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Ireland’s veteran limited-overs opening batter Paul Stirling bagged an unwanted record in the clash against Scotland in the World Cup Qualifiers 2023 clash at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. Stirling bagged a golden duck as he got dismissed by Brandon McMullen. This was his 13th duck in ODIs, the most by an Irish batter in the format. He broke former Irish batter William Porterfield's record of 12 ducks in ODIs.
Overall, Stirling is 16th on the list of most ducks in ODIs, a spot he shares with several other cricketers. The record for most ducks in ODIs belongs to former Sri Lanka cricketer Sanatha Jayasuriya who had 34 ducks.
Currently, Stirling is Ireland's highest ODI run-scorer. The 32-year-old has scored 5,357 runs from 145 innings at an average of 37.72 including 13 centuries and 27 half-centuries.
McMullen causes collapse
As McMullen got the wicket of Stirling second ball, it led to a batting collapse. He followed it up with the wicket of skipper Andrew Balbirnie who bagged a golden duck as well. Ireland lost four wickets for 33 runs in the ninth over.
Record-breaking partnership
However, despite McMullen's maiden ODI fifer, Ireland posted a total of 286/8. Curtis Campher and George Dockrell's 136-run partnership for the sixth wicket helped Ireland recover. The partnership broke a 16-year-old record. This is the highest partnership for sixth wicket against Scotland in ODIs. The previous best belonged to Bermuda's Lionel Cann and Irving Romaine as they shared an unbeaten 134-run partnership in 2007.
Dockrell breaks Irish record too
While Dockrell scored 69 runs before getting bowled by McMullen in the 44th over, Campher went on to score 120 runs. This was Campher's maiden ODI century. It is also the highest ODI score by an Irish batter in ODIs. The previous highest belonged to former Ireland all-rounder Kevin O'Brien who scored unbeaten 113 against England in famous ODI World Cup 2011 win.
Campher’s 120-run knock was laced with nine fours and four sixes. He had an impressive strike rate of 111.11 as well. On the other hand, with maiden fifer McMullen registered the sixth-best bowling figures for Scotland in ODIs as he conceded just 34 runs from seven overs.
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