Finding different ways to lose
Ireland succumb to Chamari Athapaththu after top order collapse left them chasing the game
Women’s T20 World Cup - Sri Lanka beat Ireland by nine wickets. Scorecard here.
Bristol - In theory, it was a positive match-up for Ireland. A risk, perhaps, to bowl off-spinner Lara McBride in the powerplay, but she had a left-hander in her sights. Worth a punt.
Chamari Athapaththu treated the move with stylish disdain. Dancing down the track, she dispatched Ireland’s young spinner over extra-cover. A couple of bounces and into the fence, it was comfortably the shot of the day.
For one delivery.
Next ball, Athapaththu repeated the trick, this time getting even more elevation. The ball came off the bat with a noise to rival the previous night’s West Country storm. A solitary bounce shy of the rope robbed Athapaththu of the maximum the shot deserved.
It wasn’t so much a warning across Ireland’s bows as a sinking blow. It’s one thing driving Aimee Maguire through the covers with the first ball of the innings. While a wicket-taker in this tournament, Maguire can be expensive. Plus a left-armer facing a left-hander is not a good bowling match-up. Instead, responding to Ireland’s aggressive use of the off-spinner was a clear message.
‘You are not good enough to stop me.’
Unless Athapaththu lapsed in concentration, the game was done.
Give or take 80 runs later, the Sri Lankan skipper reached her fourth T20I hundred. Those not named Athapaththu combined for 28 of the team’s 134 runs.
Maybe the searing heat made incisive analysis all the more difficult. But sometimes the easiest answers are the right ones. One of the game’s best players was due a score after failing to fire in this competition. Coming up against an Irish attack lacking genuine threat, Athapaththu decided to drop the microphone.
Her century celebration, pointing her thumb towards the name on the back of the jersey in the manner of a cocky centre forward, gave Ireland all the answers they needed. Gaby Lewis’ side has found many ways of losing at this World Cup. Being beaten by a world class performer operating at the peak of her powers is the latest.
All things considered, it’s probably the easiest to take.
Which isn’t to discount the ramifications of Ireland’s disastrous start with the bat. Amy Hunter was slow off the mark with a quick single. Kaushini Nuthyangana’s balletic spin and accurate shy at the stumps was in stark contrast to Hunter’s sluggish attempt to make her ground. A dive would have seen her home. A colleague more familiar with these things suspected they saw Hunter doing a fitness test prior to the game. She has had a troublesome hamstring for some time. Perhaps it was a contributing factor.
Orla Prendergast was a touch unfortunate that spinner Sugandika Dasanayaka spun the one delivery that saw the Irish all-rounder dance down the track. Still, it was a predictable moment of over-exuberance once dot balls had built. Prendergast was impatient and out-thought, her stumping leaving Ireland two down inside the first two overs.
That heaped pressure on Lewis. She responded with her second half-century in as many matches, seeing plenty of reward for taking on the risk of sweeping past the fielders the leg side fence. Her departure in the 19th over cost Ireland a chance at a match-winning total, but it was still some recovery effort.
Alice Tector deserves mention too, her cameo of 28 off 21 balls demonstrating why Ireland see her as a genuine all-round prospect. Even if she wasn’t originally supposed to be on this tour.
For all the admirable qualities of the fightback, it was futile. With Athapaththu in this form, 230 wouldn’t have been enough.
It may be an unsatisfactory conclusion for Ireland. When a player this talented is on song, it is an indictment of the bowling resources that an error cannot be forced. Maybe it was worth Prendergast having a look at more short stuff. She did at least buy a wicket with the short ball-full ball combo, a slower ball castling Imesha Fulani and avoiding the ignominy of a 10-wicket defeat.
Being frazzled by the mere sight of the Bryce sisters in game one, setting strange fields that played into the batters’ strengths was a galling way to lose to Scotland. Confusion around which aggressive options were best vs England was a frustrating departure from the batting clarity that used to abound in the high days of the Ed Joyce era. Throwing away a winning position against a New Zealand team that stopped making mistakes as the game entered its final stages was the most emotional of all the defeats.
Being outmatched by a singular batter in a game where one of your own top order still passed 50? It can happen. Now is probably not a good time to mention Hayley Matthews coming into view as Ireland look to take their last opportunity of this competition for a maiden T20 World Cup win on Saturday.
Ireland were Chamari-d. Shaken and stirred by a smooth operator who seemed to revel in toying with them. It was demoralising. Disheartening. A daunting reminder of the gap between Ireland’s best and those atop the world game.
At least it wasn’t a case of Ireland beating themselves. There’s been enough of that for one tournament.
What stands out is how dependent Sri Lanka still are on Athapaththu. A century while the rest of the side contributes just 28 runs is both remarkable and slightly concerning. For Ireland, though, this feels easier to accept than some of their other losses. Sometimes you get beaten by poor decisions, dropped chances, or missed opportunities. Sometimes a world-class player simply reminds everyone why they’re world-class. This was firmly the latter.