Three players with Caribbean ties, led by former Barbados Pride left-hander Nicholas Kirton, powered Canada to a morale-boosting 12-run victory over Ireland in the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday.
Kirton delivered a top score of 49 from 35 balls, earning him the Player of the Match award, and setting the foundation for Canada’s total of 137 for seven after being put in to bat on the unpredictable drop-in pitch at Nassau County Stadium. Guyana-born pacer Jeremy Gordon and Dilon Heyliger followed up with disciplined bowling spells, restricting Ireland to 125 for seven in their 20 overs.
Canada, playing in their first T20 World Cup, aimed to bounce back after losing their tournament opener to co-hosts and neighbors, the United States, by seven wickets in Dallas. Despite a shaky start, where they crawled to 37 for two by the end of the Power Play, Kirton’s resilience shone through.
53 for four in the ninth over
Navneet Dhaliwal was caught at backward point off Mark Adair for six in the third over, and fellow opener Aaron Johnson fell for 14 in the fifth over, caught at deep backward square leg off Craig Young. The situation worsened when Pargat Singh was caught at third man for 18, and Dilpreet Bajwa gave a return catch to Gareth Delany, leaving Canada at 53 for four in the ninth over.
Kirton, having top-scored against the United States with 51, again drew on his experience. He struck three fours and two sixes, and his 73-run partnership with Shreyas Movva for the fifth wicket was crucial in stabilizing the innings. When Kirton was caught at short fine leg off Barry McCarthy in the penultimate over, he had already transformed the innings, giving Canada a fighting chance.
Ireland closed their Power Play at 31 for one but struggled to find boundaries. Gordon’s two for 16 from four overs and Heyliger’s two for 18 from four overs tightened the grip on the Irish batting line-up.
A magnificent win for us
Mark Adair top-scored for Ireland with 34, while George Dockrell remained unbeaten on 30, but no other batsman managed to reach 20. This tight bowling and fielding performance ensured Canada’s first win of the tournament.
“I think just coming back from obviously the first game, where we thought we should have won that game was good. I feel like all three departments, we kind of clicked [in this game], so it’s a magnificent win for us,” Gordon told reporters during a post-play news conference.
“I’m very happy obviously to contribute to the team success because I personally felt my over is what kind of gave it away the last game, so for me to come back and help the team get over the line – to me, I feel like I’ve done a good job, so I’m quite happy,” he added.
The Canadian team will look to build on this momentum as they continue their campaign in the tournament.
