Down the track comes Delany. Again. Bangladesh know she’s trying to go straight. As a result, the deep fielder on the off side is at extra cover, rather than a regulation sweeper. Akter hides the ball well outside off. Delany uses the width, carving it past point. Deep cover is too straight to cut it off.
4 off 2. We all know what’s coming. Down the track comes Delany. The ball is a touch straighter, but still tossed up outside off stump. Delany makes good contact, but not enough to clear the fence. It’s a simple chance if long-off stays where she is. She doesn’t. Akin to the ODI victory over England, the straight fielder runs past the ball and Ireland celebrate.
T20 series whitewash secured. 3-0. 2024 ends on a high.
For Delany, the narrative writes itself. In the first tour since being removed from the captaincy, she comes up with a match-winning effort to go with her excellent knock on Thursday. Who knows if there was any lingering resentment over how the move was handled. If so, it didn’t translate onto the pitch. If Delany felt she had a point to prove, she certainly did so here.
Meandering middle overs
Why Ireland were in such a position which required Delany’s heroics, though, is an all too familiar tale. Ireland’s powerplay looked good initially, Gaby Lewis and Amy Hunter guiding the side to 47-0, good for a run rate of just under eight. Their strokeplay was incredibly easy on the eye, both using their feet beautifully to find gaps on the off-side.
Once the field went back, Bangladesh’s spinners turned the game. Three wickets fell in as many overs. Hunter missed a straight one. Lewis middled a sweep straight to the fielder in the deep. Leah Paul took an ill-advised single as dot ball pressure built. Cue another run out on this tour. The inability to deal with set-backs which derailed the ODI series threatened to rear its ugly ahead again.
Especially given what looked like the middle order’s slow death. Rebecca Stokell showed plenty of intent, both using her feet and looking to sweep, but could not find her timing. Delany herself, had it not been for that final over, would have deserved criticism for allowing the required rate to balloon out of control.
Bangldesh’s spinners deserve credit. They hid the ball outside off stump, thinking that the Irish middle order wasn’t powerful enough to fetch it and find the boundary. They were right - until the final over.
That she failed in the finisher role is disappointing, but it is equally encouraging that Stokell was given the opportunity to face 22 balls with the game on the line. A tall player with long levers, Stokell is best placed to tap into a power game which Ireland so badly need at the back end. She has been earmarked for this role for a while now without achieving consistent success.
Yet Stokell has been in and out of the side somewhat since the back end of the summer. If she is indeed Ireland’s best option in this position, as opposed to Una Raymond-Hoey, Sarah Forbes or Georgina Dempsey (the latter not included on this tour), Stokell should probably be given all three games in India next month to nail down the role. If she can, it will go a long way to taking pressure off the top order. If she can’t, Ireland will have plenty of days like today. Only they can’t always rely on final over heroics and opposition implosions.
As it is, given what we saw from Bangladesh’s plans and the Irish middle order struggles, the top order probably should have gone even harder in the powerplay. Though the overall run total was healthy early doors, Lewis and Hunter finished with strike rates of 88 and 117 respectively. If they both had touched north of 120, given the total was in the 120s, the contest would have been over much earlier.
Prendergast at the death
Prendergast’s resurgence with the ball in this T20 series has been a remarkably positive development. She took three wickets today - even if the first was a somewhat unconvincing caught and bowled. Prendergast certainly took the return catch, but as she dove she looked to have grounded the ball in a way which cricket’s laws don’t particularly like. Think Mitchell Starc at Lord’s during last year’s Ashes. Unlike the Aussies, Prendergast got away with it.
10 wickets across the three T20s saw Ireland’s all-rounder take home the player of the series award. She credits some of the success to her recent stint with the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash. There, perhaps unsurprisingly given the Australian conditions, she was encouraged to rely more on her short ball.
It brought great reward in game two of this series. Less so here, but Prendergast nevertheless picked up wickets by avoiding bowling too full. Conventional wisdom tells you that, at the death, variations are the way to go. Yorkers, bouncers, slower balls etc. Avoid hitting a length because players will just hit you off it.
Not here. Not against a Bangladesh tail which struggles for power. Prendergast recognised this. She bowled into the pitch, a top of the stumps length, and secured two wickets in as many balls in the 18th over. Both were caught behind by Christina Coulter-Reilly, who was given a go with the gloves for the first time in international cricket.
Earlier in the series, Prendergast threatened the top order with her short ball. She then cleaned up the tail by bowling fast and straight. Here, she nicked them off with almost Test match lengths. Her arsenal as an attacking bowler is growing.
On Sunday, the latest auction of the WPL takes place. Prendergast is the only Irish player to go under the hammer. There are only 19 available slots for teams to select new players, and over 120 people in contention for them. It’s still probably unlikely she’ll become the first Irish woman not playing for Australia to play in the WPL. But after using the knowledge garnered from one franchise league to bring international success, Prendergast has done all she can to earn another payday.
What was said
Player of the match Laura Delany: “My heart was definitely in my chest, but delighted that we got over the line. We’ve been very convincing throughout this T20 series and it’s brilliant to finish off with a win.
“I was happy it was the leggie that came on. I wanted to stick to what’s worked for me in the past, which is using my feet and hitting it straight. Bangladesh definitely helped me out with a couple of dropped chances but I’m delighted to get over the line.
“There’s so much potential within this group and we showed it in the T20 series. It was challenging coming out to Dhaka [for the ODIs]. A lot of the girls had never played in conditions like this before and it did take a bit of time to adjust but we went out there and showed everyone what we’re capable of [in the T20s].”
What’s next
Farewell, Irish cricket in 2024. Ireland are next in action in the new year with a three-match ODI tour of India.