On this day in 2019: Shai Hope and John Campbell stage mammoth partnership
West Indies and Bangladesh toured Ireland in May 2019 for a tri-series. Playing the first match of the event on May 5 against Ireland, West Indies scripted history as the opening pair of Shai Hope and John Campbell registered them as the duo to form the highest opening partnership in ODI cricket history. The exploits by Campbell and Hope helped West Indies register a comfortable win by a massive 196 runs.
The mouth-watering contest between the hosts and the Windies commenced at the Clontarf Cricket Club Ground in Dublin. The home captain William Porterfield won the toss and invited the visitors to put the total on the board. Batting first, John Campbell and Shai Hope walked in the middle with an aim to the Caribbean side a decent start.
⭐ A world-record in Dublin ⭐ #OnThisDay last year, West Indies openers John Campbell and Shai Hope forged a record 365-run partnership in the first ODI against Ireland.
It is the highest opening partnership in ODIs and the second-highest for any wicket! pic.twitter.com/BeudOecY8J
— ICC (@ICC) May 5, 2020
Initially, the duo took their time to settle in and gave themselves time to understand the pitch and the playing conditions as in the first 10 overs, they could manage to post just 37 runs on the board. However, once John and Shai got the feel of things, they caused carnage on the field and hammered the ball all around the park.
The opening batters took the Ireland bowlers to cleaners and made no mistakes in scripting a historic partnership of 365 runs on the board. The right-arm pacer Barry McCarthy emerged as the Knight in shining armour for the hosts as he finally managed to put an end to the iconic partnership.
On the second ball of the 48th over, Barry picked the scalp of John Campbell while Shai Hope also moved back to the pavilion on the fifth delivery of the same over. Campbell scored a mammoth 179 runs in 137 deliveries while Hope smashed 170 in 152 balls. Campbell and Shai were also expected to break the record of the highest ever partnership for any wicket in ODI cricket but they fell short by just seven runs.
The record belongs to Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels as both batsmen had a stand of 372 runs against Zimbabwe in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Owing to the exploits by the opening partnership, West Indies managed to post a total of 381 runs on the board in their 50 overs.
Chasing 382, Ireland never managed to gain the momentum as the West Indies bowlers produced a comprehensive performance to take timely wickets. Thus, the hosts could make only 185 runs while losing all their wickets within 34.4 overs only and West Indies comfortably won the game by 196 runs.
