Cricket World Cup: Ireland will be ready, says captain Will Porterfield
Tuesday 10 March 2015 11:12, UK
Ireland’s captain Will Porterfield says his side will be prepared for their final World Cup group game, the must-win clash against Pakistan in Adelaide on Sunday.
After a heavy eight-wicket defeat to India Ireland will likely be knocked out with anything other than a win, but Porterfield insists their latest loss won’t have a bearing on their mentality.
“There are a lot of positives to take, especially in that first innings” he said. “We were slightly disappointed it didn’t quite come off, not capitalising on a good start.
“We could have got an extra 50 or 60 at least, looking at 320 plus, but every time we looked like we were kicking on we managed to lose a wicket so that was slightly disappointing.
“But you’ve got to give a lot of credit to them [India], the way they kept fighting and came back well. They made it look very easy.
Mentality
“We’ll have a rest and get refreshed again – coming down to this stage of the tournament, we’ve put in a lot of yards in the last six to eight weeks, so it’s all about being mentally prepared and mentally fresh going into that game [against Pakistan].
“It’s obviously winner takes all – win that game and we’re through to the quarter-finals – we’ve just got to mentally prepare ourselves for that and we’ll be ready.
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Ireland were well set at 206-3 at one stage against India before falling to 259 all out in the final 10 overs, which India knocked off within 37 overs for the loss of two wickets.
But top-scorer with 75 for Ireland, Niall O’Brien, echoes his captain’s sentiments and believes they’ll go into the Pakistan game in confident mood, even with their opponents entering in good form with three wins on the bounce.
Positives
“We were on target to get 300 but it still would have probably been 150 short the way India batted, he said. “Today’s game wasn’t going to be the be-all and end-all but we’ll take the positives from it.
“We’re playing some good cricket, the spirit is really good, everyone is giving 100%. So we’ll keep our heads held high.
“We won’t die wondering come Sunday against Pakistan, we’ll give it a good go and hopefully we’ll have enough in the tank to get us over the line.
“We’re looking forward to the game – we’ve obviously played Pakistan before and beaten them and although they’re bowling really well at the moment, they’re not batting too well.
“It would mean everything to get through to the quarter-finals. And we know as much as anyone, if we get to a quarter-final, one of our boys can have a really good day and we’ll give anyone a good run for their money.
Watch Ireland’s game against Pakistan in Adelaide on Sunday live on Sky Sports World Cup from 3am.
