Porterfield relishing Twenty20 face-off

Ireland captain William Porterfield is excited by the Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers, which get under way in Belfast on Saturday.

The Gloucestershire opening batsman said: "I can't wait for the tournament to begin. All the players are anticipating some fantastic cricket, and with good crowds expected, it should be a marvellous occasion."

The 23-year-old has already made some plans as to how he will go about batting in the games.

"It's very much broken down into sections," he said. "You have the powerplays in the first six overs, where you take advantage of the fielding restrictions. Then in the next eight overs, you work the ball around more, and pick up the boundaries along the way.

"Then in the final six overs, you hope to have wickets in hand, and you come home strong.

Will Porterfield wants to open the batting

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"I'd like to open the batting, as it's where I've been mostly playing with Gloucestershire. I like facing the new ball, and I've had some success with Gloucestershire, where I've been given my chance, although a lot earlier than I expected."

However, he is less sure about what might constitute a par score in a Twenty20 match in Ireland.

"It obviously depends on how the wickets play at Stormont," he confirmed. "It's usually a good batting track, and with a big outfield, although it can be difficult to hit sixes, there are plenty of gaps for ones and twos. I'd think 160-170 would be a good score, which teams could defend."

Ireland may be favourites for the tournament, but Porterfield is determined not to let his side get ahead of themselves.

"We'd always back ourselves, but we know it's going to be difficult," he said. "There's so much at stake, not just in financial terms, but in terms of prestige. The competition in the finals in England is going to be an incredible experience, and we'd like to be there.

"The fact that it looks like there is going to be a third place with Zimbabwe withdrawing, then it takes a wee bit of the pressure off.

"It means if you lose in the semi finals, then you're going to have a second chance to qualify. That third/fourth place play-off game will probably be the most tense in the whole competition."