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Wednesday, 2 March 2011

O'Brien Chances Arm with England

Kevin O'Brien

Ireland batsman Kevin O'Brien said his record-breaking century in the dramatic World Cup win over England was the best innings he had ever played.


O'Brien reached his 100 off 50 balls, the fastest century in World Cup history, and ended on 133 as Ireland beat England by three wickets.

"I chanced my arm, attacked and batted as positively as I could and thankfully it came off," said O'Brien.

"I kept going and everything went my way, with the odd bit of luck too."

O'Brien said the magnitude of his side's achievement had "not sunk in yet" but added that the victory had been a "real team effort".

Batting first, England scored 327-8 but Ireland replied with 329-7 with five balls to spare.

"Our bowlers restricted them to a target that we felt we could chase.

"It's a great wicket, a high scoring ground and we managed to take advantage of it."

Ireland captain William Porterfield hailed the success as "the greatest day in Irish cricket history and one of our best-ever performances".

"We believed in ourselves and even at 111-5 we managed to bounce back - so all credit to the lads.

"We knew what Kevin O'Brien was capable of and now we are still in the tournament and have a great chance to qualify for the next stage.

"There'll be a big party after this but we still have four games to go and have to produce more big displays."


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