GROS ISLET, March 25: England opener Ed Joyce said it would be strange to face his former Ireland team mates in the World Cup second stage following his match-winning contribution against Kenya on Saturday.

His 75 in the final Group C game helped England to a seven-wicket win which put them into the Super Eights and eliminated the Africans.

Dublin-born Joyce played for Ireland in the ICC Trophy for minor cricket nations between 2001 and 2005 and his performances were key in helping them reach this tournament.

However, the left-hander switched to England in 2006 in the hope of playing Tests and more one-day series.Ironically his first one-day cap was against Ireland in June last year and he will now face them again in Guyana next Friday after Ireland's surprise qualification following a shock win over Pakistan.

“It's obviously a bit of a strange one being an Irishman,” he told a news conference. “But my first game for England was against Ireland so hopefully I've got that out of my system.”

Joyce, who scored 66 in Sunday's win over Canada after a duck against New Zealand, was pleased with his return to form.

“I'm just pretty happy with the way I'm playing at the moment,” he said. “I've got two fifties in the last two games so hopefully I can just continue on against Ireland.”

England will now be hoping for some inside knowledge from Joyce heading into their first Super Eight game.

“I know the Irish players pretty well,” he said. “There will probably be a bit of banter but I haven't got any of their numbers. They haven't been dishing them out to me so maybe they are playing it cool.”—Reuters