Ireland players celebrate taking a Kent wicket at Stormont

"I think we are as good a side as Kent but the last five or six overs of our innings were very costly and we have to work hard to put that right," he said.

"Maybe the preparation for the match was not ideal as we have had a lot of media commitments but we were ready.

"The players are familiar with our new coach Phil Simmons and he with us so it has been a fairly smooth transition."

"I suppose he will be looking at other cricketers in Ireland in the coming months so the guys that are in the team have to keep looking over our shoulders and that competition is healthy.

"As a whole we are better prepared for the tournament than last year and we will be looking to get at least one win from our two games during the Bank Holiday weekend."