Can Luck Strike Twice for Irish?
"I want everyone to know that Ireland is a very good side." That sounds like it would be coming from someone close to the Irish camp, but it was Pakistan's coach Bob Woolmer who made this pronouncement when it was suggested that his team would walk over Ireland in today's match.After they snatched a tie from what, up until the 47th over, looked like a certain Zimbabwe victory, the debutants were elated. So were their fans. Although relatively small in numbers, all through the post-match press conference held across the road from the main cricket area, we could hear the Irish cheers -- and that was just for a tie. Imagine if they win against Pakistan today on St Patrick's Day!
What a preposterous thought! Ireland, playing less than a dozen One Day Internationals, beating Pakistan? Cricket is a funny game, says Ireland's coach Adrian Birrell. Responding to Bob Woolmer's assessment of his team, Birrell said "Bob Woolmer is an astute cricket coach. He has done his homework on us I know. We're not going to surprise him in any way. I think he's obviously had a look at the individuals that are within our team and he has also got Shahid Afridi who played with us in the C & G last year. He knows us and knows what we're capable of, so there are no surprises for them."
What was a surprise was how the Irish bowlers came back in the final overs and orchestrated a clattering of Zimbabwe wickets along with very mean bowling. The main destroyers were Kevin O'Brien, Andre Botha and Andrew White. Captain Trent Johnson called them his "go to men" who never shake their head when given the ball during crunch time. "That's what this team is about. We would do anything for each other and that's why we've got such a strong bond and that's why we can hang tough in those tough games. They stepped up there and did a fantastic job," the Captain said.
Their experience in the ICC World Cricket League in January against Scotland, where they were well on their way to winning but lost it in the last over, provided the impetus for Thursday's performance at the death. "We've come short in that department previously but we've done a lot of work in our death bowling," said Coach Birrell.
Where more work is needed is in the fielding, where, were it not for the many dropped catches and mis-fields, the result could have been in Ireland's favour. Ireland's coach attributes that, and their overall performance in their first match, to nerves. He said "we played 25% below what we're capable of. The emotions were going up and down. We were well below par there. I think it was nerves. I think we were all nervous. I was nervous!"
Although the coach believes their strength is in their batting, last Thursday's batting performance was not convincing. Jeremy Bray's century propped up the innings, as the opening and middle order batsmen fell away. It was up to the bowlers to come in and shore up the total, the last four scoring 63 runs.
Both Trent Johnson and Adrian Birrell believe the key to today's game against Pakistan will lie in the team's bowling. "If we bowl well upfront we are going to be competitive. That's what is basically comes down to. We are not particularly worried about their bowling attack. With the batters that we have, we can place the scores. It's all about our bowlers upfront," stated a confident Johnson. "We didn't bowl very well today. I know we can bowl better. We bowled very well against South Africa and that gives us a little bit of belief. We can do it with the ball," Birrell stated.
Don't discount what the support from their Irish fans can contribute to Saturday's performance. "When it looked like the game was lost, they still kept cheering, every dot ball, every run saved. It was phenomenal. We can't thank them enough because at the end of the day, it's what got us home," said Trent Johnson, who described his first World Cup match experience as "surreal". "Seeing the Irish supporters going crazy…it was just an experience of a life time. I can't put it into words. It's an unbelievable experience. The next two games are only going to be better," asserted Ireland's captain.
What of their team's chances today against Pakistan? "Nothing will be easy against Pakistan. It's a huge game. Who knows what will happen. If we are going to beat Pakistan, we're going to have to play out of our skins 120%, and they'll have to have a really off day. We are going to get out there and play really hard," promised Johnson, who is a native of Australia.
They are particularly hopeful of a good showing, to reward the Irish fans, who they hope will bring them a bit of luck on St Patrick's Day – the biggest holiday on the Irish calendar. An electrifying atmosphere is on the cards. "Two teams in green….we are going to do our very best and hopefully give them a good day and have a few "quiet" hours in the night," quipped Johnson. The Irish are well known for their huge celebrations as last Thursday's match attested.
Coach Birrell said that the tie on Thursday gives the team a bit of confidence and momentum going into Saturday's match. That, coupled with their impressive bowling performance against South Africa in the Warm Up match, may just be the ticket to a surprise result today. Said Birrell, "Pakistan will know that they need to play good cricket. They are a massive Test nation with a huge history and we shouldn't even be thinking we can beat them, but deep down inside of us, there is the knowledge that if they don't bring their 'A' game, and they play well below par and we play well above par, cricket's a funny game."