The scoreboard tells the sorry story of Pakistan?s batting line-up during Saturday?s CWC match against Ireland at Sabina Park. - Dellmar
Although somewhat unexpected, Ireland coach Adrian Birrell described his team?s dramatic three-wicket win over Pakistan on Saturday as landing a major blow for both the Associate teams and the International Cricket Council?s (ICC) bid to develop cricket internationally.
In weeks leading up to the ICC Cricket World Cup, debate has raged on surrounding the involvement of as many as six associate teams ? Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland ? in the World Cup. Despite some heavy losses for the Netherlands, Bermuda and Scotland, Birrell believes that a win for the Irish over powerhouse Pakistan have, at least in some small way, justified the inclusion of the ?minnows?.
Funny things can happen
?You don?t really expect to beat a major team like that but we said all along in the press conferences, funny things can happen, and we are a team that is capable of upsets because we have done it before,? he said.
?I think we landed a blow for the associates and this will do a world of good for cricket in Ireland,? he pointed out. ?There has got to be associate cricket and I hope people can see this.
?There are going to be times when we teams find it tough going, we were lucky enough to get a tie the other day and a win today (Saturday), so we will hold our heads high,? he added.
?We are playing for the other associate members and when they play against other Test nations we always hope that they do well,? he said.
Full agreement
Ireland captain Trent Johnston, while taking the time out to acknowledge that everyone had a right to their opinion, was in full agreement with his coach.
?The guys that are making those statements have a right to their own opinion and maybe the associate countries haven?t performed overly well in the last couple of World Cups,? he said.
?But remember Kenya surprised everyone with their semi-final berth in 2003, while Sri Lanka only given international in the ?80s turned cricket on its head in 1996.? he added.
?We are out there trying to develop the sport and this is as far as the development of the sport in Ireland goes,? he said.
Johnston and Birrell also took time out to commend the many Irish fans on hand for their support and believes they always had the capability to score the big win.
Kwesi Mugisa
