Gayle blows Ireland away

Captain Chris Gayle fired West Indies to a crushing nine-wicket victory over minnows Ireland in their World Twenty20 warm-up clash at The Oval.

Gayle struck seven sixes in an unbeaten 88 as West Indies comfortably surpassed Ireland’s 130 for seven.

They raced to their target with four overs to spare after left-hander Gayle unleashed his explosive strokeplay.

West Indies had made 77 for one by the halfway stage of their chase, of which Gayle contributed 50, and his savage assault during off-spinner Kyle McCallan’s third over yielded two sixes.

Two more came in the 16th over, sent down by medium-pacer John Mooney, as Ireland’s back-up bowlers took a pounding.

Ireland’s solitary success with the ball came in the eighth over when youngster Andre Fletcher, who impressed with his sheer power, miscued an expansive stroke and was caught at point off McCallan’s second ball.

details in: ECB