Dubai , 5 March 2008Johnston says it will not be a walk in the park for his team as UAE plays for pride
Defending champion Ireland is aiming for maximum points against the United Arab Emirates in the ICC Intercontinental Cup match starting at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi from Thursday which would be enough to put it in second place behind Kenya .
The two-time winner currently sits on 29 points in fourth place behind Namibia and the Netherlands . An outright victory in the UAE capital will earn it 20 points which will put it one point ahead of Namibia and 17 points behind Kenya , but from one less game.
In sharp contrast, the UAE is out of the final race and trails in seventh position in the eight-team contest.
Although the UAE has lost two of its last three matches, Ireland captain Trent Johnston believes his team will have to be on top of its game over the next four days to hit the bull’s eye. “It will not be a walk in the park for us and we will have to play really well to collect maximum points which is our main objective.
“The UAE has been unlucky in the last few games and they have a pretty experienced side. It will not be easy and we will have to grab every opportunity that comes our way. The best way of winning the game will be to dominate the proceedings from the very first session and that is what we plan to do,” the 33-year-old all-rounder said.
“We have got a good core of players. Some of us have been together since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies while there are a couple of immensely talented youngsters. But the bottom line is that the team knows what it requires to win the tournament and one of the key areas is to worry about ourselves and not get distracted by other teams.
“If we continue to win matches, things will take care of themselves. We can’t control the uncontrolables, can we?” asked Johnston, who hit the winning shot in Ireland ’s memorable victory over Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies .
Johnston , however, admitted that his team was faced with a couple of additional challenges. “Obviously, change of weather conditions is one while the other is that we are playing a first-class game as a unit for the first time in almost nine months though most of the boys have been playing competitive cricket in South Africa recently.
“But we are experienced enough to cope with these challenges and as I said earlier, we know what it requires to win a tournament. Adaptability and adjustment to different conditions is part of that package.”
Ireland will be without its promising fast bowler Boyd Rankin who suffered a stress fracture in the foot shortly before Christmas. Rankin, who joined Warwickshire on a three-year deal from Derbyshire, is presently working with Warwickshire bowling coach Allan Donald on remodeling his action.
Johnston agreed that the absence of Rankin, who will also miss a three-match ODI series against Bangladesh that follows the Intercontinental Cup game, was a blow but added that the positive side was that a newcomer will get an opportunity to feel the taste of an important tournament.
“Rankin’s absence is a blow because he gets you key wickets. But on the other side of the coin, it is a good opportunity for a youngster to step up and try to avail the chance by putting up a good performance.”
The Ireland squad includes Greg Thompson and Paul Stirling who recently took part in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia . Ireland finished 13th in the 16-team tournament which was won by India .
Ireland has played the UAE twice in this competition. Ireland won the semi-final of the 2005-06 tournament on the basis of a first innings lead and won by an innings and 177 runs when the two teams met at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium 12 months ago.
The UAE has seven survivors from that match, including captain Saqib Ali who emphasised that his team will try to play as hard as possible as its pride was at stake. “I agree that we are all but out of the competition but there is still plenty at stake.
“If we put up good performances and manage to pull a victory in one of our last two matches, we will be able to restore some of our battered pride and confidence. Ireland is the reigning champion and it will not be easy for us but at this level, you can’t expect easy games,” Ali said.
Ali said his team was still in the learning stages and the remaining game will help the boys to gain valuable experience. “We are in a developing and rebuilding phases and every match that we play has a lot of value in terms of players’ development.”
The umpires for the match are Zameer Haider from the Emirates International Panel of Umpires and Shahul Hameed of Indonesia from the Associate and Affiliate International Umpires Panel.
The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.
Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.
Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada earlier this year in the 2006-07 event.
The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 in the UAE.
UAE (squad): Saqib Ali (captain), Arshad Ali, Khurram Khan, Nizel Fernandes, Shadeep Silva, Fahad Alhashmi, Shoaib Sarwar, Sameer Zia, Zahid Shah, Naeemuddin Aslam, Ahmed Raza, Muhammed Aman Ali, Obaid Hameed, Amjad Ali, Amjad Javed, Rashid Khan, Qasim Zubair and Abdul Rehman.
Ireland (squad): Trent Johnston (captain), William Porterfield, Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Philip Eaglestone, Thinus Fourie, Gary Kidd, Dave Langford-Smith, Kyle McCallan, Eoin Morgon, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Reinhardt Strydom and Greg Thompson.
-ICC MEDIA RELEASE