Ireland’s William Porterfield praise for UAE and Co

Ireland improvement thanks to rivalry with the Associate teams, according to team captain. Paul Radley reports.

William Porterfield-led Ireland have impressed. Munir uz Zaman / AFP

SYLHET, BANGLADESH // The national cricket team may be rushing towards a premature end to their first trip to a major tournament in two decades but they can feel satisfied with the direction their game is headed.

The side who provide the benchmark for what non-Test nations can achieve say the rivalry they have with sides such as the UAE is fuelling the development of the game below the international elite. It is likely that Ireland will be the only non-Test playing nation in the business stage of the World Twenty20. A win over the Netherlands in Sylhet today will guarantee that.

They despatched the UAE with an ease that has become customary in meetings between the two nations in recent years, with a 21-run win on Wednesday evening.

Given the fact they have beaten England, Pakistan and the West Indies in recent times, it would be easy to think they have outgrown the second strata of international competition.

However, William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, said the sides in cricket’s second tier have been inspiring each other to improve standards.

“We have had the tag for the past few years of being the leading Associate (non-Test nation),” Porterfield said. “We have won quite a few competitions at that level so a lot of teams want to beat us when they go up against us.

“We know that any time we go out there and are potentially complacent we are going to get picked off as they are good enough teams to do that, so we have to stay on top of our game.”

Ed Joyce, who was man of the match in the win over the UAE, said he believes it is not just Ireland who have closed the gap on the Test sides.

“It is fair to say a lot of the Associate sides are a lot stronger than they were even a few years ago,” Joyce said.

“We have had a lot of close games against sides like the UAE, Afghanistan, Kenya and Scotland. We have come out on top most of the time, but we definitely can’t take anything for granted.”

Although Afghanistan’s exit from the competition at the preliminary stage on Thursday simultaneously reinforced Ireland’s standing as the best Associate side, that is not altogether a good thing, according to Porterfield.

“They are still flying the Associates flag,” Porterfield said. “Everyone is looking to play at that level and sit at that top table; Afghanistan, the Netherlands and UAE, everybody is trying to do the same.

“We have to keep raising each other’s standards to get to that level, so you want them to do well when they come to major competitions.”

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