Ireland may have lost by an innings, but they played well into the fifth day, batted for more than two days, and reached close to 700 runs. Overall, given the situation, this was a promising outcome, according to captain Andy Balbirnie following the second Test in Galle.
Ireland fought through the majority of the second Test after losing the first in three days. After Balbirnie had set the tone with his own 95, Paul Stirling and Curtis Campher both hit their first centuries. They scored 202 runs in 77.3 overs in the second inning after hitting 492 runs in the first.
They failed to last 55 overs in either of their two innings during the first Test, being blown out for 143 and 168 respectively.
“We’re not too down in the change-room about this result,”
Balbirnie said.
“We wanted to bounce back from the disappointment of the first game, and I think we did that.”
“If we were being hyper-critical, we could have had more runs in the first innings, because that was the best time to bat. But to have two first-time centurions – these are big moments for these cricketers. We are disappointed we didn’t get a draw but we played good cricket.”
Ireland’s sixth test was this one. They had lost each of their previous five games.
“We are very young in our Test career, so you have to take these little wins. It’s the first time we’ve played five full days. I know there was a bit of rain around, but we got into the middle session on the fifth day, still believing we could get a draw.”
“We knew it would be very tough to win the game. To take 20 wickets out there would have been very difficult. We have to take small steps. A lot of the best teams in the world haven’t won Tests this early. It’s going to take time. We have to make sure the players are exposed to the red ball as much as possible.”
Ireland’s bowling was poor, despite the fact that they batted better in this game. In Sri Lanka’s first innings, they gave up 704 for 3. Two Sri Lankan batters reached multiple digits, and none were removed before they did so.
“We’re brought up in Ireland where the wickets favour seam bowling,” Balbirnie said. “It’s so different here, as hot as it is, and the Kookaburra ball doesn’t do a lot, particularly when it goes soft. You have high-class batters who are amazing in these conditions.”
“The guys tried their hardest out there. Can’t fault them at all. I know they were 700 for 3, but whenever I gave someone the ball, they had no hesitation. They just kept running in.”
With the team aiming for a draw, Harry Tector was Ireland’s top batter in the second innings, facing 189 deliveries for his 85. His biggest conflict came early in the day when Tector had to endure a tough short bowling stint from Asitha Fernando. In the first Test, Tector had also been one of Ireland’s more effective batsmen.
“Harry played really well. He played the situation brilliantly. To see that barrage the way he did this morning is a credit to him. He’ll take a lot from this trip as a Test-match cricketer.”
“A lot of our batters have done really well over here. It has been tough for the bowlers. It has not been too conducive for our seamers. But this is all a learning curve for a lot of our group. Our next Test is at Lord’s, which is slightly different. Since we’ve come to South Asia we’re three Test matches more experienced.”