Ireland, Rory McIlroy and sporting demons

Pressure has been a dominating theme in Irish sport of late, only with very different results

Laura Delany and Leah Paul in action against Thailand. 📸: Cricket Ireland

Ireland: 305-4

Thailand: 259

Ireland win by 46 runs

Imagine how fun it will be watching Rory at Augusta next year. Walking down the back nine on Sunday, whether he’s in contention or not, will be a joyous experience compared to significant chunks of Sunday night.

Relatively speaking, the pressure will be off. The burden of expectation minimal. Just watch a supreme talent operating at the apex of their sport.

For vastly different reasons, this stress-free description applied to Ireland’s penultimate World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. Rory’s burden was lifted by success, his tortuous quest for a green jacket complete. Ireland’s lack of pressure stems from failure, three consecutive defeats ending their World Cup qualification hopes.

The victory against Thailand was a dead rubber. Almost inevitably, Ireland looked a different team, reaching 300 for just the fourth time in their ODI history.

Ed Joyce’s side batted with freedom rarely seen this week. Sarah Forbes hit three boundaries in her best display of the week atop the order. Amy Hunter was her usual positive self, finding the fence 10 times to reach 76 off 71 balls. Gaby Lewis (75 off 89) pulled off some of the best shots seen in these qualifiers, repeatedly dancing down the track to flay the off-spinner over extra-cover.

It took Leah Paul 11 balls to score her first boundary via her favoured sweep shot. 29 deliveries later, she had 10 fours and a solitary maximum to her name, ending unbeaten on 67 off 40. The strike rate of 168 runs per 100 balls faced was the best of her ODI career. Next best is 129.

This freedom carried over into the second innings. The fielding was at times excellent, though drops still popped up. Gaby Lewis threw down the stumps from point. Leah Paul took a tumbling catch in the same position, albeit with a nervy fumble. Lewis took a stunning catch diving to her left at extra-cover. To be fair to Ireland’s captain, she was never afflicted by the contagious dropped catch disease which tore through the team.

Kia McCartney, the young off-spinner on debut, must be wondering what all the fuss is about. She took a wicket with just her second legal delivery for Ireland. International cricket is easy.

Here is a good spot to mention the boring, yet important caveats. Thailand were poor. Similar to Ireland when under the pump this week, they dropped their fair share of catches. One Thai batter was guilty of running one short. A number of close LBW decisions also went against them. Chasing 306, they had to take the sort of risks which make life easier for young spinners. While Thailand remain one of cricket’s more intriguing emerging nations, this is the worst team Ireland will play in this series. And they still got within 50 runs.

Yet the nature of some of the performances once again proves that there is plenty of talent in this Irish side. There is a recent history of Irish players performing against better sides than Thailand. Paul has hit half-centuries against India and Sri Lanka in the last 12 months. Christina Coulter-Reilly notched 80 in Rajkot. When it mattered most, Lewis couldn’t come close to recreating her 92 against India, nor could Prendergast tap into the muscle memory of match-winning heroics against England and Sri Lanka.

If clawing for positives, that Ireland reminded themselves of their ability is no bad thing. That said, the lack of standout individual displays doesn’t even account for the horror show that was Ireland’s recent catching history. Even in today’s low stakes affair, Laura Delany dropped a difficult chance. Louise Little had a tricky day in the field, bookended by losing her balance and grounding the ball - a la Mitchell Starc at Lord’s - after initially taking a clean catch. That she took five wickets with the ball does at least leave a positive personal memory.

Finding out why Ireland can perform in low-stakes bilateral games, but not a critical qualifying event isn’t a difficult task. While the heat and humidity created plenty of issues, the conditions were the same for all sides involved. Ireland have a history of struggling in high pressure matches, collapsing against Scotland in last year’s T20 event in the first game which presented real jeopardy.

Ireland don’t play enough cricket where skills are tested under the highest of pressure, games of true consequence. Recent close victories against England and Sri Lanka clearly help, but even these were low-consequence matches in a Women’s Championship which Ireland had no hopes of winning.

Such a deficiency makes it all too easy to fold under pressure. Filling that gap should be priority number one for Cricket Ireland, the first thing the new head coach fights for upon arrival.

Ireland’s next qualifying event is in August, only that T20 World Cup preparation has little jeopardy. The Dutch are the other team of note taking part, and even if Ireland implode against them, they won’t lose out to Germany for the second qualification spot. Outside of any T20 World Cups Ireland reach, we’re looking at these same ODI qualifiers in four years’ time for the re-emergence of similar pressure levels.

The narrative on McIlroy is that, because of his success, his last remaining box ticked, the floodgates could well open. He should add a second green jacket. Another five majors? Sure why not a handful more Ryder Cups?

Ireland, by contrast, have not conquered their demons. They merely lay defeated on the canvas, waving them off until the next bout. That they will return for seconds is a certainty. How Ireland might be better prepared to face them remains to be seen.