competition's organizers finally got it right. Having beaten powerhouse Pakistan in the group stage, the part-timers beat another test playing nation, Bangladesh, by 74 runs on Sunday to climb away from last in the Super 8s and achieve full-time status among cricket's one-day international fraternity.
"We played almost a perfect game," Ireland captain Trent Johnston said after his team had run a lap of honor round the Kensington Oval field in front of a cheering crowd, many of whom had been allowed to come in for free.
"In Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados I think the locals have warmed to us."
A patient first wicket partnership of 92 put Ireland on the way to victory in Barbados. Opener William Porterfield went on to score 85 and big-hitting Kevin O'Brien hit 48 in an impressive 243 for seven.
That proved way out of reach for Bangladesh, which beat South Africa by 67 runs a week ago but struggled all the way against the tight bowling and inspirational Irish fielding.
Mohammed Ashraful scored 35 in the middle of the innings and captain Habibul Bashar was last out for 32, dismissed by his Ireland counterpart Johnston, as Bangladesh was bowled out for 169 in the 42nd over.
Faced by a game involving the weakest two teams in the Super 8s playing in the stadium which will be used for the final, the organizers knew thousands of seats in the 23,000 capacity Kensington Oval would be embarrassingly empty for the meeting of Bangladesh and Ireland.
So they let the locals in for nothing and the result was the noisy, colorful crowd that Caribbean cricket is famous for.
Throughout this World Cup, organizers have taken a lot of criticism for imposing high ticket prices of up to US$100 (euro75) and strict regulations and bans on such things as food, drinks and musical instruments that deterred locals from going to the games.
The poor performances of Brian Lara's West Indies -- on the brink of elimination after four Super 8s losses in a row -- have given its fans virtually nothing to cheer.
With powerhouse teams India and Pakistan knocked out in the opening group stage, many of the pre-sold tickets weren't used because their fans either went home or did not come in the first place. Hundreds of hotel rooms also stayed empty and the islanders have bemoaned big financial losses.
It also meant that Sunday's game in Barbados -- which the organizers hoped would have been India vs. Pakistan -- turned out to involve the two teams that effectively knocked them out.
The seats that should have been filled by thousands of India and Pakistan fans were empty when play started. Some who had flown thousands of miles and did show up, didn't even want to watch the cricket.
"We wanted to watch India-Pakistan, not Bangladesh-Ireland," said Rashmi Vaghela, an Indian fan based in London. "We bought the Super 8s package. Now we're here, but we can't even be bothered to watch it."
When play started, it was possible to count all the fans sprinkled around the stadium.
When the gates opened to the free tickets an hour and a half later, the seats started to fill up, especially those in the so called Party Stand -- the temporary structure which holds 7,000 and which will be dismantled once the World Cup is over.
The drums, trumpets and whistles grew louder as Barbadian spectators joined the flagwaving overseas visitors and the result was what organizers throughout the Caribbean should have provided from the start.
"I got the day off today so I saw it in the newspaper and decided to come down," said Alan Allen, from Bridgetown. "I never watched cricket in my life. My first cricket game is the World Cup and it's free."
With Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka already certain of semifinal spots with six more Super 8s games still to go, the championship is meandering along. Only the South Africa-England game in Barbados on Tuesday has any real relevance to the outcome with both teams chasing the final semifinal place.
Australia against Sri Lanka in Grenada on Monday would have the makings of a cricket classic if there were something left to play for. Likewise the Australia-New Zealand match April 20. So would West Indies-England in Barbados a day later.
By then, however, both West Indies and England may know their game will also be meaningless so far as the championship is concerned. England may be going home after another World Cup flop and the other -- West Indies -- staying to deal with the anger of local fans who expected a lot more.
