11.36pm South Africa may have won the series 2-1, but this victory for Ireland is super sweet. They won the toss, posted a solid total, and their bowlers stepped up thereafter. Only the second time Ireland have beaten SA in an ODI, and a strong comeback win after losing the first two ODIs rather meekly. They will fly home on a high.
South Africa’s loss could’ve been much worse if it wasn’t for rookie Jason Smith’s 91 in only his second ODI. He made 0 in his debut, remember. Kyle Verreyne and Tristan Stubbs put in solid contributions too, but on this surface, both needed to stay in a tad bit longer to have made a game out of this match.
As for Ireland, Hume the pick of the bowlers with his 3-29 but Young (3-40) and Adair (2-54) bowled with a lot of heart. Humphreys (1-16 in seven overs) was excellent too.
The victory, though, was set up by Ireland’s captain Paul Stirling, who pummeled 88. Tector’s 60 was enterprising, while Balbirnie (45), Campher (34) and Tucker (26) ensured the Irish top and middle order showed a bit more resilience compared to the first two ODIs. South Africa struggled with the ball and in their fielding for a large chunk of the first innings, and their only bowling positive could be Williams’ death-overs spell that earned him figures of 4-56.
