Brisbane: Ireland captain William Porterfield hailed big-hitting Kevin O’Brien and rock-steady Gary Wilson for carving out a nervy two-wicket World Cup win over the United Arab Emirates in Brisbane on Wednesday.
“Wickets in hand are always a big thing, especially when you’ve got lads like Kev and Wilson coming in,” said Porterfield, whose team had started their campaign with a win over the West Indies.”One key factor was the way we played in the last 20 overs of our innings.”
He added: “It was a bit closer than we would have wanted but we’d take that any day of the week.
“Confidence is high in the squad, and the fixtures start coming thicker and faster now.”
Ireland are third in Pool B and well-placed for a quarter-final spot, although they still have to face South Africa, Zimbabwe, defending champions India and Pakistan. (AFP)
