Ireland vs West Indies match abandoned due to wet outfield

Wednesday’s ODI match between Ireland and West Indies match in Belfast had to be abandoned without a ball bowled.

Heavy overnight rain left a wet outfield and delayed the start of the match, while more precipitation forced the umpires to cancel the match.

Three inspections were made, the first one at 10:30 with the next two scheduled within a gap of an hour. However, more rain made the task easy for the umpires.

This match was set to be Ireland’s first against a Test-playing nation since being granted full membership to the ICC in June.

Direct WC qualification in risk

The ODI against Ireland was of great importance for the West Indies, since it was the beginning of their quest for automatic World Cup qualification.

Now, in order to ensure direct qualification, Windies have to beat England 5-0 or 4-0 in an upcoming ODI series, however, it would be a surprise if they achieve this feat.

It seems very likely that the West Indies will battle through the qualifying tournament.

Chris Gayle’s return postponed

This match was also expected to be the return of West Indies’ ace opener Chris Gayle, who has been absent from ODIs after a breakdown in relations with the Windies Cricket board two years ago.

Now, the reappearance of the 37-year-old will be delayed until the start of the series against England later this month.

Squads: Ireland v West Indies

Ireland squad: William Porterfield (c), John Anderson, Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Gary Wilson, Paul Stirling.

West Indies squad: Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Miguel Cummins, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder(c), Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Kesrick Williams.