Cricket Ireland to review T20 World Cup group exit

Cricket Ireland willl launch an ‘in-depth’ review following a disappointing outcome in the Men’s T20 World Cup.
Ireland's captain Andy Balbirnie (L) and Gareth Delany.Ireland's captain Andy Balbirnie (L) and Gareth Delany.
Ireland's captain Andy Balbirnie (L) and Gareth Delany.

Ireland failed to make it out of the group stage, falling to defeats against Sri Lanka and Namibia after starting positvely with a win over the Netherlands, securing victory by seven wickets.

However, they lost their next match by 70 runs against Sri Lanka and slumped to a shock defeat against Namibia.

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The results meant Ireland have now failed to make it through to the Super 12s - the main draw of the World Cup - since 2012.

Ireland will now have to attempt to seal qualification for next year’s T20 World Cup instead of earning automatic passage.

On Friday, a statement issued by Cricket Ireland said the review will assess key aspects of the T20 World Cup campaign, including preparation, performance, selection, administration, coaching and the facilities in Ireland.

It read: “The Board of Cricket Ireland - in line with what could be reasonably described as the general mood of the Irish cricket community - expressed our disappointment at the timing and nature of the World Cup exit last Friday.

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“Whilst there were no doubts expressed about the attitude, commitment and hard work of players, coaching staff and administrators, the Board has directed that the normal planned post-event review should happen as quickly as possible and includes all elements pertaining to tournament preparation and performance - such as event performance and cricket operations supporting the international set-up - and, where appropriate, take any remedial action.

“It is important to stress that this is not a kneejerk reaction to the T20 World Cup outcome, particularly in light of encouraging results against some major teams in the last two years alone.

“The Board recognises that our regular treadmill of events, qualifiers, and FTP commitments means that there is rarely an obvious time to do in-depth reviews, let alone implement them quickly enough to have an immediate impact.

“However, with the next round of World Cup Super League matches coming up in January, and the qualifying tournament for the next Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled for February, we believe that the review should be conducted swiftly without compromising rigour.”

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p Chris Jordan has warned England will face a greater test of their resolve against Australia today after starting their T20 World Cup campaign with comfortable wins over the West Indies and Bangladesh.

England’s bowlers have been instrumental to their fortunes in the United Arab Emirates so far as the Windies were blown away for a meagre 55 last weekend before Bangladesh were restricted to 124 for nine on Wednesday.

Those totals were easily overhauled with six and eight wickets to spare respectively, but Jordan accepts they face a step-up in competition when they take on Australia in the first of potentially seven meetings this winter.

Jordan said: “Any England v Australia game is always right up there when it comes to stakes and intensity, and I don’t expect this game to be much different.

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“It will be a tough game. They have so many good players in their team, a well-stacked batting line-up and we’ll have to be right on top of our game once again come Saturday to try to get a result.”

“It’s been a dream start but every game is not going to be that straightforward or that easy.”

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