West Indies ward off Irish threat

A herculean face saving effort put history on hold allowing West Indies to pull off an 11-run victory over persistent Ireland and draw the two match T20 international series here at Sabina Park.

Captain Darren Sammy grabbed three wickets to lead a late counter-attack as West Indies on Friday stormed back from poor batting performance to deprive the visitors of a first series win against a Test playing nation. 

Ireland restricted West Indies to an embarrassing 96/9 in 20 overs, their second lowest total in completed innings, since making 79 for 7 against Zimbabwe in 2010.

The visitors, at one stage, appeared to be inching to victory until Sammy’s diehard bowling display, a three-wicket haul in the middle overs which sent their effort into a tailspin.

Ireland had slumped to 22 for three when Gary Wilson arrived and occupied the crease long enough to move the game gradually away from the hosts. Wilson was the inspiration to the run chase with a gutsy top score of 35.