Irish qualification sinking in

Trent Johnston © CricketEurope

Trent Johnston will urge his Ireland team to enjoy the moment and try to spring another surprise when they get their shock World Cup Super Eight campaign under way later this week.

The Ireland captain is probably as surprised as anyone else to find himself and his team staying in Guyana preparing to face England on Friday in the last eight of the tournament.

The 32-year-old Australian-born all-rounder had expected to have returned to his full-time job in textiles by now, having played his part in the great Irish adventure in their maiden World Cup.

But, having set out to put Irish cricket on the map, his side have exceeded all expectations after tying with Zimbabwe and beating Pakistan and they are now preparing for the crunch stage of the tournament.

“We’re pinching ourselves a little bit that we’re here, but that really kicked in today when we were training,” said Johnston, who began his career playing in the Sheffield Shield for New South Wales alongside Australia stars like Brett Lee, Michael Slater and Mark Taylor.

“We could potentially be going back to work in Ireland, but instead we’re still here and we’ve got another month’s cricket and we’re playing the best eight teams in the Super Eights - it’s hugely exciting.

“We’ve had lots of phone calls to make to our bosses back home and they’ve all been outstanding and we can’t thank them enough. To be over here and be a part of this is something very special.

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“We’re going to enjoy every day that we’re here and go out and try and be as competitive as we can and, who knows, we may be able to cause another shock or two.”

One of the key reasons behind Ireland’s success has been the outstanding support from a band of Irish travellers who have dubbed themselves “the Blarney Army” and made their three matches at Sabina Park in Kingston such a colourful occasion.

As few of those fans expected Ireland to progress beyond the group stages, none of them booked for this part of the trip, so the atmosphere will be dull in comparison.

But many have tried to book for the latter stages of the Super Eights, when they can watch Ireland’s last three matches and Johnston admitted: “The Blarney army have been fantastic for us.

“They’ve been like our 12th and 13th men and we can’t thank them enough because the atmosphere they gave us in those three games at Sabina Park was something I’ll never forget.”

He added: “From what I’m hearing back home, there has already been a huge spin-off.

“There is talk of potential sponsors getting on board and, even down in the country, which is generally a Gaelic stronghold, they are down there watching cricket.

“I’ve heard rumours that greyhound races were put back so people could watch the final over of the Pakistan game - it’s just unbelievable and it would have been nice to go home for a day or two to soak it up and come back out.”