Group line-ups
performed well. It was tough in the heat for our bowlers to back up two 2pm starts against good opposition.”
Three of Ireland’s first four games are in the sweltering 34 degree afternoon heat, but none of them are on successive days, and with temperatures even hotter at the five-nation tournament in Oman last week — when they won three of their four matches — there will be no excuses about the heat.
Ireland will rely on one of their experienced and prolific top three — Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien and Andrew Balbirnie — to bat through the innings “with the others batting around them”, but Wilson insists there will no pressure on them.
“It’s true with any side in T20 cricket that if one of your top three scores 75 or 100 then you get a bigger score. There is a reason why they are batting in the top three and they are good enough to get a big score.”
David Delany, the exciting 21-year-old pace bowler who missed the Oman tournament because of his studies, hit the ground running on his arrival here this week and forms a vital part of the attack.
“David has more pace than anyone else in the country and we’re hoping to use that to our advantage,” added Wilson. “We have good variation in our attack with a leg spinner, a left armer, an off spinner, someone who can touch 90mph plus Boyd Rankin and Craig Young, who have extra pace and bounce, and Stuart Thompson has bowled excellently with his yorkers. I’m happy with the bowlers.”
The first opponents for Ireland today, in the impressive Sheikh Zayed Stadium, are Hong
Group A (in Dubai): Scotland, Netherlands, PNG, Namibia, Singapore, Kenya, Bermuda. Group B (in Abu Dhabi): Ireland’s fixtures (all times BST) Today: Hong Kong (1110), Tomorrow: UAE (1630), Monday: Oman (1110), Wednesday: Canada (1110), Friday 25th: Jersey (0700), Saturday 26th: Nigeria (0700).
Play-off games (In Dubai): October 29-30. Semi-finals: November 1. Third place playoff and Final: November 2.
Kong, coached by former Ireland captain Trent Johnston.
“TJ knows us well so we can’t take them lightly and we won’t,” said Wilson. “We beat them well last week (in Oman) and if we start well here then we create a feeling of ‘here we go again’. So we will attack that with all guns blazing.”