Ireland will enter their first Cricket World Cup after a disappointing next to last finish in the World Cricket League (WCL) last month. They finished with only 1 win and 4 losses against fellow ICC Assoiciate teams. Much more was expected from them as they had finished second in the ICC Trophy in 2005. They will however, come to the tournament with a promising young player who could be one of the stars of the tournament in Eoin Morgan.
Batting
The batting will be led by 20 year old Eoin (pronounced Owen) Morgan, who plays for Middlesex. Morgan has hopes of emulating fellow Irishman Ed Joyce and play for England one day. Some say that he is even better than Joyce. For now, he is content to lead the Irish batting at the World Cup. The other teams in group D should pay special attention, as he can take the fight to any opposition. In 6 ODI's he is averaging 60 with a strike rate of almost 100. A small sample against lesser opposition, yes, but the potential is there for him to do serious damage at the World Cup. The West Indies will do good not to overlook Ireland and Morgan, given what happened against Davison and Canada in 2003 and against Kenya in 1996. 25 year old wicketkeeper, Niall O'Brien, will also be one to watch as he plays for Kent in English County Cricket and has a pair of first class centuries. 22 year old William Porterfield scored 2 centuries at the WCL and was pipped by Canada's Asish Bagai for Player of the Tournament. South Afican born Andre Botha, who is coming off a century in his last first class match, and 22 year old Kevin O'Brien, complete the batting. Among non-Test playing nations, only Kenya has a better batting lineup than Ireland, and they will be looking to prove that at the World Cup.
Bowling
While the Irish batting is a strong point, the bowling is their Achilles' heel. Captain Trent Johnston will lead the bowling attack. Johnston is Australian born and once took a hat trick in 2003 against Syndey University, which included the wicket of Michael Slater. Johnston is also an attacking batsman and, if he spends any time at the crease, will put up a big score in short time. The bowling is inconsistent and their bowlers, in general, have problems with extras. At the WCL, they lost 3 matches in the final over, when their bowlers crumbled under the pressure. Veteran Aussie-born Dave Langford-Smith, 22 year old Derbyshire fast bowler Boyd Rankin, and veteran offspinner Kyle Mc Callan will be counted on to support Johnston.
Coach
Ireland is coached by former South African first class player Adrian Birrell.
Squad
Trent Johnston (capt), Kyle McCallan, Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray, Ken Carroll, Peter Gillespie, David Langford-Smith, John Mooney, Paul Mooney, Eoin Morgan, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Andrew White
Previous World Cups: None
Outlook
With their talented batting line up, Irish fans expect their team to score at least 200 against the West Indies and Pakistan. Both Pakistan and the West Indies are notoriously inconsistent, and having both lost to Associate nations at World Cups in the not too distant past, Ireland could cause an upset against either. More realistically though, their best chance for a win at the World Cup, will be against Zimbabwe, where they will be looking to show that their batting is at least as good as the Test arena's most troubled nation. Captain Johnston is quoted as saying "we have a great chance against Zimbabwe", but only after saying, "if we bowl first". Look for Ireland to be a team that could produce some surprising results.
Group Matches (Group D):
Thu Mar 15 - Zimbabwe
Sat Mar 17 - Pakistan
Fri Mar 23 - West Indies
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