Ireland spent yesterday in Guyana licking the deepest wounds inflicted on them for many a day after a crushing defeat that saw them post the second lowest score in the history of 20-over international cricket.

And it will now take the most remarkable powers of recovery to keep them in the ICC World Twenty20, the nightmare of a 70-run thrashing by the West Indies just behind them and the daunting prospect of a must-win game ahead of them on Tuesday against England.

Before leaving Dublin for his native Caribbean, Irish coach Phil Simmons was deadly serious when he said he would judge the tournament a success if Ireland reached the semi finals. He no doubt has revised that supreme optimism and it will take all his skills as a motivator and tactician - as well as a little help from his fellow countrymen - - to match last year's achievement of a place in the Super 8, let alone the last four.

Ireland can only hope that the West Indies continue their winning ways with victory over England tomorrow, thus making Tuesday's game a straight shoot-out for further progression and rendering the arithmetic of run rates irrelevant. Having been dismissed for an embarrassing 68 in the 17th over against the West Indies, the sums simply wouldn't add up for Ireland if the three Group teams ended up with one win each.

As skipper William Porterfield put it yesterday: “It doesn't matter who you are playing or what the conditions are like, you don't have any excuses when you're bowled out for 68. But if the West Indies pull off a result against England, there's still a massive amount to play for.”

The unpalatable facts speak for themselves. Only one player reached double figures yet Gary Wilson's 17 off 34 balls was hardly the stuff of Twenty20 cricket. Ireland's overall run rate was even more pedestrian at 4.08 runs an over. But most galling of all was that the highest score was to be found in the Extras' column - 19 of them, the sort of statistic to be avoided at all costs, particularly on the world stage.

All of which did a huge disservice to an excellent Irish performance in the field. No doubt encouraged by the absence of West Indian captain Chris Gayle through injury, Ireland restricted their more exalted opposition to 138 for 9.

A superb spell of 3 for 16 off his four overs by left-arm spinner George Dockrell showed a maturity beyond his 17 years; medium pacers Alex Cusack and Andre Botha bowled with an economy that left many puzzled when neither was offered his full quota; and generally energetic fielding all contributed to the possibility of another famous Irish victory on Caribbean soil.

It was never going to be easy for the Irish batsmen on a slow, low pitch but the manner of their capitulation was such that within two overs the game was essentially over - Porterfield, Paul Stirling and Niall O'Brien all back in the pavilion, the total barely in double figures. It was a vain hope that things couldn't get much worse.

It was a crushing disappointment for a team that now carries heavy baggage into the game against England. But victory by the West Indies tomorrow would put England on edge, Ireland will take heart from their display in the field and their batsmen must surely think that better times lie ahead.

Simmons will encourage his players to think more of the close encounter against England at Stormont last summer rather than the dismay of Guyana.

Yet the irony is that this time round it's an Irishman who arguably carries the greatest danger to Ireland. Eoin Morgan only appeared as a fielding sub for England at Stormont - albeit saving the game with his acrobatics on the boundary - and since then he has become an automatic one-day choice. He's already won a warm-up game for his adopted country with 63 against South Africa and his form looks ominous.

There has been much talk of Ireland's advancement in recent years and the performance under the lights outside Georgetown on Friday night should not be allowed to obscure it.

Cricket Ireland will continue to press for “Enhanced Membership” of the ICC, to allow more fixtures against the Test countries. A repeat performance on Tuesday will do little to advance the case: no-one knows that better than Phil Simmons and his squad and that, in itself, should prove sufficient motivation.