Stirling hits milestone as Ireland beat West Indies

First one-day international, Clontarf

Ireland 303-6 (50.0 overs) Balbirnie 112, Tector 56; Forde 3-68

West Indies 179 all out (34.1 overs) Chase 55, Forde 38; McCarthy 4-32

Ireland won by 124 runs

Scorecard

Paul Stirling became the first Irish player to reach 10,000 career runs in ODI, T20 and Test matches combined as Ireland comfortably beat West Indies in their opening ODI at Clontarf.

A 166-run partnership between Andrew Balbirnie (112) and record-breaking captain Stirling (54) set Ireland on course for victory as they reached 303-6.

West Indies, who were facing the Irish in Dublin for the first time since 2019, were all out for just 179, as Barry McCarthy claimed 4-32.

The sides will meet again on Friday at Clontarf in the second ODI, with the third game of the series being played at the same venue on Sunday.

Ireland lost the toss and were forced to bat first, but through the fruitful pairing of Balbirnie and Stirling they moved to 109 before the latter was dismissed by Gudakesh Motie.

Cade Carmichael, who was making his debut alongside Tom Mayes and Liam McCarthy, was out for just 16, but Harry Tector managed 56 with Lorcan Tucker also adding 30 to help Ireland set a high target.

Mayes claimed his first wicket for Ireland from West Indies captain Shai Hope within the first 10 overs as they got off to a strong fielding start.

That continued for the Irish as West Indies could only manage 31-5 in a tough opening, before Roston Chase (55) and Matthew Forde (38) steadied their innings.

McCarthy removed Brandon King, Keacy Carty, Amir Jangoo and Forde as the West Indies were bowled out for 179 with 16 overs remaining, falling well short of Ireland's target.