| Scores | Upcoming | Results |
London: West Indies captain Chris Gayle led his side to a crushing nine-wicket win over Ireland in their ICC World Twenty20 warm-up match at the Oval on Tuesday with a blistering innings of unbeaten 88.
West Indies, set 131 to win, finished on 134 for one with four overs to spare after left-handed opener Gayle's whirlwind knock of 88 not out saw him face just 55 balls with seven sixes, most of them superb straight hits, and six fours in his innings.
Ramnaresh Sarwan was 25 not out after helping Gayle add an unbroken 79 off 52 balls for the second wicket.
Gayle and fellow opener Andre Fletcher scored 42 runs in the initial six powerplay overs.
The duo put on 55 in 45 balls but Ireland made a breakthrough when off-spinner Kyle McCallan succeeded where pace had failed and had Fletcher taken in the covers by Boyd Rankin for a 19 featuring four fours.
Gayle though was unconcerned, going down the pitch to loft McCallan for a huge straight six into the Pavilion.
Ireland, defending a modest target, had no one capable of containing Gayle on a good pitch - and there was no shame in that given he has made some of the world's best bowlers look rather ordinary during the course of his career.
Porterfield, who plays for English county side Gloucestershire, said a lack of runs was Ireland's greatest problem at the moment. "It's not about big hitting but playing proper cricket shots.
"We've got to be looking for a total of 160. We've shown we can be competitive in the field," added Porterfield, whose side are set to play a warm-up match against South Africa at the Southgate ground in north London on Thursday.
Ireland made 130 for seven after Porterfield won the toss.
Several batsmen made starts but Ireland were kept in check by tight bowling with left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn taking two for 24 and off-spinner Gayle one for 25.
Brief Score: West Indies 134 for one (Gayle 88*) beat Ireland 130 for seven (Bray 30, Benn 2-24) by 9 wickets.
