Match overview
West Indies Cricket beat Ireland Cricket by 197 runs at Castle Avenue, Dublin on 25 May 2025. West Indies posted 385/7 from their 50 overs after Ireland chose to field, then dismissed Ireland for 165/8 to win with something to spare. KU Carty's 170 off 142 balls was the innings that defined the match; he was named Player of the Match. Ireland lost 3 wickets in the powerplay of their chase for 46 runs and never recovered. The margin was West Indies' most emphatic result against Ireland in recent memory.
Carty's contribution came within a West Indies batting effort that accelerated throughout. After a relatively measured powerplay of 58 runs for 2 wickets, the middle overs produced 183 runs for just 1 wicket. The death overs then added a further 144 runs for 4 wickets, a phase in which Ireland's bowlers had no answers. JD Campbell and Shai Hope both have form at this ground stretching back to 2019, and the West Indies lineup has the depth to keep posting totals like this.
For Ireland, the batting collapse in the powerplay of the chase was decisive. Three wickets for 46 runs in the first 10 overs left the lower order with an impossible equation. Five more wickets fell in the middle overs for 119 runs, and Ireland did not face a ball in the death phase, finishing on 165/8. Andrew Balbirnie had scored 112 off 138 balls just four days earlier against this same opposition, so there is batting quality in this side. On this occasion it did not translate.
Venue and conditions
Castle Avenue in Dublin has hosted 11 ODIs, with an average first-innings score of 254. West Indies' 385/7 exceeded that by 131 runs, placing it among the highest totals recorded at the ground. The average second-innings score of 191 also gives context to Ireland's 165/8; they fell below even the historical chase average, which already reflects the ground's moderate difficulty for batting sides.
The powerplay average at Castle Avenue is 47 runs across those 11 matches. West Indies scored 58 in the first innings, marginally above average. Ireland scored 46 in the second innings, and the 3 wickets lost made that return far less useful. The ground has a chase success rate of 60 per cent, above the average for grounds in the British Isles, though that figure applies to competitive totals; a target of 386 sits well outside the range those numbers were built on.
The toss data shows fielding first is the preference at this venue: teams have elected to field in 71 per cent of matches. Ireland followed that pattern here, but the toss advantage was negated entirely by the scale of the West Indies total.
How to watch
West Indies and Ireland ODIs in this series are broadcast in the UK on Sky Sports Cricket. Live streaming is available via Sky Go and NOW TV. For UK viewers, check the Sky Sports schedule for precise start times on any remaining fixtures in the tour, which are typically scheduled for an 11:00 BST morning start to accommodate the Dublin timezone.
Recent form
West Indies came into this match with a mixed run of recent results. Their five most recent ODIs included wins against Pakistan and Ireland, alongside two defeats to Pakistan and a no result against Ireland earlier in this series. Three of those five matches involved Ireland, which underlines how closely these sides have been rotating in this period.
Ireland's recent form followed a similar pattern: wins against West Indies in this same series, no results against Zimbabwe, and a loss to Zimbabwe. They had beaten West Indies by 124 runs at Castle Avenue in an earlier match in this 2025 series, which makes the 197-run defeat here a sharp reversal. Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie are capable of anchoring an innings; the challenge for Ireland going forward is converting individual starts into the kind of partnerships that can challenge a West Indies total above 300.