The Cricket World cup is renowned as the ultimate crown of cricketing nations held every four years. Each country comes up with a well-prepared and balanced squad and takes on each other to achieve the highest feat.
Ireland wasn’t a full member of the ICC before 2017. Ireland was elected as just an associate member in 1993. The maiden opportunity came up to Ireland to play in the World Cup in 1999, which was co-hosted by Ireland, Scotland, England, and the Netherlands. But the Irish fell to advance beyond the qualifying rounds and missed an opportunity to participate in the World Cup on their home soil. The Ireland team has played in three World Cups and put up some exciting performances in those tournaments, which drew the attention of the Cricket world.
Ireland’s Performance in World Cup:
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| Opponent | Total | Wins | Tie | Loss |
| Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| England | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| India | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Zimbabwe | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| West Indies | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| UAE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Ireland’s World Cup Debut (2007):
Ireland made their debut in World Cup in 2007 and put up their best performance in that edition of the World Cup. The Irish team stunned the cricket experts with their brilliant efforts on the field.
Their first game of Ireland in the tournament was against Zimbabwe on 15th March, which ended in a tie, primarily thanks to the stand-out performance of Ireland’s first-ever World Cup Centurian Jeremy Bray and Trent Johnston’s tight bowling in the death overs.
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In their second match, played on Saint Patrick’s Day, they continued their momentum and defeated the fourth-ranked team in the World, Pakistan, by three wickets and knocked Pakistan out of the tournament. With these two back-to-back brilliant efforts, the team qualified for the Super-8 stage of the tournament. Ireland couldn’t put up a fight against the West Indies in their last group-stage match and lost by eight wickets.
But the dream journey of the Irish team in the 2007 World Cup came to an end when they lost against England, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Sri Lanka in the Super 8 stage. Though the Irish clinched a 74-run victory against the Test-playing nation Bangladesh, it was not enough for them to advance to the next round.
Ireland’s Other Participations in World Cup:
ICC World Cup 2011:
Ireland’s other two participations in World Cup in 2011 and 2015 were not as promising as their debut performance. The 2011 World Cup took place between February and March and was hosted by Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. Ireland couldn’t advance beyond the group stage. But they stunned the cricket world when they recorded a historic victory against their neighbour England by three wickets. The hard-hitting all-rounder Kevin O’Brien had a brilliant performance with the bat and scored a mind-blowing century in just 50 deliveries. Ireland chased down the mammoth total of 327 for victory and added the feather of the highest successful run chase in the World Cup to their crown. But the Irish team couldn’t perform as per their potential in the other group stage matches, which made them out of the tournament.
ICC World Cup 2015:
Ireland started their campaign brilliantly. But in the end, it was another disappointing World Cup journey in 2015 for the Irish team. They beat West Indies and UAE in their first two games. In the first match, Ireland chased down 304 runs and chased more than 300 runs for the third time in the World Cup out of six successful run chases of more than 300 runs by any team. But they lost in their remaining matches against South Africa, India, and Pakistan and got knocked out of the tournament in the group stage.
The Irish cricket team, which started their journey from the bottom as just an associate member, has progressed a lot in the game and achieved certain feats in world cricket. The lack of inexperience has always been an obstacle in major events. But without proper infrastructure and guidance, the nation has produced some brilliant talents over the years. The 2007 World cup was itself proof of the improvement in their performance. The team has much to gain in World Cricket. But the fans of Ireland can expect a bright future for the team.
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