 Phil Simmons hopes his side can make the last eight |
Ireland cricket coach Phil Simmons says he will be disappointed if his side does not make the last eight of next month's Twenty20 World Cup in England. Ireland open against Bangladesh on 8 June, then play India two days later. "We will have everyone available and I'll be very disappointed if we don't make our mark," said Simmons. "Obviously our best chance lies in the game against Bangladesh but the beauty of Twenty20 cricket lies in its unpredictability," he added. A win in either game would almost certainly take Ireland into the quarter-finals. "We will be going into the warm-up games and the tournament in confident mood. "The win against Worcestershire in the Friends Provident Trophy was exactly what we needed in our last competitive game before the Twenty20. "That was achieved without our top county players which says a lot for the depth of the squad."  | If we play to our capabailities, we have a genuine chance of progression |
Ireland will take on New Zealand in a Twenty20 game at the Derbyshire County Ground on Wednesday 27 May, before moving on to a training camp at Wormsley, where they will face a PCA Masters XI and the West Indies in practice games. The squad will then face the Netherlands and the West Indies again in warm-up games at Lord's and The Oval. Ireland will be at full strength apart from the loss of Eoin Morgan who has been selected for the England Twenty20 squad. "I know just how much all the guys are looking forward to this, and if we play to our capabailities, we have a genuine chance of progression," said Irish vice-captain Kyle McCallan. "We're well prepared and have already played a lot of cricket this year. "The conditions in England will be more familiar to our players than our opposition, so that's obviously a big advantage for us."
Ireland squad: W Porterfield (capt), A Botha, J Bray, P Connell, A Cusack, T Johnston, K McCallan, J Mooney, K O'Brien, N O'Brien, B Rankin, P Stirling, R West, A White, G Wilson.
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