West Indies smash record for opening partnership

West Indies opening batsmen John Campbell and Shai Hope smashed a record opening partnership of 365 to lead their side to a win against Ireland in Dublin. The Windies went on to post 381/3 after their 50 overs with Campbell making 179 from 137 balls, while Hope added 170 from 152 balls.

West Indies in fine form ahead of World Cup

The duo narrowly missed out on recording the highest partnership in ODI cricket history. That feat is head by their countrymen Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who posted 372 during a 2015 World Cup game against Zimbabwe.

Barry McCarthy ended up striking when they were on the verge of breaking the record held by Gayle and Samuels. In response, Ireland failed to get going and slumped to 185 all-out after only 34 overs. The only significant contributions for them with the bat came from Andrew Balbirnie (29), Kevin O’Brien (68) and Gary Wilson (30). Ashley Nurse (4-51) and Shannon Gabriel (3-44) did the bulk of the damage.

All eyes on the sumer

The Windies are not one of the favourites to win the Cricket World Cup, but the latest win will certainly give them a big confidence boost ahead of this summer’s tournament, which will be played in England between 30 May-14 June.

They are set to play in further World Cup warm-up games against South Africa and New Zealand before opening their campaign against Pakistan on the 31st of May.

There is certainly a lot of positives that the Windies can take form the game. They are a side that tends to blow hot and cold. The performances of Hope and Campbell at the top of the order also proves that the fans will have something to be excited about when Gayle retires from One Day Internationals after the World Cup.

For much of the past decade, many members of the public has believed that the Windies limited overs sides have been a bit over-reliant on the veteran batsman who is regarded as one of the best hard-hitters of all-time.#

Featured Image Credit: “India v Bangladesh CWC15 QF” (CC BY 2.0) by Visit Victoria