|
|
|
| March 23, 2007 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1428 |
Irish ready to upset English cousins
DUBLIN, March 22: World Cup surprise package Ireland are ready to cause another upset at the tournament by beating England should they meet in the Super Eight stage on March 30, their chief executive Warren Deutrom said Wednesday.
Deutrom told Sky News they would not be approaching the match in an arrogant state of mind but deserved to be confident based on their recent form, which peaked with a stunning victory over former world champions Pakistan last Saturday.
Pakistan's defeat of Zimbabwe on Wednesday confirmed Ireland's progress to the Super Eight stage.
“I will come out with a big sporting cliche for when we meet England on March 30 but we will be taking each match as it comes,” said Deutrom.
“However, we played them in our inaugural ODI last year and put up around 270 runs and so we can approach it with a certain amount of confidence if not arrogance.
“However our recent run of form has been excellent.
“We came very close against South Africa in a warm-up match, so there has been nothing freakish or lucky about what we have been doing.
“They have been playing to their utmost abilities and are a tight knit unit.”
Deutrom admitted that he could not have hoped for anything better during his brief spell in the post.
“It's fair to say we are in dreamland. I joined four months ago and had a brief to raise the profile and review the administration, and success in the World Cup has accelerated it (the profile).
“It is the big story in town. I have done a huge amount of interviews and with the profile having been raised I hope it will bring more attention from fans and commercial sponsors and therefore improve the infrastructure.”
For the Ireland v England clash to be a certainty the English need to beat last time semi-finalists Kenya in a do or die clash on Saturday.
The Irish play their final group match against hosts West Indies on Friday with the winners of that assured of taking two points into the Super Eight stage.—AFP
|
|
|
|
