DHAKA – Ireland open their World Cup campaign against Bangladesh on Friday determined to clinch a hat-trick of victories over the Tigers in major events. Ireland defeated Bangladesh by 74 runs in the now-scrapped Super Eights round in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and then won by six wickets in the World Twenty20 in England in 2009. Bangladesh cannot afford another defeat, having lost their opening match against India by 87 runs last Saturday, setting the stage for a keenly contested day-night match. Playing before 25,000 boisterous Bangladeshi fans at the packed Sher-e-Bangla stadium on Friday night will test Irish resolve, but the leading non-Test side know what awaits them.
Ireland lost all three one-day internationals during a series at the same venue in 2008, but wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien said those defeats will not make a difference. “That was a long time ago,” he said. “We have beaten Bangladesh three of the last four times we have played them. Our confidence is high because we know we have a good enough team to win here. “We have to play the Bangladesh spinners, especially Abdur Razzak and skipper Shakib Al Hasan, with the respect they deserve, but at the same time we have to be proactive and quite aggressive.”
Ireland’s squad includes nine players who took part in the memorable 2007 outing, where they knocked out Pakistan from the first round before taking Bangladesh in their stride. The Irish will be boosted by the presence of batsman Ed Joyce, who played 17 one-dayers for England before opting to turn out for the land of his birth. Former West Indian batsman Phil Simmons, who now coaches Ireland, believed the current side is stronger than the one that played in the previous World Cup.
