Ireland wait on Johnston

Seamer struggling with knee problem

Last updated: 10th March 2011  

Ireland wait on Johnston

Injury doubt: Johnston is battling a knee problem

You surely can't take anybody for granted here.

Ramnaresh Sarwan
Quotes of the week

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Ireland will give seam bowler Trent Johnston as long as possible to prove his fitness for their Group B fixture against West Indies on Friday.

Johnston, 36, took two wickets in five overs before hurting his knee and being unable to bowl again in the five-wicket loss to India.

He had a brief outing in the nets on Thursday but a decision on his participation in the Mohali showdown will be left until the morning.

"He bowled a couple of overs in the nets today. He ran in hard, he is keen to play the game," said Ireland skipper William Porterfield.

"We will assess his fitness again and take a call on him on the morning of the match.

"Bowling 10 overs won't be a problem for him it seems. Standing on the park for 50 overs may be a problem. So we will wait and see how he shapes up tomorrow."

Ireland's shock victory over England was sandwiched by defeats to Bangladesh and India - leaving them in need of a win against West Indies to revive their quarter-final hopes.

"We are treating it as a must-win game," added Porterfield. "We know we have to win at least two of our remaining three games.

"But we've played good cricket to this point and we've done our homework on the West Indies so we're looking good going into the game."

Important

West Indies arrive at the PCA Stadium on a high after bowling out Bangladesh for 58 on the way to a nine-wicket success in their most recent outing.

Darren Sammy's men have four points from three games and another win will take them to the brink of the last eight.

"Ireland showed what they are capable of in their game against England," said experienced batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan.

"We are going to go out there and play to the best of our ability. You surely can't take anybody for granted here.

"The way they played against England came as a surprise. But they deserved to win."

West Indies have won the two previous completed ODIs between the sides - at the last World Cup and more recently thanks to a Sarwan hundred in Jamaica in April 2010.

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