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Ireland's Tim Murtagh trains on Tuesday. ©INPHO/Barry Chambers
World T20

Ireland have the depth to trouble Australia, says Porterfield

Phil Simmons’ side open their World Twenty20 campaign against Australia on Wednesday morning (11am).

IRELAND’S LATEST VENTURE on the global stage gets under way on Wednesday morning when they take on Australia in the ICC World Twenty20 in Colombo.

For William Porterfield’s side it will be their fifth appearance at the final stages of an ICC event, and confidence is high following warm up wins against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, bringing their total of consecutive wins in Sri Lanka to four.

Skipper Porterfield knows it will be tough against the Australians but isn’t ruling out the chances of another famous win for the Irish: “They’re obviously a very strong side with a number of formidable players, but they are in transition and if we get early wickets then we can put them under pressure.

“The four victories since we’ve been in Sri Lanka have instilled a great deal of confidence to the squad and the pleasing aspect has been the fact that all the players have put their hands up at various times on the tour and turned in good performances.

“Paul Stirling and Niall O’Brien have both scored half centuries in our wins and that’s the key. If one of our top order fires and the rest chip in then we’ve enough depth to set or chase down a challenging target.

“The attack has responded well to the introduction of Craig McDermott as bowling coach, and it’s been invaluable for the squad to have someone of his experience in the squad. He has settled in, working well in conjunction with Phil (Simmons) and the rest of the backroom boys.

“Our preparations couldn’t have gone much better out here and the extra week has given everyone a chance to acclimatise to the heat and incredible humidity. We’ve put in the hard yards in training and now can’t wait for the competition to begin in earnest. Hopefully we can give our incredible fans here and back in Ireland something to cheer about.”

Join TheScore.ie for live over-by-over updates of Ireland v Australia from 11am.

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