Gulf in class evident as Ireland crash back to earth against South Africa

Ireland's cricketers were brought back down to earth with a thud by South Africa this morning

Ireland's World Cup prospects were dealt a blow after they were completely outclassed by South Africa in Canberra. Chasing a target of 412 for an unlikely success, Ireland were always steep underdogs, and a poor start ensured they fell well short as they were bowled out for 210. While victory was always a long shot against one of the tournament favourites, the margin of the defeat has put a real dent in Ireland's net run rate, a statistic which could become crucial in the final reckoning in Pool B. The Proteas won the toss and quickly set about setting Ireland a big total. Hashim Amla was dropped on 10 by Ed Joyce and Ireland were made to pay as the opener hit a brilliant 159 from 128 balls and put on 247 runs in a mammoth second-wicket partnership with Faf du Plessis (109 off 109). The pair took the game away from Ireland, and even though AB de Villiers was out cheaply, David Miller and Rilee Roussouw combined to smash 110 off the final 51 deliveries to see South Africa past 400 for the second game in a row. In response, Irish wickets fell early and often as the South African quick bowlers ripped through the top order. Kyle Abbott, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel all found reward as Ireland were reduced to 48 for five. Andy Balbirnie (58) and Kevin O'Brien (48) steadied the ship with 81 runs for the sixth wicket, but once they fell it was only a matter of seeing if Ireland could bat through their 50 overs. George Dockrell and Max Sorensen put up some resistance with a 33-run ninth wicket partnership, but Ireland were finally put out of their misery when Morkel cleaned up Dockrell's stumps for a total of 210.

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