Andy Balbirnie’s ninth ODI hundred and Barry McCarthy’s  four-wicket haul handed West Indies a 124-run thrashing in the first ODI in Dublin. It was Ireland’s biggest win by runs against a Full Member and their fourth biggest victory overall.

Balbirnie, who came into this game with scores of 91, 101 and 63 in the Inter-Provincial Cup, continued his good form and accumulated 112 off 138 balls to set the platform for Ireland’s eventual 303 for 6.

McCarthy then dismantled West Indies’ top order by taking three wickets with the new ball. Roston Chase and Matthew Forde resisted but only briefly. Fittingly, it was McCarthy who took the final wicket as West Indies were bowled out for 179 in 34.1 overs.

Earlier, after West Indies opted to bowl, Balbirnie found good support from captain Paul Stirling and Harry Tector, Both scored quick half-centuries to allow Balbirnie to play the anchor’s role he has been assigned. Stirling was the aggressor in the 109-run opening stand. During his 54 off 64 balls, he also became the first Ireland batter to reach 10,000 international runs.

While Cade Carmichael did not last long, Balbirnie and Tector kept Ireland going with a third-wicket stand of 98 in just 81 balls. Balbirnie took 88 balls to reach his fifty but stepped up after that. His second fifty came in 43 balls.

Alzarri Joseph ended that stand in the 44th over with Balbirnie’s wicket, but Tector’s 56 off 51 and Lorcan Tucker’s 30 off 18 ensured Ireland crossed 300.

West Indies did not have a great start to their chase and lost Evin Lewis in the third over of the innings. The batter’s attempt for a risky single proved to be fatal when he collided with the bowler, McCarthy, and failed to beat Tector’s direct hit from mid-off.

That was not the last time West Indies found McCarthy in their way. On the final ball of the seventh over, he had Keacy Carty caught at mid-on. In his next over, he dealt a double blow. He first had Brandon King caught behind and then trapped Amir Jangoo lbw.

Before West Indies could steady themselves, debutant Thomas Maves landed another blow. He cleaned up Shai Hope with a big inswinger, leaving the visitors on 31 for 5 in the tenth over.

Justin Greaves decided to fight fire with fire. He struck four fours off McCarthy in the 11th over and welcomed Josh Little into the attack with back-to-back fours. But Little had the last laugh when he had Greaves caught at slip for 35 off 17 balls.

Chase, the newly appointed Test captain, and Forde chose the conventional method to revive the innings. They bided their time and put away loose balls. Chase brought up his fifth half-century in ODIs as the pair added 98 in 107 balls for the seventh wicket.

George Dockerell though, ended West Indies’ resistance by castling Chase when the target was still 135 runs away. The end was swift. Dockrell dismissed Alzarri Joseph and Gudakesh Motie in his next over, and two balls later, McCarthy removed Forde to seal the win.

Still, it was not a flawless performance by Ireland. They left out a few runs in the middle and dropped three catches, something they will be keen to fix when the two sides meet again on Friday.

Brief scores:
Ireland 303 for 6 in 50 overs (Andy Balbirnie 112, Harry Tector 56,  Paul Stirling 54, Lorcan Tucker 30; Mathew Forde 3-68, Alzarri Joseph 2-51) beat West Indies 179 in 34.1 overs (Justin Greaves 35, Roston Chase 55, Mathew Forde 38;  Barry  McCarthy 4-32, George Dockrell 3-21) by 124 runs

[Cricinfo]