Ireland batsman Harry Tector was in a reflective mood after his side threw away a great chance of taking a series lead against West Indies.

The YMCA man and skipper Andy Balbirnie both scored fifties in a century partnership to take Ireland into a commanding position before they collapsed in the chase to gift the hosts a 24-run win.

“I felt quite confident out in the middle, I was quite well prepared, and I feel like I’m in a good place with my batting in one-day cricket at the moment. I got a bit of luck early on in my innings, but felt more comfortable the longer I was in. It was just so disappointing that that nick flew all the way to third man – it was a big opportunity missed.”

“We were actually feeling pretty good at the halfway stage. Obviously, whenever you’re chasing a score of 270 you’re going to need to bat well. We knew from the warm-up game - and early on yesterday - that the pitch was getting better and flatter. It wasn’t easy to bat on, by any means, but certainly it seemed easier than when they went out to bat first. So, we were pretty confident that if we could string a few partnerships together then we could go close."

So from 165 for 1, why did the wheels come off?

“It’s obvious really. If you lose two set batters in the space of 8 or 9 balls then the pressure is going to be put on those coming after - we were facing good bowlers and they’re not going to be giving you freebies. I think the run rate required was around seven-an-over when me and Andrew Balbirnie were in – and that is something we were doing as we were set.

"The mantle really fell to me when 'Bal' was out, so it’s a bit gutting that I couldn’t get us over the line, but I guess I have to live and learn for next time I’m in that position.

“There were a lot of positives – our fielding, particularly our energy in the field, was good. Before the game we spoke about bringing good energy, even when they were on top. Fielding is something we can control and we all work hard at it, to be as good as we can come game day.

“The bowlers bowled well up top and in the early middle overs, and the way the lads came back at the end was exceptional. To restrict them to 270 - when at one stage they were eyeing 300 to 330 - was good. Credit has to go to the bowling unit as preparation hasn’t been ideal and they probably feel a bit under-cooked going into the first game.

“With the bat, Bal is always so solid and it was great to see him do what he did. Andy McBrine looked good until the blow to his head – I hope he comes through well for game two. I’m sure with Stirlo coming back in and William Porterfield missing out this time, they’ll be hungry for runs next match. And, of course, it was good to see George Dockrell and Mark Adair there at the end, but unfortunately we left them with a rate that was probably a bit too high when they came in."

Cricket Ireland confirmed that Paul Stirling and Shane Getkate have arrived in Jamaica, while both Simi Singh and Ben White are likely to miss the entire series. Andy McBrine will be assessed over the next 48 hours and could still feature in the game.